October 12, 2007
I read such a beautiful post over at How To Be An Original, in which Lodewijk writes a letter to his baby boy on his first birthday. It really is such a touching letter; I really recommend that you go and check it out. It reminds me in some ways of Fergal Keane’s Letter to Daniel. If you don’t know about this radio clip, I urge you to go and check it out. It is quite possibly one of the most moving things I have ever listened to. I’ve linked to the transcript, but that page also has a link to Fergal reading it out. Somehow, listening to him speak the letter affects me so much more. It’s only a 7 min clip, so please, after you’ve read Lodewijk’s letter, head over there for a listen. To entice you, I’m giving you the first few lines of Fergal’s letter…
“My dear son, it is six o’clock in the morning on the island of Hong Kong. You are asleep cradled in my left arm and I am learning the art of one-handed typing. Your mother, more tired yet more happy than I’ve ever known her, is sound asleep in the room next door and there is soft quiet in our apartment.”
Seriously, go and have a listen, and then let me know what you think.
October 13, 2007 at 4:12 am
That’s a beautiful letter by Fergal Keane! I hadn’t read it before. It’s too early in the morning to listen to the audio version, but I’m sure going to listen to it too.
I recognize what he writes about suddenly being haunted by children suffering from his past. Not that I experienced that too, but last week I was talking to someone who had last a child. That was much more emotional to me now, than it was when I was not a father yet.
October 13, 2007 at 8:24 am
When I read your letter, Lodewijk, it reminded me of Fergal’s because it seemed to me that it was coming from the same place; a daddy remembering, with love and affection, the entry of their child into the world, and their hopes for them in the future.
The experience that you relate in your comment here, really resonates with me. I think becoming a parent changes your whole perception of humanity, in a way that is inconceivable prior to the birth of your children. We become far more empathic, and our desire to affect the world in a positive way becomes more urgent.
Thank you so much for sharing your truly beautiful letter, Lodewijk.