The Most Special of Autumn Days

Day 308:

This day was one of exquisite beauty, Conor.  The Autumn in Virginia for me is the season of all seasons.  It's built upon the cool dry air, the changing of the leaves, the promise of change and the coming of the new year.

Today's drive home, while mired in traffic and frustration, was surrounded by beauty and grace.  Earthy reds and vibrant yellows laced with lush greens and the dark brown barks of the shedding trees.  The country roads in Virginia are truly a site to behold, Conor, and I can only hope you'll appreciate them all the more when you're of an age befitting its appreciation.

Throughout the course of the day I took stock in all that I am, all that we have, and all that we are.  For reasons I won't get into I was reminded of the first time I truly realized unconditional love.  And of course I've always known it was there... From my own mother and father, sister and brother, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, but something happens to a person the first time real love is experienced by someone, or something, other than parents and siblings.

When I was 21 years old, lost in life and struggling to find my way, I received the greatest gift I could ever have imagined for the time.  It was the gift of a tiny life, a life that would give me purpose and reason.  A life that would depend on me for every need.  I'm of course talking about my first dog, Jazz.

Jazzy taught me to love without fear and with total reverence for her and those who else I would love.   For that I am eternally grateful.  You see, Son, for so many people a dog is just a dog.  But never to the owner of that dog.  A bond is formed beyond that of human comprehension in that the loyal canine would do absolutely anything to please the one it loves.  In some cases, and especially depending on the dog, she would give her life so that her owner would remain safe.  Jazz was that kind of a dog.

From my close to 15 years with Jazz I learned more about myself, as a result of her, that I'm convinced I would not have known had it not been for our bond.   Though until the point of knowing you my understanding of blinding unconditional love would have its limits.  You Son, were the final door to walkthrough in my complete understanding of what it means to love unconditionally.  And though I've loved a very special few in this life, there's nothing like the love between parent and child.  The lengths I would go are truly boundless and beyond anything I could have ever understood.  Until now.

Once again I find myself thanking you, Son.  You've given me more than anything I could have ever dreamed.  In courage, belief, conviction, reverence, and compassion, those circles once incomplete are now tied to something infinite...

I love you, Son.  So much.
-Dad