Nicholas has a new brother who has his own BLOG. Come meet my little brother Alexander James over here!
Yep, it kind of caught me by surprise but this year Gramps turns the
big 6-0 today. I don't know if your birthday cake can support 60
garish flamingoes but hey, one can hope, eh? Your real present is still
doing fine as of last check and will be here before we know it. We're
just not entirely sure when... ;)
One can only imagine what it's been like to be on the ride for 60 years
and the changes in the world you've seen. From starting out a few months
before the end of WWII in Europe and the Pacific to the conflicts of
today in the Middle East and everything in between. Seeing that up
close and personal through a honorable career and a couple of tours of
your own and service over twenty years and beyond for which we should be
quite thankful and I assure you that we are.
It's certainly been an interesting journey so far and as we know,
may you live in interesting times is a Chinese curse that
actually works. But from seeing the depths of what man is capable of
doing to his fellow man, you've also seen some pretty amazing
achievements along the way. Our first steps into space and men landing
on the moon to a time where space shuttles flying over your house became
an almost ordinary occurrence. There have been new technologies that
have made our lives much easier than what you experienced in your early
years on the farm. These things have made our world much smaller and more
connected than ever.
And in spite of a demanding and often dangerous career and everything
else, you managed to find time to be a father which I'd rank as one of
your grandest achievements. Talk about a gig that was like walking the
tightrope in a high wind without a safety net beneath you...those years
of contending with me growing up were certainly not the easiest on
either of us.
But at the end of the day, I think it was worth the tears and joys
because in the past few years, I feel that I've gotten to understand you
far more than I would have ever imagined possible. I could be a smart
aleck and remind you of Mark Twain's famous observation on the relations
between fathers and sons but there is quite a bit of truth in it because
it means we both learned to understand and respect one another. The
understanding is the key. A few weeks ago, I happened to be surfing the
channels and ran across a couple of episodes of The Cosby Show.
I can see why you took a few pages from Cliff Huxtable's playbook...it
was probably the only way to keep your sanity in the face of appalling
idiocy on my part. Maybe Dr. Bill was right after all...kids must have
brain damage as it's the only thing that seems to explain the situation.
Just kidding... :)
Seriously, one could look at the past sixty years as a time of great
sorrow and horrible events but I prefer to see that in spite of man's
base instincts, we as a species have also made some pretty impressive
strides forward from those so-called simpler times. Yeah, the
pace of life is much faster these days than they were but in a lot of
ways, it's also a fulfilling life. Do we have a long way to go?
Absolutely.
But what gives me hope is the part of your 60 years that I've seen and
the things that we've done and knowing that Nicholas and soon his brother
will be the next step in that legacy and hopefully I'll have learned
the patience when they're driving me to utter distraction. I'd like to
think that as a father, you did pretty darned good with a lot more
obstacles placed in your path than is normal as a parent. And I'd like
to think that maybe in my time, I might do as well and try to keep the
sense of grace and patience that you showed with me even when I was at
my worst.
If I can do that, then I think I'll be doing the job OK.
Happy birthday...and many happy returns of the day!
Now that we've had a bit of time to sleep, we wish everyone a happy
new year and hope that it is a prosperous and happy year for you and
your family.
Looking back, it's been a year of great change starting with Nicholas
pretty much finding his stride and we've been run ragged ever since.
He has grown so much over the year that it's almost scary...you honestly
don't know what you're going to see from him from day to day and that
makes it pretty exciting if not a bit nerve wracking. You blink and
you've missed something amazing. Here is someone who went from crawling
everywhere he wanted to go to now running and loving being chased from
place to place. Here is someone whose only words sounded suspiciously
like crying or laughing and now we have a kid who can identify a truck
versus a car and picks some really complicated words to use. No, no
simple ones for our little Brainiac there. Mind you, I'm thinking the
moon is actually the moon as opposed to a basketball. But that's
the quintessential Nicholas...as stubborn an overachiever as there ever
was. And of course, he's decided that he wants to start the
Terrible Twos a bit early.
But through all of that, he is growing by leaps and bounds and the trick
is going to be trying to stay one step ahead of him when he has so much
more energy these days than we do. And occasionally enjoy the times we
can sit back and watch him grow before our eyes and accomplish new
things.
One of his latest things (and he pretty much started it on his own) is
that after his bath, he will carry his clothes to his hamper and dump
them in there for washing. Of course, there is the obligatory self-
congratulatory clapping and the requisite "yay Nicholas!" (and let me tell
you, he can be awfully pleased with himself!). He just knew what to do
and he's done it consistently.
Every day we find yet another reason to love him and be so proud of him.
The trick is going to be maintaining that when he figures out that he is
no longer the only child but I'm sure that he will be a caring and loving
big brother. It may take some time and adjustment but I have no doubts
that he will do it.
After all, he surprises me every day with a smile here or a hug and kiss
there or a bit of cuddle time with a bedtime story. Just out of the
blue and it's as genuine as it gets.
I don't know what he'll do tomorrow but I can tell you with absolute
certainty that there will be at least one (if not more) moment where he
will just surprise and amaze you and that makes it worth it to wake up
to be there when he does it. And to be honest, I'd crawl over broken
glass for miles just to see that smile and hear that laugh again. Every
time I do, the student becomes the teacher and I've learned so much from
him these past couple of years.
I just don't think it's possible to hang out with the little guy and not
be irrevocably changed as a result. For that, my little buddy, I love
you more than you'll know.