I want to be the reason you have children

I want to be the reason you have kids.

I want to be the reason you think it is great to bring a life to this world.

I want you to feel safe to have a daughter because you know there will be guys like me who will know to treat her right.

I want you to be comfortable to have a son because he will have a good role model to guide him straight

I want you to have children because they will always have someone avuncular who will look out for them.

I want to be the right kind of friend, the kind who inspires trust and faith.

Who throws the right kind of party where you met that special someone,

The friend who is never shy of innuendos and double entendres.

Who keeps pouring until your cup runs over and the two of you is forever drunk with love.

I want to be the glue- the kind you can count on when your handle on things is broken, 

And life becomes unhinged. 

I want to remind you of what is important - your family, and your loved ones, 

Oh, and most importantly to have fun.  

I want to be the reason you can trust the world will be a good place for you children.

Because you know they will have a friend- just like me, 

And they will become themselves great friends.

I want all of us to be the reason every one of us wants to have children.   

Screening at the NICU

I walked into the quiet room.  Quiet, save for the constant drone of machines running to sustain a miracle.  Quiet, save for the occasional chirp of monitors tracking the vitals of a budding life.  Quiet.  

Beyond the thresholds, outside this room, the hospital is a bustling place, charged with latent energy of people going about working wonders, fighting the odds.  Yet, here, in this room, amidst all the chaos, the crisscrosses of electrodes and tubes, lay a newborn asleep in his bassinet, unaware, unconcerned.  Here he lies, in the deep boneless, relaxed sleep reserved solely for the uninitiated, the pure and innocent. 

His mother stood above him, looking very much the survivor of the storm that has passed, wearied but relieved.  His nurse sat nearby, a silent, vigilant sentinel.  Guardian angels, the two of them, if ever there were such things, for few can exude the same tranquility and serenity.  Few altars, temples, or dedicated places of worship have heard more prayers and bear witness to miracles than what has occurred here, in this tiny acreage.  The room feels sacred; sanctified by love, hope, belief, and determination to do what is within one's power.      

It is into this tranquil corner I intrude my presence. My goal to establish that this infant can hear more than just the silence.  But before I do, I take in the moment.  

Post-script:

Ironic that in order to see if one can hear silence, we must first make some noise and see if we can elicit a reaction.  Similarly, presence of faith can only be determined in the presence of trials and tribulations; joy and love in harsh times.   

Post-post script:

Baby passed bilaterally

Thoughts on prayer

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  God hears and He listens. How can He not when we claim Him to be the omnipotent and omnipresent being that He is.

  
  

  And He answers, often in the most unconventional ways.

  
  

  When you pray, pray not upon your worries, your woes, or your insecurities.

  
  

  He knows all of that

  
  

  Instead, pray with thansgiving for the small things in life.

  
  

  Pray for the ability to be open to experience

  
  

  Pray for His strength, and for your ability to surrender yourself to Him.

  
  

  Pray for the ability to breath, to take a step back, and to acknowledge His works in the midst of all that you do, seek, and speak. Pray that you will bid Him enter.

  
  

  Make your prayers be a moment to find safe haven; to acknowledge that yes life is crappy, but here you are, and here He abides.

  Pray, and recognized that He has given you the necessities to survive and forebear.

  
  

  Pray that you will be ever ready to welcome every moment that G-d may speak, for He does, in little acts and stolen moments, in the random hello of a friend to the smile of a stranger.  

  Sometimes, you will have to initiate and invite His presence to you by extending it to others through your smile, your kind words, and your compassionate acts. Pray that you are able.

  
  

  Give thanks, for you are pursuing something noble each and every moment. Give thanks for while you struggle, others would wish to be in your shoes.

  
  

  Rejoice in the mysteries, be glad for you have options as obscure they may be to you.

  
  

  Pray that your imagination will be great and extends beyond the here and now.

  Just pray, never stop, and always remember others pray for you. And when all has been said and done, give thanks for this sacred moment.