None of these things existed until after Sydney was born:
- The Department of Homeland Security
- The XBox 360
- The Nintendo Wii
- Commercial 3G or 4G cellular networks
- The iPhone
- The final three Harry Potter books
- The Tea Party
These things were still true:
- Saddam Hussein and Bin Laden were both at large
- Michael Jackson was still very much alive
- Arnold had never been a governor
- Google didn’t own Youtube
- Pope John Paul II was still the head of the Catholic church
- Pluto was still a planet
- Gasoline was, on average, $1.61 a gallon
- Nobody knew who Justin Bieber was
As hard as it is for me to accept, my baby girl turns 11 years old today. When people say time flies, they aren’t kidding. I’ve watched a lot change as I’ve watched my little girl grow up – in my own life, the life of friends and family, and in the world in general.
As much as we’d like to try, we can’t promise our children a life free from difficulty, heartbreak, pain, or trauma. The best we can do is try to ground them in love, and give them the skills they need to build a great life of their own. I hope I’m doing that for my little girl.
I’ve been very privileged to get to be the father or not one, but two great kids. I’ve never been more proud of anything in my life than the two of them. Happy birthday darling – Love Daddy.