Happy Birthdays!
My Dad and my daughter Jessica share birthdays today. She was nine years old when he died in 1995. My family moved around a lot and we eventually settled at some distance from each other. The result is that my parents did not get much time with our four kids (2-3 times a year on vacations). There were no overnight sleep overs. With us in the East and them in Michigan and later in Florida, we could never resort to them for free babysitting. We have photos and scrapbooks of events but no deep-rooted routines of Sunday dinners together or sitting on the porch watching the fireflies rise or cheering from the bleachers together as one of the kids gets a hit or scores a basket.
I'm thankful that we connect with our grandkids more. It has been a little easier with cell phones, the Internet, Skype, and more money to travel with. Three of them lived with us for a whole year while their Dad was deployed (good memories, mostly). We've recently finished repainting.
Two of our grandsons (6 and almost 4 years) are with us this morning after staying overnight. Over pancakes and bacon with coffee and juice, I told them about today and that their great-grandpa's name was Donald.
"Donald Trump?" the older one said with bright eyes and a grin.
"No [showing him a different type of grin]. Are you watching too much TV or have your parents been talking?"
Another grin with no answer.
"His name was Donald Jarvis. He was born in 1927 and was a Marine in World War II. He fought to keep us safe."
"Oh."
I think that great-grandpa would have liked that.
I know he would have also helped me drink up the coffee.
My Dad and my daughter Jessica share birthdays today. She was nine years old when he died in 1995. My family moved around a lot and we eventually settled at some distance from each other. The result is that my parents did not get much time with our four kids (2-3 times a year on vacations). There were no overnight sleep overs. With us in the East and them in Michigan and later in Florida, we could never resort to them for free babysitting. We have photos and scrapbooks of events but no deep-rooted routines of Sunday dinners together or sitting on the porch watching the fireflies rise or cheering from the bleachers together as one of the kids gets a hit or scores a basket.
I'm thankful that we connect with our grandkids more. It has been a little easier with cell phones, the Internet, Skype, and more money to travel with. Three of them lived with us for a whole year while their Dad was deployed (good memories, mostly). We've recently finished repainting.
Two of our grandsons (6 and almost 4 years) are with us this morning after staying overnight. Over pancakes and bacon with coffee and juice, I told them about today and that their great-grandpa's name was Donald.
"Donald Trump?" the older one said with bright eyes and a grin.
"No [showing him a different type of grin]. Are you watching too much TV or have your parents been talking?"
Another grin with no answer.
"His name was Donald Jarvis. He was born in 1927 and was a Marine in World War II. He fought to keep us safe."
"Oh."
I think that great-grandpa would have liked that.
I know he would have also helped me drink up the coffee.
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