First Principles

…and it sure is tiny.

For all my faithful readers who don’t already know, my wife and I are expecting this little jelly bean to hatch sometime in early November.  It’s our first, and we couldn’t be more excited.

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When I first saw this image, it was on a live monitor at the doctor’s office.  It was a lot better than this, because you could see the heart beating.  And just at the end, he (for lack of a better pronoun) moved his head in a little squirm.

My reaction was to bubble out all kinds of laughter, in an expression of ultimate joy.  I still do when I think of it.  It’s a day I always imagined, but nothing in my imagination could do it justice.

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It’s amazing to think about all the promise and hope and inspiration contained in this cute little blob.  He’s an individual, with his own gifts and rights, just as all the rest of us have.  It’s crazy to think that I’m responsible for protecting all of that.  He is the future – and I’m responsible for what he inherits.

That’s a responsibility I’ve always felt.  It’s why I joined the military.  It’s why I made sure to marry the greatest woman in the world.  It’s why I do most of the things I do, really – in the hopes that I’ll leave a better world than I found.  But now those feelings aren’t so abstract.

Just very pixilated and small.  But growing.  🙂

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I am blessed, and always have been.  My life has been interesting and rich beyond measure.  I am surrounded by friends and family who love and support me.

But what’s unbelievable is how much hearing this little heartbeat last week added to all of that.

I can’t wait to experience the lifetime of joy and learning and love that I know I can only imagine right now.  And I thank God that I’m surrounded by so many wonderful people who will help us out along the way.