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It was a beautiful Sunday morning six years ago. It was the kind of Sunday
morning that you can smell bacon, eggs, and biscuits in the air. That morning my
breakfast was a cup of overpriced Starbuck's. I had never been as excited about
anything in my life as what happened on that wonderful Sunday.
Northside Hospital in Atlanta boasts having the most births of any health
facility in the state of Georgia. It feels more like a Hilton than a hospital. I
was there early awaiting the arrival of someone who totally changed the way I
see life. The birthing rooms are large and the attention moms receive is
exceptional. I was so excited about what was happening to me for the first time.
I had always wanted to be a father. I have two wonderful adopted adult sons that
I adore. David and McCoie Jones are great husbands and fathers and gave me the
knowledge of what to expect since I was new at being a father. I missed the
diapering stage, the spitting up on my most expensive shirt and the Sponge Bob
bandages on boo boos until I hit 50.
Music superstar Toni Braxton gave birth to her first child in the very birthing
suite where on June 30, 2002 at 3:17 p.m. my life began to have new meaning and
I finally understood the concept of unconditional love. Presley Frances Jones
got here and within a few minutes of leaving her confines of nine months she was
looking into her daddy's eyes that were filled with tears of happiness. I have
no words that can express how happy I was that day. How I spent the night
outside the nursery window gazing at the tiny person that has taught me so much
in the past six years. Holding her in my arms that first time I knew God's love
was infinite and my heart continues to soar since that hot muggy June day.
Presley was named for the greatest entertainer of my lifetime. Her middle name
was for my mother. She was great at what she did too. She loved people and she
gave me that trait. Presley Frances Jones along with three year old sister
Callie have taught me so much. They have taught me that watching Sponge Bob
Square Pants, Scooby Doo, and Hannah Montana are more important than seeing that
Braves game I really wanted to watch. Kung Fu Panda, Alvin and the Chipmonks,
and Disney movies are more important for me to see than the Clint Eastwood or
Denzel Washington film. My kids can eat a 55 gallon drum of Skittles or M & M's
if allowed at the theater or picture show as my grandmother used to refer to it.
They taught me that Chuck E Cheese's is actually Las Vegas for kids. I have
learned that kids could if allowed would eat at McDonalds for every meal.
Macaroni and cheese should have its own slot on the food pyramid I have a
working knowledge of the characters and scenarios of every PBS kid's and
Nickelodeon televison shows. There are a thousand different articles of
merchandise for sale associated with High School Musical on the Disney Channel.
I have to listen to the Naked Brothers and the Jonas Brothers cd's rather than
the new Emmylou Harris or Levon Helm discs I recently purchased when the kids
are in the car.I can change a diaper while talking on the phone. I realize that
things that used to be not very important now are. I no longer have dentist
appointments or meeting memos on the refrigerator door. I do have a collection
of drawings of kitty cats, puppy dogs, and cartoon characters that have a
gallery on the fridge the past few years. I have tried not to be the dad with a
video camera at every birthday party and family celebration but without much
success. I am thinking a lot about a dozen years from now when my little girl
will be ready for college.
I have been blessed in my lifetime with numerous professional accolades. I have
never had a job since leaving American Thread Company in 1970. I did spend 36
years in a profession that has given me so much. I have met United States
Presidents and celebrities in the world of sports, politics, music, television
and motion pictures but nothing can compare to the joy in my heart I received
that first time I saw Presley Jones six years ago. Happy Birthday Pres, your
daddy loves you.
Rhubarb Jones is a Tallapoosa native and a assistant professor of mass
communication at Kennesaw State University.
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