The Seedling

Sometimes when I look at baby pictures I think of them as the seed for the adults that grew out of them.

Those tiny fingers reaching out with perfection, the little wizened heads lying helpless on their father's laps, miniature feet outlined in sleepers that cover diapered bottoms and round little tummies.

It isn't always easy to see who that child will be one day, but it is amazing when you look back and already know.

And when I look at the man holding this child? I see a young man in his prime doing the best he knows how with the tiny new life right there in his hands. His eyes are closed. He appears to be asleep and I wonder if he is dreaming of his son and the man he might some day become.

This is a picture of the best there is. A mirror, reflecting on a love that goes both backwards and forwards, generation after generation, being handed down, right before my eyes.

A simple scene, but I am used to seeing mothers like this so seeing a father in such a tender and committed act touches me deeply.