My Christmas Baby

Raising my gun at the sound of wing beats, I hoped for a wild rooster to flush from the under brush. Nothing materialized. Moments later my precocious pup came out of the brush with a hen that was a little too slow getting off the ground. It was Christmas Eve 2008 and I was savoring the walk a field as I contemplated the changes to come.

By the time I arrived home I had learned that my wife was going into labor and it seemed like this might be for real. We had plans to go to a friends for dinner, which were scratched, but otherwise nothing was on our holiday schedule. Motivated to do some last minute organizing before heading to the hospital, my wife insisted on giving me a haircut, we opened all of our presents and cleaned up the house.

Deer Hunting 2010

At 5:30am on Christmas morning Ayden Grace Brutger was born.

The last five years have been a blur in many respects but in other way’s so many moments stand out vividly. My daughter is 5 going on 15 now. Her wit and charm make me smile, she gives the best kisses, and she knows as much about fishing at 5 as I did at 25.

Fishing 2013

So here’s a happy birthday to my little girl.