Brindle Media

Twenty-three years ago, standing in the shower after arriving home from the birth of our daughter, it dawned on me that I had finally learned the meaning of the word “commitment”.

During my previous four decades, I had made various commitments to:  friendships, jobs, marriage; but this was different. Stronger. More intense.

In all those other relationships, if I had a desire to do so, I could renege. I could back away from friendships. I could quit a job. Marriages can end in divorce.

But the bond between a parent and their biological child is unbreakable. Yes, there can be emotional riffs and estrangements. And, yes, there are rare examples of parents who are capable of divorcing themselves from their offspring.

At that moment of realization, though, I believe that I actually became an adult as it dawned on me that I would forever be connected with and, in a deeply emotional way,committed to this beautiful child.

What a gift!