Happy Birthday, Rachel!

I could never have imagined that we would be celebrating Rachel’s twenty-fifth birthday in Las Vegas, but that’s the reality of it. The six of us are having a wonderful time doing the best we can to fulfill Rachel’s birthday wishes (which are and always have been very reasonable). We started the day with Einstein Bros. bagels, found the Key Thrust trailhead in Red Rock Canyon, snacked on black bean dip with chips, and are getting ready to dine at Maggiano’s in the Fashion Show Mall. The excitement is building for the inauguration that will be incredibly meaningful in the context of Martin Luther King Day. There were hours of earnest conversation between Mary and me about what all it means to bring a child into this world of ours, and I have to say that I can’t imagine the unknowable Zeitgeist to have been any more perfect. The world truly is a better place for Rachel’s being part of it (and Rebecca, too, but this isn’t her birthday) and our greatest mistake would have been to thought we knew better and decided against. Rachel is the glorious union of prolife and prochoice because in truth they are one and the same. The great miracle I am blessed with as Rachel’s father is to watch with awe and wonder as she continues to grow in wisdom and in harmony with God and creation.