Life is worth living

Awe. Here comes the soft side. Look out, I'm about to get all mushy.

During the first couple of months of my daughters life I experienced almost every emotion a human can go through. I was happy, excited, hopeful, giddy and all of those 'good' emotions. Believe it or not, I also had a healthy dose of nervous, sad, worried, apprehensive and anxious.

It is hard to put into words the roller coaster that you go through from the time your wife tells you that she is pregnant to that precious moment that your first child takes her first breath. Personally, I was a wreck. I was happy to see her, but scared that I would do something wrong and let her down while raising her. I was hopeful for a long life of happiness with my small family, but I was nervous that we were in for a long tough road ahead.

The first few weeks of my daughters life were some of the most challenging I have faced in years. Finishing finals during my senior year of college was nothing compared to trying to calm and sooth a screaming baby with colic. It was a very nerve racking and trying time for both my wife and I. Yet from the challenge breaks a new dawn. Tonight I realized as I sat watching my wife spoon feed "big girl" food (banana flavored oatmeal) to my beautiful baby girl that we have become closer and more fulfilled as a family than ever before.

I am not proficient enough with words to describe how it feels to have that beautiful bundle of joy look at you and smile when you catch her attention. I now know why I was put on this earth, and I feel like now I have finally accomplished something that will make a difference in this world. When I am gone, my impact on this planet will continue on. Her happiness is worth all of the struggles I have ever faced, and at the same time makes my troubles seem so trivial.