I had a close friend visit me (S.) over the weekend and on Sunday before he went home, we went hiking for the better part of the day. We hiked up and sat on red sand stone mountains which require scrambling to achieve any significant height. We sat on the rocks talking and enjoying the silence around us. Out in the desert the silence is true. A large raven flew over us and we could hear the beat of the wings. Eventually a man and what looked like his six or seven year old daughter were heading down a steep trail into the canyon below us. We could hear the man explaining the different geology, desert plants, and how to maneuver down such a steep path. The girl was continuously picking up rocks and anything else she found interesting on the ground. I watched the entire scene and the reality that I will be having a daughter filled me. For the first time in my life I wanted to be alive for something other than myself. The thought of, for whatever reason, not raising my daughter devastated me. Watching the man and the little girl was both enlightening in the fact that I hope to have the opportunity to show my daughter similar things and devastating in that life is so fragile and everyday is truly up to God, chance, error, etc.
I have been thinking about the kind of community that we are going to raise our daughter in. More on this topic another day.
2 comments:
Oh that is the sweetest thing I have ever read it made me get goose bumbs. Having children turns you into someone that you would have never thought you could be its amazing!! I am so happy for you both. I can't wait to meet her :)
Isnt that the greatest feeling? That is so sweet, but dont think for a minute that was by chance, I believe you were to see that man with his little girl, with your close friend, on that same path, with the raven and the blue skies, all for a reason, which you now know. You will get many more as you see not through your own eyes any more, but through a fathers eyes. Love Mom
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