Where Has the Time Gone?! - Daily Ramblings

On this day, fourteen years ago, I was on a range, in the field, or humping from one place to another. I don't remember the details exactly. All I remember is that I was being trained on how to efficiently take a human life out of the world, when I got word that another life had entered this world: my son.

A week later, at the airport, I was able to hold my child for the first time. He was so small. I remember I feared breaking him somehow. As I sat there on the grimy plastic airport chair I remember feeling an instantaneous love. A love which was so intense, instant, and deep. A love which can only come from seeing your child for the first time. I would do anything for this fragile little boy.

Ten days later I would return to training, and then ultimately off to Iraq, unsure if I would ever return. After missing almost a year of his life I did return. The love I experienced when I first laid eyes on him was still there, now even deeper as my fragile little boy was now a plump healthy baby on the move.

I would come to leave him again for other deployments, or for other selfish reasons, but my love for him as never waned. Today as my son turns 14 my love for him has grown ever more deep, but my grip on him has grown ever more loose. My fragile baby is now a young man. A young man with his own unique personality and interests (which now include young women). A young man with a big heart which cares for others.

Son, as your ever growing freedom takes you further from home, know that my ever growing love for you is trying to keep up. I am proud of who you are and what you have become, and are becoming. It is an honor to be your dad.

Happy birthday, and I love you, son! Where has the time gone?