Hello, Ruby!

When Julian was born, the day’s number was so special and symbolic. The 23 (of March) was the number of Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player and greatest competitor of all time.

The story of how it happened is great, too. We went to the hospital on the night of the 21st, but Ally stayed in labor for 27 hours in order to get us to the 23rd. Her sacrifice for this family will never be forgotten.

Then, this past Sunday, our little Ruby did the unthinkable: The Kobe.

When Kobe Bryant—the second greatest basketball player of all time and also a relentless competitor—was emerging from a mid-career crisis, he reflected on what his idol, Michael Jordan, had done years earlier. After stepping away from basketball for 17 months to grieve his father’s death and play baseball, Michael Jordan returned to the NBA with a new number—this time, 45–to symbolize new beginnings. So, Kobe, after wearing #8 for the first 10 years of his career, in 2006 decided to do “the Michael.” He changed his number to mark the start of a new era for himself. He chose 24–one up from MJ’s 23–as if to say that he was going to do Michael Jordan, the greatest of all time, one better.

Ally’s initial due date for this pregnancy was September 1. Her scheduled C-section was for August 25. But Ruby had other plans. Knowing that J-Man was the 23, she decided that she would do him one better and force her way out on the 24.

The symbolism was rich. The sporting gods had been looking down on our family. They have blessed us with more competitive fire and years of household battles to come.

So, please raise your glass, or your sandwich, your toilet paper, or whatever it is you are holding in your hand this moment and raise it in the air. May there be endless fights, many broken controllers, constant reinterpretation of rules, games terminated prematurely in order to prevent the leader from sealing official victory, poor winners, and poor losers everywhere because although some of you marks may think that this is distasteful behavior, the real ones know that these are the realest, most genuine signs of affection between siblings and friends.

Cheers to Ruby Marilyn. Let the games begin baby! 😎