Flashback Friday Moment of The Week: 5/20/2022

by Just Juan
1206 views 1 min read

On Wednesday night, Mercedes and I welcomed a baby girl into the world. Mackenzie Lynn Thomas is our first daughter, only daughter, and the caboose of the family. More on her down the road. Those first moments holding her Bogotá’s premier hospital brought back memories of just over 4 years ago. That brings me to this week’s moment in the Flashback Friday series: Ashton’s birth.

How I first came across this moment? Duh…I was there in the delivery room on the afternoon of March 30, 2018, at Holy Cross Hospital in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC. Mercedes had been induced into labor and Ashton made his world debut at 4:57pm EDT.

What it meant to me then? It was a redeeming moment. A little over 11 years earlier, I had been denied a chance to become a father in an event that nearly cost me my life. That first chance I got to hold the 6-pound, 2-ounce bundle of joy was one of the most thrilling moments of my life. I remember rocking my swaddled son while walking around the room, where I spoke my first words to him: “I’m your dad…and I love you”.

What it means to me now? I had a similar moment with Mackenzie on Wednesday night. It was a profound moment—mostly because it was my first as a #GirlDad—but it didn’t really compare to the moment I had with Ashton 4 years ago. That moment changed my life forever.

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