Aurel's laurels

Picture of the minute, in case you missed it

When my oldest was born, I held him before his mother did. He was serenely calm until a nurse jabbed his head for some doubtfully useful inoculative purpose. I've written this here before, but I held him in my hands and showered him in my tears of joy. That was twenty five years ago. I would probably not tell him, but now he still fills me with the same love and happiness as he did then. Yesterday I saw a film about a man whose daughter dies and I cried at the thought of what I would feel if any of my precious progeny died before I do. Also, a subtext of the film is about how we feel about having children, or about not having children. I was forty before I met a woman who wanted to have my children and I had given up hope of having them. Not having them did not make me unhappy. In fact, at about that time I wrote that it was better to be un-married wishing I was than married wishing I wasn't. Well, now I am married and very glad I am. I would love my wife to see this on Valentine's day, but she won't. I will have to find some other way to express it to her.