One year ago today...

...at about this moment, the sounds of Audrey's slowing heartbeat filled me with dread. The fetal heart rate monitor's speaker transmitted the sound of Audrey being strangled with every contraction by the umbilical cord that had wound itself around her neck.

Dr. Laura Da Vita, Cherie's OB, watched a moment longer, pursed her lips, and said, "Let's go to section."

Minutes later, wearing an ill-fitting pair of scrubs, with my Red Sox cap still on, I sat on a stool next to Cherie in the OR, stroking her head and praying to hear a scream, just one scream. When the doctors lifted Audrey into the air, she screamed her lungs out and kicked her way into this world with tiny, red legs. Those sights and sounds filled me with relief and joy of the most extreme kind.

One year later, I am still filled with that joy. Audrey inspires it every day. To the few of you on this blog who haven't yet experienced fatherhood, I wish it for you. It is a gift and challenge that beggars description. Happy Birthday, pumpkin. Mama and I love you more than you will ever know.