Happily Ever After

I remember the day I opened up Sports Illustrated to find that one of my favorite writers, Rick Reilly, was quitting his weekly column in the magazine. I remember the pit in my stomach upon learning the news. I remember the glum way I described his decision to Rachel. I remember concluding that opening SI would never be the same. Although I in no means consider myself to be anywhere near the quality of an award winning writer like Reilly, I fear that I may be subjecting dear friends and family to the same feelings I felt that day with the next sentence. This will be the last post I write for the blog.


This blogging experiment began in modest some time ago when Rachel convinced me to write updates on the pregnancy, if only to put my journalism degree to use. It was a great way to prevent telling the same stories ten times over the phone only to forget them a week later too. The medium proved invaluable during Micah and Malorie's tumultuous first week, as I passed information from hospital bedsides directly to the extended network praying at home for good news. The blog turned my kids into philanthropists before they could leave their hospital beds. My favorite entries, the ones I wrote about coming home, those crazy overnights and the love in this household will always resonate in my mind when I wonder what life is all about. It's not often that a person can take the time to amass a running record of his family's triumphs and challenges. I plan on using these posts to recount and retell our parental trials again and again. I hope that one day Micah and Mal will strengthen their relationship with us by reading the blog we tried so hard to fill with love, hope and humor. But this is a stressful time in our lives right now and we are facing challenges that deserve more attention than blogging for now. Plus, the one year birthday seems like as good a time as any to cut the writing off. I mean, I don't want my kids to grow up constantly nervous that I will embarrass them somehow with what I write. I can't think of a single teenager who wants their parents to post their exploits on the Internet.

I would be absolutely remiss if I did not take a moment to thank all the wonderful people that made this blog so cool. Thanks to my parents and the Fincks, for allowing Rachel and me to use their guidance as benchmarks for our journey into parenthood. We undoubtedly would not have been able to do it without you. A big thanks to Nicole, who put this whole blogging thing into Rachel's head, and then helped so much in the Beard for Babies campaign. I owe Jackson some made-up songs and a few noogies. Thank you to all the spectacular people who took time to respond to our columns with witty comments, especially Aunt Carol, who always took the time to comment on our musings. Rachel and I would log on religiously 24 hours after a post to check what you had to say. It was as much fun reading all of you guys' writings as it was constructing our own. Thanks to all the people who signed up to follow us and all the anonymous persons out there who have checked in periodically to see how The Crew was doing. Not a week has gone by since this whole blog thing has started that someone has not told us that they liked the blog. Your encouragement went a long way. Finally, thanks to Rachel. She constantly pushes me to be a better person. Whether it's letting me tease you on the Internet via the blog or forcing me to take the trash out or just being my sounding board - you are the light of my life. I could not be the person I am without you. I love you, and I thank God every night for bringing you into my life.


One telltale sign of a poor writer is relying on a crutch. My crutch is a compulsion with concluding every post I write with a final paragraph that somehow justifies the obscure first paragraph I write. Anyway, back to Rick Reilly. He still cranks out those award winning columns, only now for another boss. After an extended hiatus, he started writing for ESPN.com. Maybe one day I too will find another means to express my penchant for prose. Or maybe this is the end of my written endeavors. Either way, I have enjoyed the time.


Thanks again for making our little family of one dog, two parents and two babies, two babies, feel so big and so special. Take care.