Of course the biggest news of this morning is that....freshly-squeezed orange juice tastes so much better than any store bought juice. Oh yeah, and Bush probably won. I liked George Bush from the start. But one day I had an epiphany. It was the day America bombed Baghdad. I suddenly realized that George Bush wasn't perfect. And my respect for the man went all downhill from there.


I read Silas Marner by George Eliot. Truly, a beautiful little novel. A friend gave it to me as a birthday gift last year, and it sat neglected upon my shelf until now. The main illumination I received from the book is that I can be father. Naturally, the news that I can physically produce offspring has been old news for some time. No, I'm talking about raising a child, teaching and caring for children. I've had this awed view of parenting for some time. People have children, and they have approximately 18-20 years at most to teach them everything. Parents mold a child into what they will be for the rest of their life. In each baby dwells the potential for good or evil, kindness or destruction, charity or sefishness.

I thought I wasn't ready to be a father. But no one can be ready. We're all in the same boat. You get married, and suddenly babies are created. How does a child prepare for being a parent? I know from observation that marriage and parenthood totally change people's priorities. Suddenly one isn't an independent entity. Suddenly one is part of a family.
And somehow people cope with these new changes, much like they cope with all changes in life.
We just do the best with what life brings along, and trust God to take care of everything.

When I become a father, I won't be ready, but I hope to embrace parenthood with joy and open arms. To change gracefully is one of the most beautiful actions available to mankind.