Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Note for a dad

I am a gay, true blue Mormon man who is married to a woman. I am also a grandpa - six times over as of yesterday. I can't spell the name of the new child and I was a little embarrassed to ask or I would post it here. It's something like "Kalooa" or "Kayleagha" -- something similar. I have given up on any of the kids naming their children after me. 

Calvin-ella? Anyone?


Being in the hospital was such a nice moment for my wife and me. And it was good to be there under pleasant circumstances -- a nice contrast to the last several months -- without going into a lot of detail.

As the baby was passed around the room I imagined other babies who had gone through the hospital and wondered about their situations - who and what their parents were and what trouble or comfort each baby would be going home to.

I thought about my friends who have been recently married due to the new rulings who are waiting for a child, and about my ward members who are struggling financially even without a new baby. I thought about my own Mormon parents who had 11 children and reared them with varying degrees of success, and a friend I know who adopted two children and is rearing them single handed-ly. What a terrific mother she is.

My daughter doesn’t have a home and lives with us -- not an ideal situation. However, her situation is still better than someone I know at work who is homeless, partner-less and insurance less. And even these people with no money feel blessed to have a brand new person to take care of and love.

I may need to be involved a little more with the day to day hands on bring up baby more with this child than I have with my other grandchildren, and that is OK. I have a few resources that the baby’s mother doesn’t. While it may or may not take a village to raise this child, it will take a few more than it regularly does, and I am grateful to be counted with that number.