During our trip home for Christmas, Tracy and I made a “surprise” announcement to our families: We’re going to have a baby. It wasn’t a surprise to us, we had been making arrangements for over a year planning next steps, squaring insurance away, being more diligent about getting out of debt; yet we wanted to make this secret we had been holding onto for nearly 12 weeks as special as possible for our parents. (They’ve been waiting nearly 10 years for this moment–even giving up hope that it would ever happen*.)
Now that word is out, now that everyone knows our little secret, it’s still a little bit surreal. I thought that letting everyone in would make it feel more real, would make it feel like a reality, but it hasn’t. It’s still hard to believe that this is actually happening, yet July 16th (the projected due date) is quickly approaching.
I’m a pretty big ball of garbled emotion and scattered thoughts. I’m filled with a mix of excitement and joy, gratitude and exuberance, fear and trepidation, even unworthiness slipping in there every now and again… all of which stem from different stories and experiences that have been a part of my life these 30+ years.
I’ve been told a time or two** that having a child changes everything–and not just your sleep schedule or life rhythm but how you view the world, how you view life, how you view your own life, how you view God. I’m looking forward to these things, to seeing the world in a different light, to seeing the world through the eyes of a child, to experiencing firsts all over again, and to exude the same sorts of pride over my own child that my parents have over me.
I’m looking forward to joining the “daddy club” and it looks like I’ve only got a few short months to get ready…
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* I think we succeeded… especially when my mom reacted like a contestant on the Price is Right, darting up from her seat once she realized what was happening and dancing in circles chanting, “I’m going to be a grandma!” over and over… it’s one of those moments you wish you had on video.
** More like a hundred… parents seem to really like telling you these things: how terrible the sleepless nights are, the joys of a colicky baby, the frustrations of discipline–and how for a limited time only you too can join the club! It’s a terrible sales pitch by the way… we should probably re-think that one… but I too will probably join the ranks at some point and perpetuate this procreational pitch.
Well, it’s here and along with it a slew of new hopes and dreams, ideas for change and desires for something different or better… so, here’s to 2012 and new possibilities.
On Sunday morning shortly before the end of our 11a Gathering many in our community witnessed an incomprehensible tragedy. A security guard in the neighborhood was struck by an outbound 14 bus and pinned underneath directly across the street from the Chronicle building (where IKON Gathers weekly).
I can’t begin to tell you how unbelievably proud I was of our community’s instantaneous response. Kris Wilkow, Mabi Knittel, Michael Connolloy and Deborah Ramsgard (two first responders and two nurses) sprinted out the door and underneath the bus to check his vitals, to pray with him, and to keep him calm until the Fire Department arrived. Caleb Bowers ran down the street and directed traffic while several others worked to care for some of the witnesses and the MUNI driver, Kari Hayden led a prayer inside the Chronicle building for the man and his family. It was an amazing response of love and courage in the face of such a horrific incident.
That evening I received word that the man died from his injuries at the hospital late in the afternoon. Please be in prayer for his family, for comfort and peace. Be in prayer for the MUNI driver and the witnesses who experienced something horrific today. And please be in prayer for those within our community who were with the man underneath the bus as they begin to process the events of that morning.
There are several who have expressed a desire to reach out to the family of this man and provide them with support. Although the hospital has released his name, the family has expressed a desire for privacy and space as they grieve and wrestle through what is next. If down the road they desire any help, we have a team of people who are ready to care and support the family in whatever ways they need.
I am extremely proud of how our community rushed into action so quickly. I love our boldness and our eagerness to rush in and make a difference. Despite the difficulty of this mornings events, I am proud of you.
Seth Godin sits down for a short conversation with Dan Cathy, the CEO of Chick-fil-A to talk about writing, leadership, and what lies at the core of success.
Perhaps my favorite Godin-isms from this short video were:
* “Success isn’t doing what other people think you’re supposed to do.”
* “Success is doing work you’re proud of and having a reputation that you’re proud of.”
I love how so much of what Godin says is simple, not necessarily profound, but mainly “duh” statements–things you know to be true deep down but have somehow forgotten about or walked away from as more and more experiences and realities get piled on. It’s nice to have his simple truths cut through all that junk and remind you of what truly is important.
What was something that really stood out to you in this video?
Vacation violently thrusts you out of the everyday rhythm and routine, providing you with ample opportunity to rest… if you seize the moment. In our nine years of marriage, Tracy and I have only been on two extended vacations. (This one now in Hawaii being our second). We’ve attempted the three-day weekends in the hopes that they would provide us with some rest, allowing us to re-engage our worlds in a healthy and fresh way. What we found was that although those three-day excursions were a great start, they didn’t complete the process of getting us out of our everyday rhythms and routines.
Seven days. That’s how long this trip has been and that’s how long last years trip was as well. It has usually taken us 3 days just to finally get everything out of our heads: the deadlines and events that are on the horizon, the projects and ideas we need to get started once we return, the list goes on and on. A three day vacation was just long enough to briefly clear our minds… not really rest. Seven days has been good, mainly because the last four days are truly filled with rest, relaxation, excitement, fun, and good conversation that have all been waiting to pounce from behind the busyness of our every day. Seven days.
Today is our last full day of vacation before catching our flight back to San Francisco tomorrow afternoon. I am looking forward to getting back, I am looking forward to what’s next… but I wish there was another 7 days just like the last four.
My friend Brian Moll, a pastor at Forefront Church in New York City recently visited us in San Francisco just before we left for vacation. He was entering into the second 7 days of a 14 day vacation with his family. I was astonished that he was taking two-weeks off consecutively. I couldn’t wrap my mind around how on earth that could actually be possible. He said they tried it for the first time last year with an RV trip and absolutely loved it. It was an opportunity for them as a family to connect in healthy ways, an opportunity for him to come back to NYC and Forefront in a completely refreshed state ready to tackle any challenge that would come his way. Two-weeks. That’s their new norm in the summer as a family for vacation.
Two weeks would definitely be a vacation that would violently thrust you out of your everyday rhythm and routine providing you with ample opportunity for rest. I’m not sure I can make that jump just yet, but sitting here on day six of a seven day vacation, I certainly long for another seven days like the last four.
Scala & Kolacny Brothers burst onto the musical scene with their cover of Radiohead’s “Creep”, which was used in the movie trailer to promote The Social Network. Their sound is exquisitely beautiful yet haunting, which makes a perfect soundtrack for a short story. The video below uses Scala & Kolancy Brothers cover of Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody” to narrate a truly heartbreaking story…
The weight of this story is heart-wrenching. I simply can’t wrap my mind nor my heart around what is taking place. To what level of despair would a couple have to get descend in their marriage for something like this to occur? Is there somehow some sense of beauty here? (I’m having a really hard time finding it if there is.) No matter what this video is a haunting parable of despair and love. Anyone have any thoughts?
Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires courage.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
