By Will Falk
Not long ago, a few hours after his birth, I held a new-born baby to my chest in the hospital. The baby is my girlfriend’s nephew. We arrived at the hospital and crowded into a maternity room with my girlfriend’s sister, brother-in-law, little niece, and mother.
During the pregnancy, my girlfriend’s almost three year-old niece was asked what her little brother’s name should be. She answered, quickly, matter-of-factly, “Pineapple.” He has another name, but for this essay, he will be Pineapple.
Conversation revolved around what Pineapple would be like when he was older, the adventures his big sister and he would have, and what the relative ease of his birth might mean for his life. We were excited for what we might teach him, what he would teach us, and we made predictions about the milestones in his life. [Read more…]