The final week

Life is chock full of special moments, but very few moments are accurately deemed “life-changing.” It is understandably a rare distinction, and one reserved for truly significant circumstances. After all, if a guy were to categorize every mundane experience as life-changing, nobody would care to hear his stories when his life finally becomes interesting.  As someone who fancies himself a storyteller, I am careful not to oversell each story.  I want people to recognize the moments that are truly life changing.
Seven years ago, I met Jay-Z in a Princeton University classroom. Ten years ago, I worked as a security guard at the Super Bowl. The other day, I had a delicious French dip sandwich. All of these moments were special, but they were not particularly life changing. The sandwich comes close, though.
Almost nine months ago, I was offered some surprising news. It was life changing. My wife walked into our bedroom at 6 a.m. and told me we were having a baby. I was half awake, but I knew instinctively that it was the kind of news that makes bad days good. I didn’t need to hear any more of it. I smiled, hugged her, and then promptly got back into bed. One might consider this insensitive, but things had just gotten real, and I knew I was going to need my sleep.
The time for sleeping is now over. The due date is here. By the time this article is published, my son will likely have been born. While I have no idea what the moments will look like, I can say with confidence that they will be life changing. See you all on the other side.