Five years ago today Megan entered our life. It was an amazing day, with amazing memories. These last 5 years have gone by as fast as everyone said they would. It’s been like holding on to sand… you try so hard but time slips away.

May 12th 2001, Kristen and I lived in a different universe altogether. On May 11th, we went out to eat with Bambi and Jason to an Indian Restaraunt. Kristen was 2 weeks overdue at that point and feeling quite uncomfortable. It was the last time we’d both go out as DINK’s.

Saturday morning I went to work at 4 just like normal. The morning was jovial but problematic. I remember working on a piece of equipment when the phone rang. I recognized the called ID and picked up. "Adam, my water broke."

As Kristen talked to me about how the water had broken I was left staring at my work. "How could I leave right now? This machine is in 100 pieces… I have to get it working before I go." I told Kristen I’d be home in 30 minutes.

I slapped all the bits of equipment together, pressed go and was amazed that the machine roared to life! As I flew out the door to my car I stopped only briefly to tell my employees where I was going.

My mind raced as I drove down the Eisenhower Expressway. I came home to find Kristen, relaxed and pain free. In classic form she was "almost ready" to go. She gathered the last few things and we headed to Northwestern Hospital in the heart of the city.

We checked in and got situated in our room. Kristen put on a very handsome gown and I took my position in the lounge chair. I put on music and we relaxed for a while. Afterall, it was barely 10:00 AM.

Hours went by. The pain increased and the drugs came. Our doctor was mostly absent and the nurses pretty much ran the show. I kept myself busy with trips to the first floor lobby where I could use my phone and with watching the monitors as all the other labors progressed on one computer screen.

Finally, things got serious and the pushing began. Maybe an hour or so later… out came Megan. (OK, it wasn’t as simple as I made it sound… but it’s a birthday story!) As the staff whisked her away to get cleaned up I looked at Kristen and told her how great it was to have Paul in our lives and how proud I was of her. That’s right, I said "Paul."

We didn’t know Megan was a girl right away. We’d had a few ultrasounds that very confidently told us we were having a boy. So the staff didn’t even announce "It’s a girl!" to us when she was born. It wasn’t for a few minutes… until I had the video camera out and had to triple check…

I went to Kristen and said "Our boy doesn’t have a peice" and that is how Kristen found out it was Megan and not Paul. (Paul came 26 months later)

The next hours were a blur of happiness. New grandparents came, phone calls were made, lots of pictures were taken, and mom fell asleep.

That first night Megan and I really bonded. I was absolutely wired and couldn’t imagine sleeping so soon after the baby was born. So while Kristen slept in the room I took Megan to the nursery and we just hung out. She stared at me and I stared at her. We talked, she slept, and I fell in love with her little hands, feet, eyes, and all the noises she made and things that she did. It was the beginning of a special relationship that will last the rest of my life. We can still look at each other like that.

Five years? Oh, the things she can do now. She has steadily changed from a little baby girl to my big girl to now… a kid who climbs stuff and has lots of friends and is learning how to ride a bike. As I think about this year and the 5 years to come I wonder about what she’ll be like at 10 years old. There are so many things I can’t wait to see… but like every other parent… I just want to hold on.

After hemming and hawing around the subject for a while I registered for 2 courses today. This summer I’ll be taking Leadership Movements in Youth Ministry and later in the fall I’ll be enrolled in Thinking Theologically in Youth Ministry.

Both are still with Huntington but are in their new Masters in Youth Ministry Leadership program. I’ve jumped ship on their more traditional coursework to hit this cutting edge method. The brilliance of it is that it incorporates the strength of Huntington’s program with the best professors on the undergraduate level who teach adjunctly in the graduate school. Also new for the second course is meeting at the National Youth Workers Convention. We’ll be spending two days in the classroom with the third day using the people at the convention as our labratory.