The Family Walk

An actual dream come true.

When we were on the adoption wait list, every once in a while we allowed ourselves to dream.  To dream what life would be like once we had our baby.  Sometimes it was just too painful and we forced ourselves to stay present in the moment, but at other times we couldn't help but think of the things that we were most excited about. And one of those things was always the family walk.  Any time Carla and I took our dog, Frankie, on a walk while we were waiting to adopt, we always talked about how wonderful it was going to be when these family walks included a baby.

And then it happened.  Chicago has been taking an extra long time to warm into Spring.  Just when we think we might be there, we get another day of below freezing temperatures.  However, on Thursday we had our first day of above fifty degree weather.  We had our second post-adoption visit scheduled with our adoption counselor in the evening, but we desperately wanted to squeeze in a walk. So as soon as Carla got home from work, we bundled up the baby and suited up the pup and we were on our way.

You know, one of the things that I am learning is that some of the things that you dream about in parenting turn out to be no where near as delightful and wonderful as you think they are going to be.  For example, a family holiday seems like this amazing time to spend with a baby, until the baby gets totally overwhelmed and overtired and just wants to go home and go to sleep.  But other things, well, they far surpass anything you ever dreamt them to be.  That's how the walk was.

It was this image that we had in our minds for so long and we were actually seeing it come to life right in front of us and it was simply magical.  I know, it's just a walk, but it still managed to be one of the absolute best moments thus far in my life.  It is rare in life to realize a dream.  It is rare to want something so badly, for so long, and then find yourself getting exactly what you wanted in the exact way you wanted to get it.  And all of that was wrapped up in this one wonderful family walk.