There are times when I am holding the little guy that I feel overwhelmed with love for him.  It’s an all-encompassing feeling that I get, that says that I just want to make sure he is OK, happy, and will have everything he needs in life.  It is a feeling that says I don’t want him to ever be hurt, have disappointment, witness cruelty or experience hardship.  It is a feeling of love, pure and simple – the feeling of being a father, I guess.  My wife feels it as well on a regular basis, and expresses those feelings when they come.  To me, it is similar, but it comes on suddenly, and makes me want to hug him and hold him tight, protect him, shield him from everything, let the tough stuff in life bounce off an impenetrable shield that I put over him.

Of course if I truly love him I will not try to shield him from those things, but I will instead teach him about them and how to live with them without letting those hard parts of life get him down.  Teach him to rise above it, to be above it, to overcome all obstacles.  Today the little guy crawled up (like an inchworm, he hasn’t learned that his arms can help him move more efficiently when he crawls) – he was eager to push and squirm his way across the sofa to the arm, while I safely guided him.  He reached it and struggled upward until he could see over the edge.  And there he sat on his knees, staring at the Hong Kong skyline in the distance.  Who knows what he actually saw out there, but I swear there was a spark in his eye to go out there and show the world who he is one day.  Of course, with the love of a child in my heart and in my eyes, I was cheering him on, “go get it, little guy, it’s all yours.” 😉