Happy Birthday!! (a little late)

Wow.

Well, it's been quite a while and then some since I've last updated the blog. I have, of course, a string of excuses, but at the end of the day it doesn't matter. I'm back now.

Since last we visited our intrepid explorer, then, much and much has transpired.

The biggest news, of course, is the news you might have anticipated.

(drumroll and fanfare. . .)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . We had the baby.

(And here, you have to imagine the super-deluxe-big-giant wahoo! that is only tempered by the fact that if I did that every time I thought of this simple, miraculous fact, people at work would get really annoyed.)

Well, G had the baby, I did the driving, and some cheerleading, and a fair amount of praying.

In early July 2003 we were blessed -- and there's really no other way to think of it, really -- with the most perfect wonderful beautiful baby girl. To say that I'm overjoyed would be to grossly understate the matter.

Stories to tell, stories to tell. And thoughts to think and so on. Much as I would happily indulge my desire to make this an "all about the baby" blog, I didn't start it with that in mind, and will try to avoid kvelling [fn1] too much.

[fn1:] kvell: Yiddish, meaning to beam with pride or enjoyment.

So anyway, though, she's pretty much perfect.

Just as I keep G's real name masked here, I'm not going to go blabbing my baby daughter's name, either. But I'll call her Rachel, sometimes R.

So, happy birthday, R. I hope -- I pray -- that I'll be a good enough father to you. I certainly think I love you enough.

Sorry this post is about nine months late. I've been a little busy staring at you with awe and wonder.

--FD