Proud Parents

Parents are a proud people. Proud that their child scored a soccer goal. Proud they can read a chapter book. Proud they can write their name. So being a teacher with no biological kids, I was a bit over all this pride. Sure I can see the pride in your child writing their name, but some of that stuff seemed over the top... until November 6th. That's the day we became proud parents like millions of others. We, Pat and I, gush at everything that Mason does. We have been proud of every ounce he has gained. Grinned from ear to ear when he started drinking from a bottle. Ecstatic when he had normal urine output. Thrilled when the feeding tube was removed. I could go on. We could not be prouder! Pat was beaming when he realized Mason could follow him with his eyes. And you should have seen us when he began trying to hold his head up. We keep talking about the "big" milestones and how excited we are going to be when he hits them. We can't wait for him to hold his bottle or crawl or hug us. But these things are small potatoes compared to the pride kids can truly bring. He's going to start school one day and graduate and go to college. What pride we will have for those accomplishments. However, he's only three months. So right now we have a new moment of pride we're waiting for. Sleeping for more than three hours. That's gonna be the proudest we've been thus far.