One giant leap...

Beautiful isn't it? That picture will get some context later on. Here's another:

I'm a dad now. It's still strange to say. I look into the living room and my daughter sleeps peacefully. I find myself pacing the living room at four in the morning, without a complaint in my mind because my daughter is falling asleep with her head on my shoulder (Alisha may point out that I don't do that multiple times every night. Of course, even though Alisha does, she is more cheerful when Naomi wakes her in the middle of the night than if I wake her up in the middle of the night - something I learned early on never to attempt).

There's something about being a dad that I can't put in words. So enjoy this parable (I won't be offended if you just look at the pictures):

I remember when I was in middle school that I had a plan to be the first man on Mars. I knew exactly what I needed to do - letter in sports throughout high school, get good grades, go to the Air Force Academy, and become an astronaut. I talked to someone from church who had gone to the Air Force Academy. I looked up all the info on becoming an astronaut I could find on the internet. I would read about Mars every day and thought about it all the time. I have a notebook where I laid out all the things I needed to accomplish to achieve my dream. I distinctly remember planning what I would say as I set foot on the surface of Mars while I was in the shower.

I planned on looking a little less goofy.

Then one night as I lay in bed, waiting for sleep, I was thinking about the fact that it would take at least six months for the ship to get from Earth to Mars. One year for Mars to return to the right spot in its orbit to send the astronauts back. Six months to return to Earth. That would mean two years away from my wife and children. And the dream was eclipsed by another.

You may think I'm exaggerating a little, but just ask Alisha. My dad told her that story the first time he met her (parents are obligated to embarrass children, aren't they?). And when I heard James Lovell speak about the first time he saw earth rise over the moon, I cried. I'd given up something wonderful.

I've waited for Naomi for a long time. I may never enter space and witness that earth-rise, but I have held my daughter in my arms. I'll take that over Mars any day.