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I saw the new City Plaza on Fayetteville Street in Raleigh for the first time this morning as public works staff were scrubbing the sidewalks and pruning flowers in preparation of the street fair Saturday. I have to say that considering all of the hype, and then the controversy that followed from residents upset about any obstruction of the view between the Capitol and Memorial Auditorium, the plaza was pretty unimpressive. It’s a nice bit of open space in a district that is already very pedestrian friendly. The light towers people were so concerned about are barely taller than the awning of the Sheraton that borders the square on the south, but they are blanketed in stainless steel oak leaves, which is a nice homage to the city’s history.

The best thing about the plaza is that it gives the Capitol District its first Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. Four identical, smoked glass cottages sit at each corner of the square. Three of the buildings are slated to hold a Jimmy Johns Sandwich shop, a shish kabob restaurant and an arts & crafts center, but none of them are close to being ready to open. For now, doughnuts and coffee are the main attraction as the new Krispy Kreme stays busy churning out sweet snacks to passersby.

My world just got a whole lot bigger.

Kristen and I saw the heart beat of our new baby for the first time today, blowing away the cloud of doubt we had harbored since the doctor first confirmed the pregnancy two weeks ago. The little guy (or gal) is about the size of a large olive, but it has a healthy heart rate of 166 beats per minute.

My heart, on the other hand, nearly stopped this morning when the news that I was going to be a father began to sink in.

It was a very surreal moment to say the least. I have always known that I wanted to be a father. When I was in college laying out the blue print for my life, I made a little note in the corner to remind me that on the priority list, “being a good dad” ranks way above “landing a staff job with National Geographic” or “paying off the mortgage.” Just like those other goals, though, I didn’t really expect this one to come to fruition so soon. I certainly didn’t want to put it off for too long, it just seemed like something that would take care of itself eventually.

And it did. Now I can’t imagine a better time to bring a new life into the world.

An Annotated Guide

South Core Sound.

For a variety of reasons I won’t begin to mention here, the past two months have been the most trying stretch of life that I have dealt with in several years. I’ve drawn little pleasure from writing. On the few occasions that I did feel like jotting my thoughts down I was simply too discouraged to find the right words.

But I have a good life. God has truly blessed me with far more than I could ever earn by my own hands, and I’m grateful that I have the presence of mind to use the hard situations as an opportunity to examine my life and refocus my path to keep me working towards the ultimate goal, which is to glorify Him in all that I do.

In truth, my hard times aren’t that hard at all.

Cape Lookout at sunset.