Life is life
As we grow into our own as adults and fathers, the fathers before us grow older. Recently my paternal grandfather died. He was 90, and my own father was his oldest child. The link from father to son to me and then to my own child is a thing I can’t really explain, but Grandpap’s death hit hard. And it hit harder when my own father was sent to the hospital to have his heart checked out. He already had a heart attack and stent put in, but it’s really hard when you realize that your parents are fallible. Now, I know some people on here don’t have parents. Either they’ve passed away or divorced or left, and some of you have step parents and non-biological parents (and all other sorts of parents) but this is just something that has bugged me. Dad turned out to be ok, but I hope my daughter, Claire, can get to know her grandfather and I wish she knew her great grandfather more but life is life.
The other thing that’s difficult is that Donna and I chose to move from Pennsylvania to Arizona, and we have no family here. We don’t know what it’s like to have grandparents around who can just watch Claire at our whim or other family who are always around. Our friends are our local family in many ways, but even that is shifting now. I know family is how you make it, but I just don’t ever want any regrets and family is the most important thing to me. And I bet it’s important to you too, since you are putting in your time being here with us.
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November 28, 2006 at 4:08 pm
Sadly, family makeup is changing before our eyes. Growing up, almost all my extended family lived in the same area. I spent a lot of time with grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc… during holidays, whenever. Now we are all spread out from New York to Arizona. Something intangible is missing.