Dear
Sarah,
It
was ten years ago today
When
you came into this world
By
now your heart has been beating
For
more than 300 million times
In
as many seconds
It
is a remarkable blessing
But
I am sure you have grown
To
be able to solve this math quiz
You
came to be a heavy weight
Weighing
a hefty 9 pounds and 12.5 ounces
Chubby
for a 21-inch long baby
Surpassing
one hundred some newborns
In
the previous two weeks
And
probably many more
In
the days following your birth
At
St. Peter’s Hospital where you landed
Two
amazing things are
Mom
did not get any anesthesia
To
allay her pain of late-stage dilation
And
You
slid through
The
birth canal
Unscathed
My
heartfelt salutation to two heroines
Mom
and daughter
Fearing
momentous history of parenthood might be lost
I
recorded copious amount of videotapes
From
your arrival in the delivery room
To
your suckling of milk and thumb
To
your bathing in a baby tub
To
your sleeping in the crib
To
your diaper changing
To
your sitting upright
To
your crawling
To
your walking
To
your running
Yes
You
have become
A
lanky and slender
Medal-winning
runner
You
were understandably jealous though
When
your siblings came
You
once challenged me
Which
child I loved the most
I
said politically correctly and wishfully
I
loved all three of you
You
were not convinced of my answer
Until
I replayed those videotapes
(So
glad that I recorded them)
But
you still said a famous line
“Daddy,
you just love us
But
you love Stephanie very, very, very much”
May
I ask?
When
did you learn to pile up adjectives like that?
I
know that you love your siblings
You
three have become best friends
I
understand your pain of sympathy
When
a crying Stephanie had to endure
Uncomfortable
restraint from her dentist
To
have a pair of teeth cavity filled recently
Still
remember the days?
When
you enjoyed being pulled around
By
sitting in a paper box
Still
recall your promise?
When
three of us were vacationing in Bermuda
You
felt very privileged to be the firstborn
And
solemnly vowed to love your brother more
Who
was left at home with the grandparents
You
are indeed fulfilling your vow
You
are a first class organizer
Chaos
does not stand long before you
Order
will be restored quickly by your able hands
Thank
you for taking up so much house chore
Be
it floor sweeping
Birdcage
and fish tank cleaning
Clothes
sorting and folding
You
name it
In
a blink of an eye
Items
are often disappeared
From
where we conveniently put
But
now we know fully well
Which
miracle worker in our house
Is
behind things missing in action
I
am most grateful
You
are a professing Christian
You
know your faith well
Caring
about those who are not saved
And
anticipating the Lord’s imminent coming
Remember
what you often say?
“If
Jesus does not come back yet”
Whenever
I ask you to envision this or that for your life
I
just love your conditional clause
Your
faith-driven way of thinking
I
must confess that my love to you
Has
not been without regret and guilt
I
wish I could relive your childhood with you
Just
one more time
To
make up my deficiency of love
To
undo the wrong words and deeds
But
the Lord is gracious
By
giving Stephanie to us
Who
looks so much like you
In
all apparent physical attributes
As
if on her I can make up
My
loss of love on you
Perhaps
you were right after all
Shouldn’t
we thank the Lord?
For
this disproportionate love
I
am sure you will not mind this anymore
I
vow to love you all the more maturely
As
you quickly grow into your teen years
Our
growth portfolio consists of three parts
Sarah
Lee
Samuel
David
Stephanie
Joy
I
count on bullish gains for all three
In
the years to come
In
a bearish land of child-rearing
Very,
very, very affectionately yours,
Daddy
(Composed
on Aug.15, 2001)