Week of October 8 - What's Up!?!?

LOL.. well these days, most likely Emily's little bottom while she is asleep in her crib is what's up! Over the last couple weeks, Emily has begun taking to a bottoms-up fetal sleeping position when sleeping at night. She seems really comfortable and all, but I find it impossible to resist re-positioning her and putting her blanket back over her when I check on her in the evening. And then there is that whole little "drool-puddle" thing on the mattress when she sleeps like that. Oh well, I'll get over it I guess :)

This weekend, we traveled up to the north bay to visit some of Nancy's old college gang. Emily had not yet met one of Nancy's old college buddies, Auntie Brooke, so it was a great chance to meet new faces, and see new sites. Below is a lovely photo of Emily sitting with her Auntie Brooke. All in all, Emily enjoyed the outing and refused to crash for her afternoon nap until we finally packed up and hit the road, at which point she passed out in her carseat in less then two minutes flat.


My wife teases me about my blog writing sometimes, asking me when I am going to cut back to posting every two weeks or so. See, she thinks that I will run out of things to talk about. My wife is a silly goose though, because there is no way I'm ever going to run out of fun and interesting things to write about where Emily is concerned!! I mean, how could I, really?? Heh, just this morning, as I was introducing Emily to some new toys (stuff with buttons, that makes sounds and all), she and I were having an absolute fun-fest. I would load in the batteries, then power up the toys, and show Emily how to play with them, then she would giggle and laugh and start punching buttons. We would both laugh and then I'd go get another one and get it up and running. See, for me, every single moment with Emily is an adventure, and there is sooo much to observe and enjoy together with her. Being a natural writer, I have an endless supply of things to write and share, not to mention all the wear and tear on the camera for all the "Kodak moments".

This next photo by the way is classic Emily. One of her daily rituals is to gank her toy box in the family room and begin taking everything out one by one, playing as she goes. And I get the biggest kick out of her pulling things out, playing with them, and often tossing them back into the toy box later when she is bored with them. That said however, more often it will be wall to wall toys scattered across the floor by the end of the day. Being basically a kid at heart myself, I enjoy playing with Emily as much as she does, so in a way I guess we are both ganking the toy box :)


A friend asked me this weekend, what will my next spiritual journey be in life. He was asking because he has known me for a while now and knows that I am very much a spiritual person, albeit more along the lines of Zen or Tao traditions then most, and almost always on a journey. I laughed for a moment when he asked me, as I told him that Emily is in fact my next spiritual journey. "How do you mean?" he asked.

I briefly explained that as I waited until later in life for my first child, for me I very much saw my life with Emily to be the next great journey for me and that it would indeed be a spiritual one. See Emily is a unique human being (as we all our). I feel very strongly that a multitude of otherwise apparently random events in life had to come together in perfect order for Emily and I to meet. There is a reason why we came together as father and daughter. It is my destiny to be her father, and her destiny to be my daughter. Together in life, we will explore and grow with one another. I will be a very important part of her life as she grows up, and she in turn will be a very important part of my life. Connection to Emily represents a journey of Heart and Spirit that only she can provide me. I look so very much forward to all the small moments in life as she grows up, and sharing those moments with her. I look forward to being her father and friend, there to guide and protect her as she explores her world and grows-up to be a fulfilled adult on our planet. I don't know her destiny in life, but I look forward to seeing it unfold and being there with her. I DO know that I am an important part of it, and that it was meant to be that way.

Emily will grow up, become a fulfilled person, and follow a path in life that her heart and spirit leads her to take. I will play a small, yet important part in her path. She may be destined to make important changes in this world, or she may be destined to lead a quiet and fulfilled life behind the rush of the world. What I do know is that whatever her destiny may be, it is my spiritual journey to be a part of Emily's path in life. I feel very very good about that.

See, there is an often "overworked" (at least here in the west, where we rarely understand the true menaning) metaphor (actually a tradition) in China, called the "Red Thread". Most parents of adopted babies from China are aware of it. What it really means is that people are born on earth and are destined to be connected to others in significant ways. Each such connection is called a Red Thread. Is it fate? Is it destiny? Is it divine cause or will? It actually does not matter. What matters is that it IS.

Emily and I share a Red Thread in this life, and that is a good thing :)