Happy Birthday, Son!

Our first-born son entered the world 15 years ago tonight. It's hard to imagine our lives without his sweet smile, his quick wit and his kind heart. His first few weeks in this world were not easy; he was born with a seizure disorder and had to be rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit after he stopped breathing. More than once while he was in my arms his very first day.


We couldn't send him to day care because he needed someone to watch him one-on-one. So we hired an older woman who had raised six children of her own and we had her trained in CPR. I would come home from my newspaper job at lunch time to nurse him. He weaned off his phenobarbital at 18 months.

Such a scary start to our family life. We prayed and prayed that he would be healthy and whole. And he is. He has grown to be a wonderful young man. He cooks beautiful meals. He plays the upright bass. He's a bike mechanic and a new cyclocross racer.  He's a trusty-worthy friend, a loyal brother and a good son.

His birthday is inexorably linked to the day before - the day before he turned five and almost lost his daddy. The experience gave him an early understanding of what tragedy is. It's also given him a soulful heart. 

We look forward to witnessing the blessings God has in store for our teenaged blessing. Happy birthday, Gabriel John!