So my second-born son, who came into the world howling at the top of his lungs and stopped somewhere around his third birthday, just turned eight. Eight years ago on January 27th, it was the Monday after the Super Bowl. He was born at 35 weeks, surprising us all. I had no car seat, no diapers, nothing yet. No bag packed, no camera at the hospital, I was completely unprepared.

And that is how I have remained...unprepared for how much Michael would change me. Unprepared for how much I could love another child when I already had one. Was it possible to love another human being as much as the first child you have? I was unprepared for just how much so. I was unprepared to face three long, dark years of a child who could not and did not sleep. Unprepared for the utter elation I felt when we discovered Janis Nelson, who worked literal miracles with my little boy and taught him to cope with life on the outside.

I still feel unprepared to parent this little boy, who is so full of thought and depth and melancholy and hope and joy and love. How do you parent a child who teaches you on a daily basis? How do you point him in the direction of his heart, making sure not to squelch whatever it desires as you seek to correct and discipline him? I Am Unprepared. :)

Dear little Michael, I am so thankful that we did not give you away to the gypsies or drop you at the fussy farm when you were so little and vulnerable and when I didn't understand what your world was like. Thank you for being such an amazing little boy who brings me more joy than I ever could have possibly been prepared for. I love everything about you.