At the same time Tracy had just quit teaching to become a full time photographer. She was putting in 80 hours a week building her business. Fortunately, many of these hours were at home so we still got see each other.
She certainly wasn't crazy about me running for congress, but I think she knew I needed to do it. I felt God was calling me to do this - and prayed about it frequently.
I failed miserably. Out of 7 candidates, 2 of us dropped out before putting our name on the ballot. I'm convinced I made the right decision - to run and to drop out - as strange as that sounds. The experience taught me tremendously - and the Lord had a great deal to teach me about putting first things first.
We woke up at 5 AM on December 9th, 2009 and were at the hospital shortly after. Tracy was going to be induced. There were tons of people at the hospital waiting for little Alexander to be born. After 20+ hours he was stuck inside Tracy. She pushed for close to 2 hours but her pelvis bone is too small and narrow.
Back to the operating room we went for an unexpected C-section. In the early hours of December 10th we heard a screaming baby. Both of us broke out in tears as I held Tracy. We were overcome with joy and love for one another and for our new little boy.
As they wiped off Alexander under the heating lamp all I could do was cry tears of joy in a sleep-deprived stupor. Just then Cristina (my wife's friend and photographer who was there to take pictures) reminded me to talk to Alex. I don't even remember what I said, but as soon as I spoke to him he stopped crying and looked around for my voice. This remains one of the most magical moments of my life.
I carried Alex into the nursery and set him in the window for all the family members to look at him. He wasn't crying and he shifted his head in response to each new face appearing in the glass. The nurses kept commenting on how alert he was and how unusual it was to have a baby respond like this right out of the womb. Does this mean my son is brilliant? I have no idea. But it did make an unforgettable experience.
I was still crying as I held him and watched him respond to his grandparents and aunts and uncles. But all I could think of was my wife. The woman who had done more to bring Alexander into this world than anyone and she was missing these moments; being stiched up and tied down back in the operating room. All I could think of was how I needed to be with her. Alexander had nurses and family watching him, so I walked back to be with my wife. First things first.
