It's later than late, and I am starting this blog up again with zero fanfare, and for a different primary reason than real estate. This blog will now, first and foremost, be an ode to our son Ryan Walker Long. There is only one person in this world who will be required, some day, to read this running account of our lives together. It occurred to me while listening to today's church sermon that our lives are moving at such a feverish pace. The simple pleasure of waking each morn is immediately suffocated under mounting uncertainty. The phone rings, the fax rumbles, there are emails to answer, online studies to complete. All the while, right underneath my nose (and sometimes maddeningly underfoot) is our greatest accomplishment. He is everything. The rest is just background chatter.

Forget trying to sum up what you are and will always be to me, son. I'm not adroit enough with the language to snare the optimal phrase. Let's just say that it has begun, as of tonight. My gift to you, for your gift to me.