Allison, My Aim Is True

[August 8, 2007] After seeing my newborn’s name listed in the birth announcement of today’s ARGUS newspaper, I’ve come to share the same sentiment as the singer/songwriter Elvis Costello. My wife Helena and I proudly named our opus Allison Marie Rodriguez, a child brought into this world on July 30th. My wife’s labor was all so intense and shocking. Being a week overdue, Helena and I decided to induce. At the end of the fifteen hour labor, during the crowning portion of delivery, naturally the top of Allison’s head had surfaced. What made the situation shocking was that there were no medical workers around. Helena frantically pushed the nurse call button, whereupon one nurse and a midwife entered the labor room immediately. Baby Allison’s head was completely out by the time the nurse was able to stretch her arms and catch her. The nurse handed baby Allison to my wife, where she was immediately welcomed with tears and a warm embrace. After cutting the umbilical cord, it was my turn to hold baby Allison. Emotions were rampant within me. I was now officially a father. Baby Allison’s birth weight was 6 lbs. 2.2 oz., and her length was 19 inches. Since the birth, I am floored every time I stare deeply into Allison’s eyes. There’s poetic wisdom in knowing that being a father is a lifetime commitment filled with challenge, responsibility and interminable love. And just as Elvis Costello once ardently declared, I now humbly profess to my baby girl. Allison, when it comes to being your father, “my aim is true.”