The Day Clauducci...

It did not appear to be a sure thing, because of the wavering intensity of the contractions, he was not sure whether or not it would happen right then. He was told to go and take a shower if he needed to because it was most certainly not happening. His enthusiasm fell noticeably, and after stepping in the shower, he got himself ready and left for work. As usual, he got his dark coffee-one sugar from Dean and Deluca and got to the 5th floor of Puck Building in SOHO and started his work day. The call came 15 minutes later to get back home, because the contractions had restarted, and as he waited for the Metroline he had called, he informed his superiors that he was going to be out. Excitedly, he rushed home with the car service and picked up, his wife, who had already prepared her neatly packed belongings for a few days-stay out and they departed from Brooklyn onto the Upper East Side for what was going to be one of the greatest moments of his life, the birth of his second child, something long-awaited, which as he knew very well, was going to be one of the happiest moments of his life. As they were making their way uptown, the car negotiated the dwindling traffic of a beautiful spring mid-Wednesday morning and it finally made it to the front of the Guggenheim pavilion of the Mount Sinai Hospital and walk internally to the Kingenstein pavilion towards one of the newer a birthing rooms. This was a completely new experience, from the one he had had 4 years earlier, and he was expecting to go to the O.R., and get into the fatigues, but no, this time, he was going to go through this on his own work clothes, with a black pair of slacks and a white shirt. He looked into his wife’s eyes, and they smiled at each other. Everything had such a new feeling. A new life was going to be born at any moment now. They were both also a bit concerned, as any parent to be would always be in moments such as this, hoping that everything would go well, as it almost always does. Nature has perfected the process, like in a symphony, a flawless chain of events that follow one another till the perfect final moment when the final note is played and then, silence!!!………………………………………The cry of the born baby is heard for the first time announcing her place and claiming her space in this life. Then, the mom and dad hug each other. He is called to detach the baby from her cocoon by cutting the chord that symbolizes her material existence as an individual and then goes back to the mom while the newborn is being washed, weighted and wrapped into a worm bundle of joy. The baby is then given to the mom who had carried her for 9 months, and they both rekindle the warmth and connection that had been shared from the BEGINNINGS OF TIME to the END OF TIMES….. The father experiences the greatest emotion that can be felt as he sees his wife and child in an embrace having a communication that will last through time. The father is then given the baby to hold. He is afraid of exerting too much pressure on her, of hurting her, but no, he doesn’t. It seems as he was designed to hold her. He kisses her. He walks her to the window and looks across Fifth Avenue and she tells her about Central Park, and points out to her the many children that are playing in the green grounds, the trees, the blue sky…. If they ever asked her, she would know that this was the first time she saw Central Park, although she what she really wanted to know at this moment was when she was going to get her next meal, even if she still did yet not know what that even meant. She was just happy breathing, feeling and being. She was happy, He was ecstatic, and the mom was jubilant. She had a glow so bright that she did not seem at all to have gone through 9 months of pregnancy, nor a few hours of child delivery. He looked at his white shirt, and saw a few red stains and said “Oh Blood….!!!!!” He laugh and said “……New Blood….. My own Blood……!!!!” All of the sudden he knew that everything was in order, everything under control, everything would be fine, everything was clear, now there was a new part of him, a million possibilities, a million miles of new road to walk, an million new reasons to walk them…!!!!! The Day Clauducci was born…..It was a sunny day, as it always is and always will be…!!! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear lovely Claudia, Once again I had the same memories, the same thoughts, the same feelings I get every year when your birthday comes, except today I wrote them down. There is nothing new in essence, but everything is new at every moment. Every time is the first time, because we are constantly re-firing anew, every one of our cells does. It is their purpose, to make it all new, again and again, and they will always do as long as we want them to. As I was saying, there is nothing new in my love for you, except that is a new love every day, every moment, except intensified exponentially, a love that is unconditional. I first knew this when I saw those small red stains in my white shirt. The years pass, faster than I would like them to, but nonetheless, some things are for sure, for instance, every day is a new day, a new opportunity for life to be, sky is the limit, or on the opposite side your thoughts can be. Many things could go wrong for no simple reason just that it is a mathematical possibility, nothing else. But math is one of our inventions. It is imperfect, it is arbitrary, it says that something is positive or negative because it says so. It needs the use of concepts like infinite, and zero, something of which we know nothing about and we cannot even fully fathom, because even zero implies lack of all things, including the consciousness that contains the math itself. Yes, anything could go pear shape at every moment, but they don’t usually, do they?? They don’t, because they are not meant for us. They don’t because it is not our destiny, our tikkun, because nothing that is not yours will stay with you…..Things go pretty much our way at least 99.99% of the time because we desire it to be so deep, deep down that is what we desire and what we attract accordingly. Another sure thing is that life throws our way that which we need to deal with and the little tests that come hidden at every curve, but remember it is only a curve. You may not see exactly what is on the end of it because it may be perpendicular to you at this precise moment on the curve, but remember that at the end of the curve there is always more road, and when your own Clauducci comes to you, you will be given a chance to discover your own million reasons why you would want to walk them all……. That sunny 31st of May of 1995 was a very, very special day for your mom and me, and for our family then as it still is now. We love to have you be a part of our lives, a part of us. Today is your 23rd birthday and as in that first day, I am as excited as I am sure of how wonderful your life will be. You are just starting out baby and you have a lifetime to reach all your potential, as I am sure you will. Just keep trusting your inner strength (soul) and you will see how in the same way ease with which nature delivers a new baby, you will uncover and reveal your own greatness, your own wonderful life….!!! I just want to apologize for when I fall short in my helping you. It is not for lack of wanting. I hope you do know that I will always be there for you, but I know that you will realize everything you set up to do. Wishing you the best life can offer is an understatement. Wishing you a happy birthday and a wonderful year is an honor and a privilege. Love Dad….. 5.31.2018 As usual I will like to add some photos that I am able to find for color and illustrational purposes, plus a feelings/memories that can be triggered from the images, The Sweetest Child