Son of Rendar

Last night I met Aiden James Dasho for the first time. He's amazing. Jim & Liz, Aiden's parents, aren't the first of my friends to have a child. But it's the first time a friend has had a child and I've been around and not living out of state or just "absent" in general.

A baby is a hard thing to comprehend, even when it's right there in front of you. To look at a newborn human and realize that you were once the same. Each of us started out as this small and fragile little package of potential. Maybe part of the reason it's so hard to comprehend is that we've forgotten. We've forgotten how much potential was once crammed into this small, breakable, bundle.

Babies look fragile but they're really not. Not as fragile as we think anyway. Most experienced Moms will tell you that babies really can take a beating... Ok, probably not in those words. Hopefully not in those words. But babies can and do bump their heads and just keep on moving. You wouldn't want to swing one by it's tail. (What? You didn't have a tail until you were two years old or so?) But they're built to survive.

The interesting thing about that, our images of the frailty of babies, is that we tend to view our adult selves as sturdy and tough. But, again, our view is skewed. We are actually much easier harmed than we expect or think. I think, emotionally, we are much less resilient and safe than we are as children.

Maybe it all evens out? Perhaps we're just as fragile, and resilient for that matter, at the age of forty as we are at the age of four. It would make sense. The same is true of the potential encased in who we are. The promise we are born with is a constant. No matter how much we use, it's never depleted. Sometimes we reach a point, or age, where we feel like we've done all we can or all we were meant to do. But we just need to nurse that possibility within us to be filled again with more potential than we had ever imagined. There's always a purpose available for our existence. Purpose, potential, promise... there's a reason we're here.

It was amazing to meet Aiden last night. I am so proud for my friends who have created this beautiful little baby so full of limitless potential, endless purpose and promise beyond hope.

Side Note: Sorry if this rambles a bit. For those keeping score, not being able to have a child because of the cancer diagnosis has been a fairly emotional issue for me. I am so excited for Aiden and his parents. They are a beautiful family and it filled my heart with joy last night to see them together.