today nick turned nine.  i am the father of a nine year old.  that amazes me.  nick if i may be so candid is a very sweet boy filled with wit and song.  can't carry a tune -- neither can i -- but he sings at the top of his lungs.  yes, it does seem like yesterday we brought him home from the hospital.  it seems like yesterday when anna and i found out she was pregnant.  i've been thinking about routines lately.  we all have them.  you can't dress yourself, shave and get to work if you don't have a routine.  yet our routines are not stable.  they change and evolve all the while they seem to be unchanging.  the person i was nine years ago is not the same person typing this note.  i have changed.  nick is changing, growing and developing into singular human being.  we would like to know the future, yet we have a hard time knowing the present.  change is the constant.  as a friend described life as a rollercoaster some love the ride while others are frightened by it.  i am often astonished by life.  i find immense pleasure in living.  nick does too, i believe.  i am -- anna is -- so grateful to ride this rollercoaster with nick.  it is a happy birthday.