Dear B and B, here's to babbling profound

Dear B and B,

Your beauty astounds. Not just because I'm your daddy and think you're pretty and sweet, but because of your literal purity of ever-expanding thought and longing to explore and learn. That's tough to maintain as you get older, and yet still very possible to do. You probably won't understand most of what I'm talking about at this point, but soon enough you will, like waking one day and reflecting back on all that's come before, what lies ahead and what makes today.

You'll also learn soon enough that daddy likes to babble profound, and I'm sure you'll continually remind me of that someday.

In the meantime, know that you have an amazing mother and grandmother who take care of you and I'm so thankful for them. I'm also happy I've been able to work from home and help when I can. In fact, if I can instill anything in the both of you during these early years of life, it's for you to continually explore, learn, ask questions, empathize without compromise and always encourage your fellow "brothers and sisters" to be the best that they can be, because that in turn will inspire you to do the same, creating reciprocal motivation to truly make this world a better place.

There will be those who scoff at this kind of positive idealism, and you will yourself at times. You will learn that this is how your daddy ticks, how his hopeful outlook comes from knowing heroes abound -- we're the heroes who save one another every day in single moments -- incremental yet transformative interactions where we share relevant information that is absorbed, adopted and applied in new contexts that propels each other forward.

And so it goes. This is the beauty of learning and growing and how everyday heroes are born. Each of us offering ideas that continue to build on one another, creating bodies of work that are similar to the formation of rock over a geological span of time. We can see the layers of growth and progress in one another, because of one another, where a better world emerges from the layers below -- generating a new level of wonder and wisdom.

The beauty astounds and it's what makes it all worthwhile.

You are my heroes. Here's to babbling profound.

I Love You,
Daddy

It's Your Birthday, Baby, So Let's Dance

Sometimes spontaneity sputters and burns with the white hot flame of a mindfully present love.

And those can be the best of times.

It's not a indictment on what doesn't happen day after day in a long-term relationship, complete with kids. The Mama and I love each other no matter what and through it all -- whatever "no matter what" and "it all" bring. The girls are our world and we wouldn't have it any other way.

The "romance" may not be as regular as in olden days before children (which was years in the making), but there is romance, alive and well, usually semi-scheduled but always enjoyable. (You big kids with kids know what I mean.)

And then there's the spontaneity, so precious and memorable that even the seemingly simplest of actions light up the memory centers of head and heart.

We took the Mama's mom out for her birthday a few weeks ago just before Valentine's Day, and one of the first stops we made was at a local winery. In the middle of our tasting, a mixed gender barbershop quartet appeared and entertained all us tasters with some classic a capella. Then they fired up some sweet 1950's doo-wop and that's what sparked the white flame.

The Mama called me out from the bar and we danced a little swing and a little traditional hustle, at least the moves we remember from our dance lessons years ago.

But remember them we did. Dancing with her in that moment was delightful, just as it was the day I married her, when we actually made up our own dance, years before the lessons.

Who says that an old married couple with kids can't cut a rug? We don't, and neither do our girls. We've got a colorful disco ball in the living that we light up for B-hive dance parties, birthdays and other special family occasions.

It's your birthday, Baby, so let's dance.

"I wanna with rock you, yeah, all night..."