On December 24, 2013, my wife Marisa and I gave birth to our first child, Joseph Reed. At exactly the moment I first saw him, I swore I would never love anything more.
It wasn't supposed to happen like this. He was due January 9, and we were planning on traveling to
Canada right after Xmas. Sure we were playing with fire, but I just thought it would be really cool to have a baby with dual citizen. Kind of like James Bond, but with an actual Canadian passport.
Well it's safe to say Baby Joey never wanted it that way. It was all so surreal. I knew right away something was wrong when the bathroom light was on. Marisa never turns on the bathroom light since she knows i'll wake up. In this case, it was symbolic. Not only did that light represent the new dawn of our life with our first child. It also represented the end of almost 39 years of sleeping in.
My new life. It was so scary. The umbilical cord was around Baby Joey's neck when he first appeared. I was so afraid that something was wrong, but our doctor was incredible. Swiftly with precision, she cut the cord in the proper places and delivered the baby to my wife.
I will never forget the look she had on her face when she first held him. It was one of disbelief, joy, and relief that the gift she had been waiting for had finally arrived. I could not have been prouder. When the doctor handed over the 7 pound 1 ounce little guy, my heart fucking melted. No, seriously. Listening to his weak cries, I sobbed even more than him. My heart was filled and I saw in Baby Joey the hope of the new world.
There is nothing more beautiful than the innocence of our children. My love had not only grown for my own family, but for all families. My heart instantly ached for parents who have had complications, missing children, and even the biggest fear, death. I truly do not believe God puts that much love into our hearts only to be taken away. I don't know how to describe it.
With the birth of Baby Joey, I knew I was a better person....
No comments:
Post a Comment