Last night I was listening to the Christian pop channel on Slacker Internet radio while feeding baby Shane, and this song brought tears to my eyes. Parenting has compelled me to slow down and appreciate the present moment, because that’s the only kind of time that my baby knows. Like the lilies of the field, he doesn’t worry about tomorrow, as far as I can tell. As for me, there’s so much I can’t control or foresee, from “when will he wake me up next” (predictably, sometime between 2-4 AM) to “what kind of person will he become” (our goal is “happy and not evil”). As the song says, love means savoring the mere fact of his existence, right here and now.
Even cows know
Newborn Calf
The farmer looks
with practiced eye
at the newborn calf
and assigns it
its future based
on genetics, gender,
on conformation,
even color –
its mother accepts
it without question,
licks it to a
soft shine and sings
her worried song,
amazed by its sheer presence.
A perfect response – thank you, Jack.