Math of life: Change = Constant

"Nobody said it was easy." -Coldplay, The Scientist

     Henry is wonder, awe, laughter, joy, and hope incarnate.  He can make me laugh by peeing on me, and make me cry with out doing a thing.  The smallest thought about anything happening to him makes my throat close and my stomach drop.  A person does change a bit when they become a parent.  Maybe more than a bit, maybe each of us can change a lot.  I think differently about riding my bike, about driving my car, and about working with students.  Your children give you a new unique perspective that you can't get from climbing a mountain or running a race.

    Abbie and I have a friend from church who is a great musician and has his own window washing business.  Luke is self-employed and uninsured.   He has a wife and a daughter.  This past week he fell off a roof and fractured many vertebrae.  The community around him have banded together to help with money, food, baby siting, and many other things.  After surgery and a week of PT he is starting to walk.  

Pray for Luke.  And if you know someone in his position, help them in a practical way.

Show love, don't just feel it.  

     Abbie and I have a friend who is the embodiment of rad.  He is all things rad.  Chris has a bright smile, a welcoming heart, and a passionate spirit.  He is loved by many friends and family.  The beginning of this year Chris died.  He died by living his passion and doing exactly what he loved.  Am a fortunate to know Chris' parents and sisters.  I lived with Chris' parents, Bill and Wendy, one summer while taking a summer class in the Bay Area.  Bill and Wendy are some of the most compassionate and generous people I know.  I love them and respect them a great deal.  It was heart breaking to see Bill at Chris' memorial.  To see a father who has lost his son...his only son, was a painful sight.  I saw a piece of myself in his sorrow.  I  have never walked Bill's journey, and I am fearful to even think about having to walk that journey.  But, I can see the piece of me in Bill because I am afraid of the path.

Bill is an amazing man.  An amazing father.  I hope I am a fraction of the father he is for his children.  

Remember your friends and those who follow their passion.  It is good to shed a tear to remember a great person.

"Lord have mercy on my rough and rowdy ways."  -The Head and the Heart, Down in the Valley
-CB

Henry

"It's a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll."  -AC/DC

I am sure everyone has been waiting a long time for our next post.   The waiting is over.
Henry Austin Brown was born on April 30th, 2012 @ 9:03 am.  Abbie was amazing during labor (I will let her tell that story).  She was strong, focused, and committed to the process.  I feel thankful and awestruck to have her as a partner in life.

Fact #1: Henry has already been deemed a: writer, a hockey player, a linebacker, and a piano player.

Fact #2: All his long sleeve shirts are too short for his arms, which is also a problem I have...go figure.

Fact #3: Pre-birth, a friend from work told Abbie and I we should name the baby 'Hash.'  Hash Brown.  

Fact #4: Henry gets the hiccups about 4 times a day.  Normal?  Maybe.  It is for him.