The 4th Bee

We were certain that this time we were having a boy.  But the same with the last one (Bella) we were shocked to hear it was going to be a baby girl.  Friends and Family said my face was filled with shock, disbelief, and terror as we cut into the cake to find out the sex.  But what they didn’t see were my true emotions.  The fact is I was raised in a family with four boys and no girls.  We weren’t  even allowed to have girls in the house.  Now I’m supposed to raise two girls and live with three.  Thoughts of childhood memories wanting to relive on the football field and baseball diamond fade. They are now replaced with the unknown dance team, softball, and volleyball or whatever girls sports they play these days.  I don’t even know the first thing about these things. So that might explain the shock on my face.  The terror probably comes into play because I thought for sure the powers that be would know if something happens to me in my job I will need someone to take care of my girls.. Not to mention men are not meant to handle the stress of two daughters let alone one.  Finally, we  come to the disbelief.. this one is the tricky one.  Ive learned that no matter how many times you will something to actually happen or actually believe its going to happen it doesn’t. Life can only be cherished for what you are blessed with not with what you want.  Thats not to say you can’t work hard for something you want to accomplish.  Just that the path of the unknown can be the best path even though you didn’t know it.  That being said you learn that the real blessing is the one that is often asked or said second in conversation and that is the health of the baby.  We are very fortunate to have two healthy beautiful children and will cherish that more than anything.  We welcome Olivia Lucile Bova into our family with open arms. She has already made us laugh, cry, smile and lose sleep staring at each other.  What more can you ask for?….. Nothing really….

 

 

 

Kansas City 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb

The adrenaline has subsided a little as a month since has passed. My wife and I had so many emotions pass through our heads it is utterly impossible to explain. Nothing has been so rewarding, challenging or exciting at the same time that we have ever experienced. So many thoughts of next year pass through our minds, how to improve or new things to add.  We can’t thank those enough who helped us make this possible.  I don’t think I wanted to be a part of anything as much as I did this.  We reached our goal of 343 participants the number of firefighters that died on 9-11-2001.  That was a good feeling.  “If its not hard its not worth fighting for” kept us going. Believing that we were doing the right thing everyday kept our hearts and minds at peace.  Little Bella was a trooper, she stood by awaiting the little time we had to see each other during the 5 months we spent preparing. I can never replace the time we lost playing, reading, and just spending time together. I just hope some day she will understand why this is important to “Never Forget” and know that mommy and daddy we a part of something special.