Three years ago today, at 7:07pm, Sam and I welcomed our son, Andrew, into the world.
There was plenty of excitement when he was born, that’s for sure. It was like a whirlwind. Three years later, and that whirlwind has yet to slow down!
Right from the get go, he’s kept up on our toes with plenty of medical things. His head was misshapen early on and one of the first things he had to get was a helmet.
Then there was laryngomalacia and surgeries to correct it. A laryngeal cleft that needed a surgical fix.
Ankle braces, followed by up to the knee braces, and in a month or so another set of ankle braces.
Not to mention 5 sleep studies, CPAP, and many genetic tests. And let’s not forget Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Physical Therapy.
Andrew, you kept your mommy and me very busy and, at times, very worried. We wondered if you would ever speak, but you certainly have mastered that! You are always talking now!
And your energy! Wow, if I could bottle come of that up! You are forever on the go. You never seem to stop running. You were born to play soccer (or any sport that lets you run around like crazy!).
When you are in a good mood, your laughter is contagious. You can be so very silly. When you wrestle, you are unstoppable (and often leave dad in tears because of a well placed kick or hit)! When you are in a bad mood, it ain’t pretty. You certainly remind me of my younger self. Of all of my four children, your temper tantrums top them all! The way you throw things may very well lead to a career in baseball or football.
You are unique, my son. I love you, always! You are a very special boy. You are a precious gift from God. I know that you will go on to do amazing things. Mommy and I cannot wait to be there with you and cheer for you along the way.
Happy Third Birthday, Bubby! Get ready to celebrate!!
Last Saturday, my wife left for work and called me just a minute or two after she left. She reminded me that the city was doing their “Trunk or Treat” event that night. I asked the kids if they wanted to go and all they had to hear was “candy,” and they were in!
It was a bit chilly that night, but we walked over and got in line. There was a big turn out. If I had to guess, I’d say at least 600 kids were there. They had two of the pavilions wrapped up in black tarps and they had mini haunted houses there. It was fun to listen to the screams from people in there.
They also had cider and doughnuts from one of the local orchards and the kids loved that. They had the parking lot lined up with cars that were decorated for the event. It took us about 40 minutes in line before it was our turn to actually “trunk or treat.” The first vehicle was one of the local fire trucks. Boy, did Andrew and Ella luck out!
Andrew was dressed as a firefighter. When he walked up to one of our local guys, he placed a handful of candy in his bucket. Then he reached in and put another handful in because they were now “brothers!” Ella got two handfuls, too because she was with him.
As a bonus, they made sure to let him sit in the truck, too!
Along the way, they had lemonade or hot chocolate for the kids, and coffee for parents. This made me very happy!
Some of the cars were really done up nice. There was one that was done up in a Star Wars Theme. They had a mechanical Yoda, R2-D2, and some folks dressed up. Andrew was a bit scared of the Stormtroopers, but Ella had to have a picture with “the man with the green light sword!”
I have to wonder if that night led to the kids getting sick. They both had runny noses Sunday night. Ella had a fever on Monday, so she missed school. On Tuesday, she had a cough and it was obvious that she didn’t feel well. She missed school again. We took her to the doctor and she has an ear infection, a sinus infection, and (because she sniffles instead of blowing her nose) she has the start of pneumonia.
Andrew still has the runny nose, but has not had a fever. That doesn’t mean he isn’t feeling sick. I can always tell when they are sick because the little things make them cry. It has been a cryfest all week! We’ve been heading to bed early every night in hopes that they will get some rest. On Monday night, Andrew was holding on to Bitsy and they both fell asleep while he was listening to music on his tablet.
October Baseball
I’m happy to see my Detroit Tigers playing October baseball. Yesterday, they shut out Cleveland 3-0 and now lead the ALDS 2-1. It’s a best of 5 series and it would be sweet for them to eliminate the Guardians at home tonight. Game time is 6:08pm ET. Go get ’em Tigers!!!
Florida
I have family and friends in Florida. I cannot even imagine having to go through yet another hurricane so soon. Milton is a monster and I pray that those who opted to stay make it through safely. The hurricanes are bad enough, but to hear that almost 20 tornadoes touched down before Milton even hit land.
I also have many friends in the Carolinas, Kentucky and Tennessee. The flooding and devastation left behind by it is heart wrenching. The loss of homes, animals, human life and entire cities is unbelievable. Tears flowed from my eyes as I watched the reports and the many videos.
I continue to pray for all the people who were affected by these natural disasters. I pray for the safety of those who remain in their homes and those who have lost everything. I pray they find comfort and strength to get through all of this.
Looking back at the past seven days, it’s been busy!
Still Kickin’
We had some issues with the soccer league that we signed Andrew up for. The communication prior to the actually first day was a mess. Do we need a uniform or not? Will the coach be there or not? It was not very well organized.
The first week, there was no coach. They texted the night before saying that neither the head coach or the assistant coach would be able to be there. This led to a mess of text messages wondering what the kids were going to do. They had two teen players lead the kids through some drills. For not knowing what they were supposed to do, the teens did OK.
The following week, the coach showed up. She had some drills planned, but she was the only one there. She was obviously overwhelmed. It was hard for her to keep the kids attention. With 30 minutes left, she decided to let the kids have “free play.” That basically meant that most of the left.
Week 3, the coach texted to say that neither coach could make it again. Andrew decided to stay home that week. We were totally ok with it, too. This led to an email from a league bigwig. “We noticed that only 5 of the 12 players showed up this week. Is there any concerns that you have? Is there something wrong?”
He opened up a can of worms. I wrote him a scathing e-mail back. I told him about the communication and the things that were never explained properly. I complained that we had to buy a uniform, when we were told that Andrew’s age group was going to be given a T-shirt to play in. I complained about the coach and the fact that there was no plan whatsoever for what was happening each week. I expressed my disappointment with the league and the poor planning and communication.
I never got an email back. However, the team got a new coach. He was texting us early in the week and keeping us abreast of what was in store. It was night and day when we got there last week. This coach was GOOD. He kept the kids engaged for the whole time. They had a blast. He even encouraged siblings to come and play, too, which Ella loved!
After those first couple weeks, Andrew kept saying that he didn’t want to go to soccer. He really was hating it. The new coach was supportive, and encouraging to every kid on the team. Andrew loved being able to help him and all of a sudden, he is loving soccer. Go figure.
Sign Here
School has been the absolute best thing for Ella. She comes home with stories every day. She talks about her friends and what they did at school. She tells us who the day’s “helper” was and what everyone wore to school that day.
They have her working on writing her name. She’s getting pretty good at it. First name now and last name next week. I love seeing how hard she is working …
As I got in the car to head to work today, Sam stopped me. She handed me a rolled up piece of paper. Ella had painted a picture at school. She wanted Sam to give it to me to put up at work. I don’t have my own office. I share the tech room with the rest of the staff. A beautiful work of art like this should be shared, so I put it on the bulletin board!
90% Done
I posted recently about finally being able to stain my deck. This week I stained the posts white. It looks great. I really thought I was done, but noticed in this photo that blue under the wood. I think I am going to stain that white, too. Very happy with the way it looks.
Winning!
It’s been nice to have some winning teams in Michigan lately. Monday night, my Detroit Lions wowed folks on Monday Night Football. I love the new black uniforms.
The last time the Lions beat the Seahawks was back in 2012! They had lost the last six games they played against them and that worried some folks. There was no need to worry, as Jared Goff had a stellar (and perfect) day! It was a record day for him, completing all 18 of his passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns.
Before Monday, only six players in NFL history have finished a game with a 100% completion rate with at least eight attempts. Goff is the first QB to finish perfect with more than 10 attempts and first to do it with over 200 yards.
What was even cooler was that Goff caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from Amon-Ra St. Brown on an end-around pass. Goff said that the pay has been in the play book for awhile, but they never seemed to have the right time to use it.
The Detroit Tigers surprised every one over the past few weeks. Back on August 11, they Tigers were 55-63 and 10 games out of a play off spot. Their chance of making the playoffs was 0.2%!!! When they clinched a Wild Card spot, Tiger’s announcer, Jason Benetti, had the perfect thing to say:
“A city that doesn’t care about the odds has a baseball team to match.”
In the Wildcard Playoffs, they faced the 2nd hottest team in the American League – The Houston Astros. Since August 11, the Detroit Tigers are 33-13! Yesterday, they swept the Astros and will face Cleveland in the American League Divisional Series! Game 1 is Saturday!
I’m not going to go back too far today, just a few years ago. While we were outside this week, the kids were talking about the leaves that were falling. They’ve been picking them up and coming over to me and showing me the different colors in them.
Fall, as you may be aware, is my favorite season. We’ve got a trip to the pumpkin patch planned for later this month already. This got me to thinking about the first time we took Ella to the local orchard.
It didn’t take me long to find this picture. This was such a fun day! Dimitri, my second born, came with us that day and we rode the hayride into the pumpkin patch to pick pumpkins.
I remember that Covid was only about 6 or 7 months old at this time. Everyone was masked on the hayride and there was plenty of social distancing. Despite that, it was one of the first real outings we had had in a long time and it felt so good to be out and about.
As I look at Ella in the photo, I can hardly believe it is her. She is so tall and thin now and all the chubby cheeks are gone. It’s amazing how much she has changed. That shirt is folded up and in her memory bin in the basement. I will resurface in about 13 years when she graduates! I think we may have saved that bow, too!
I cannot wait for the trip this year. Andrew’s former speech therapist is coming along with us and bringing her daughters (who Ella calls her older sisters). It will be a wonderful time and I hope to be able to get some great photos while we are there.
It seems odd to do a week in review “highlights” post on Thursday, but it really is the day that I get an extra minute or two to look back, so here goes.
Kicking Kid
While the days leading up to it were extremely unorganized, Saturday morning Andrew got to play soccer. It was quite a mess in the days prior as we had no idea what time to be there until the day before. Next, there was confusion about whether or not they had to wear cleats (They did. Thankfully, Ella’s baseball cleats worked.) Then there was confusion about whether or not we had to purchase a uniform (We did at $75). To top it off, hours before we were supposed to be there, the coach texted to say that she wasn’t going to be there – and the assistant coach was also not going to be there!
Thankfully, the guy in charge had a couple people who were there to run the kids around doing drills. So, technically, there was no game, but they got to “dribble” the ball up and down the field and shoot at the goal.
It was pretty chilly that morning and I wish we had all dressed a bit warmer. As much as we thought he’d love running around, he (and the rest of the 2-3 year olds) were done about 30 minutes in. He did love when they sat up some cones in front of the net and he had to try to know them down.
Sam was the “pin setter” for the soccer bowling.
Sam was stylin’
When we got home, we all relaxed around the house. Sam was sitting on the couch and Ella asked if she could brush Sam’s hair. This led to an impromptu hairstyling session.
All I could see was the front, but Andrew and Ella said I really needed to see the back…
Holy Bows!
Ella was sad that I have no hair to put bows in. Sam suggested she put them in my chest hair. I will spare you from having to see that photo!
Will I Walk ‘Round in Circles?
Yes. Yes I will. 17 circles in fact. The indoor track I told you about at Ella’s preschool is not a full size track, and so you have to go around 17 times to walk a mile.
The track is on the second floor and goes around the top of the basketball court. The day we walked it without headphones on, it was weird. The track is almost like a plastic/vinyl type material. My shoes were very loud as I walked on it. Now, when I drop her off, I put on my headphones and don’t even notice it.
There is also a gym/work out center there that I could join if I wanted to. I’m thinking about it, but I’d have to do everything before I head into work and I am sure that my coworkers would not want to sit near me post workout.
For what it is worth, it is a nice 30-45 minutes lost in music, a book, or my thoughts. It is very nice!
James Earl Jones
It was sad to hear of the passing of James Earl Jones. Man, did he have a voice! What a great actor, too. He made every role his own. As a child, I had no idea that he was the voice of Darth Vader (who gave me nightmares after seeing Star Wars).
James doing comedy was funny because he almost always played it straight. There is a scene in the Naked Gun 33 1/3 where Leslie Neilsen’s character is mistaken for Phil Donahue. At one point he see’s something that makes him ill at The Academy Awards show and he runs out on stage as James Earl Jones and Olympia Dukakis are at the podium. He leans over the band stand and vomits into a tuba. When Olympia asks James “What is that?” James says, as serious and straight as possible, “It looks like Phil Donahue throwing up in a tuba.” That never ceases to make me laugh.
David Letterman always had him on his show to do silly Top Ten lists and more. Here are just some of them:
Of the many tributes to him this week, I loved this one:
He was such a part of the Star Wars Universe and to have him amongst those who had passed away before him is simply beautiful.
Speaking of beautiful
My baby girl not only started preschool this month, but she also started her dance class. She will be learning ballet and tap. She had her first class this week. I was at work, but Sam kept me posted on the happenings. Even though there are no parents allowed in the dance studio where they kids are, Sam said you could hear the tap shoes tapping away.
She called me at work after he first class and was so excited to talk about it. They got to dance with tambourines and maracas and she loved every minute of it! I can’t wait to see her perform!
I guess I am officially a “soccer dad” and a “dance dad” – and I’m ok with that!
It’s going to be hard going back to work today. I took a couple extra days off because Ella started Preschool.
Friday, the teachers did a home visit at our house. She was excited to meet them. It was a half hour visit to answer questions about her likes and dislikes and to get to know her.
Tuesday, they had an open house where we could go and tour her classroom with her. She was so excited because other kids in her class were there too. She’d say, “Hi! I’m Ella, what’s your name?” It was hard to get her to leave.
Yesterday was her first real day. She woke up ready to go! Mommy did her hair, we had breakfast and were off. We got there early so we could get some pictures before she started. All she wanted to do was go in her classroom!
I was worried about her being upset when we left, but she walked in and never looked back. She couldn’t wait to get the day started.
There is an indoor track at the school, so Sam and I took the stroller and walked a mile with Andrew. This will be awesome for me because I can walk this everyday before work.
While Ella did great, it was Andrew who didn’t know what to do. He kept saying he wanted to go to Ella’s school to play. He truly missed her being away. I’m sure he will adjust and hopefully come to enjoy his alone time with mom.
When we picked her up from school, a teacher pulled Sam aside to say, “You guys are doing something right.”. Sam asked what she meant by that. I guess there were some kids who were very upset that their parents had left. They cried a bit, and Ella made it a point to go to them and tell them it would be ok and asked if they could play together when they felt better.
As a parent, that is the kind of thing you just love to hear. She is such a good kid and I hope that her loving and caring nature continues as she gets older.
I surprised myself and didn’t cry. The night before, however, I was having a very hard time.
Have a wonderful year, my sweet girl. Daddy and mommy are so proud of you and love you to infinity and beyond!
This week, Andrew woke up in a particularly good mood. He was talkative, silly, and a very joyful boy. My wife, Sam, said to him, “You’re in a really good mood today!” He looked at her and said, “That’s because I didn’t wake up with my mean eyebrows!”
I’m not sure where he gets those from!
The Joy of Reading
Bedtime at our house always seems to be crazy. It got a little crazier this week when I walked into the bedroom with books to read, only to find that Ella was already reading … to our kitten!
She seemed to enjoy it, despite the lack of kittens in the story.
Flip Flopping Around
Speaking of the kitty, Bitsy is making herself right at home. She has no problem standing up to our pup, Daisy. It’s quite humorous to see her swat her itty bitty paw at Daisy’s nose.
Watching her this week has only enforced the phrase, “Playful as a kitten.” She loves to play. We definitely have to get her a few more kitty toys. Until the, I guess she will continue to wrestle with Sam’s Flip Flops.
Special Shopping Trip
This week, Andrew graduated from his speech class. His speech teacher, Miss Christa, has been instrumental in helping us get the right services for him. She has been become more than a teacher to us, she is a friend. We told the kids that they could go to the store to pick out gifts especially for her.
We told each of them that they could pick five things for her. When we walked into the store, they were off. They did a great job. They got her a calendar, new pens, a pumpkin solar light, plastic cups with their favorite things on them (Disney Princesses and Paw Patrol), nail polish, and a couple fall figurines. They also made sure to get her some pretty flowers.
The fall figurines they got her were a fox holding an apple and a squirrel holding an acorn. When she pulled out the squirrel (which was from Andrew) she said, “Oh wow! What a cute squirrel! What should I name it?” Andrew, without hesitation says, “Pickle Nuts!!”
At the end of the day, she sent us photos of where she placed her gifts around the house …
Pickle Nuts looks happy to be there.
Summertime Imagination
Despite the humidity, the kids loved being outside this week. They love to ride their scooters up and down the street and play in the backyard. I usually pull up a lawn chair and grab a spot in the shade and watch them play.
They must have been hot, to, because they were a bit more stationary than usual. They grabbed four of their chairs and put two in front and two in back. Next thing I know, they were “driving” to the store, to the park, and to go get ice cream. Naturally, they had to have their butterfly nets with them…
I love listening to them play together.
Doggin’ Around
Monday was National Dog Day. As much as she drives me crazy, Daisy is a good pup.
Now What?!
As I was walking to my car to go to work today, an Amazon truck slowly passed my driveway. My wife is always ordering things from there, so I never know what is coming. I thought I’d survived another delivery when the truck stopped and started backing into my driveway! All I could think was, “What the heck did she order now!? And why do they have to back in to delivery it!?”
My fears went away as the guy walked out with a simple little package with a shirt or something in it. Whew! I truly was expecting the two back doors to fling open and the driver come out with a huge box on a dolly or something!
You may remember a week or so ago that my wife bought a bunch of costumes for the kids to dress up in. Can I tell you that this has been so much fun for them, especially on rainy days.
A few more costumes have been added since the original post, but what I love is that they have found ways to mix and match as they play. The results have been …. humerous.
Edna from the Incredibles was quick to say, “No Capes!” However, the kids seem to be using them as accessories to various costumes. The hospital exam glove on Andrew’s hand is there for no reason in particular. Believe it or not the yellow had Ella is wear is a cowboy hat. How it got mangled into that shape is beyond me. Daisy had a hat on, but it fell as I snapped this photo.
My favorite outfit of the week is the ensemble that Andrew put together to go “scooter riding.”
First, Ninja Turtle pajamas. Next, we have Ella’s T-ball cleat on one hand and his baseball glove on the other. Top top it all off, he has a regular baseball cap on his head and on top of that, the hat from the Paw Patrol Chase costume. I do not have to wonder why people driving down our street slow and stare at him as he happily rides his scooter up and down the driveway.
Bitsy
The thing about our new kitty is that she is so tiny. She hides everywhere. She snuck out when the kids had the side door open this week and didn’t go far. As a matter of fact, she sat in front of the door meowing.
She can get into tight spaces and since she got out once, when we can’t find her, I freak a bit. I could not find her the other day and thought, “Ok, maybe she is sleeping under a chair or in the basement.” So I sat down with a cup of coffee and out of the corner of my eye, I looked at the shoe rack. Sure enough …..
She’s a sneaky one.
“The smallest feline is a masterpiece.” – Leonardo da Vinci.
So a co-worker came in last week and sat down next to me. “Keith, do you want another kitty?” Without any hesitation whatsoever I gave her a firm, “No!” She showed me a picture of four kittens who had been abandoned at a relative’s house and said they were trying to find them homes. I said that was sad, but I couldn’t do another cat.
She posted the photo on Facebook asking for folks who wanted to give these kitties a new home. Within five minutes, I received a video call from my wife and kids. When I answer the phone, Andrew says, “Daddy. Can we please get the tan kitty?”
I forgot that my wife is friends with my coworker on Facebook. I turned and gave her a dirty look. She started laughing and told my wife that she had already asked me. I told her that I had politely declined, but that was not ending the conversation.
When Andrew goes into a meltdown or starts crying, we can usually get him out of it by suggesting he find our cat Maizey. He will find her and hug on her and all is better. So the argument was that the new kitten could be a therapy cat for Andrew. (THERAPY CAT?!?) Then my daughter came on the phone and said she wanted a kitty, too. I told them I would think about it.
My coworker called the lady who was taking care of the kittens to let her know I would be by the next day to pick up this kitten! I didn’t stand a chance …
So we piled into the car on the day before International Cat Day and drove the short distance to pick up the new kitten. Andrew was ecstatic! He went into the house with me and couldn’t wait to hold the kitty. We put her in the cat carrier and he wanted to carry it out to the car. I had to take it from him though, he was so excited he was shaking that poor kitty up on the way to the car!
There were many names tossed around and she was almost named Pickle! Then the kids remembered this cartoon show called Super Kitties that the watch on Disney. There is a cat on there that they like, so they named ours after it – here’s Bitsy.
As much as I was against getting a new kitten, to see the kids loving her makes it worth it.
Maizey isn’t quite sure how to take the kitty yet, but they seem to get a long. Daisy won’t leave the kitten alone! She’s always right by her.
The kitten is becoming a bit more playful and she’s already started swatting at Daisy’s nose. When those claws start to get bigger, the dog is in for a big (and painful) surprise!
Bitsy is already using a litter box and having no trouble making herself at home.
Last night she clawed her way up the blanket on my bed and began attacking my hand. She is obviously going to be very playful.
Of course, after running and playing, eating, and running away from the kids and the dog, she needs to find a place to sleep. Honestly, I’d prefer she lay on a blanket or something, but I suppose this is ok … for now….
While she has been mentioned before in a few blogs, I have one friend who has never had one completely devoted to her. Today, on her birthday, I want to rectify that.
As we get older, memories tend to fade. Details can get lost. We may remember things a bit differently than they actual happened. That’s one of the reasons I try to put things down here on my blog, to preserve those memories. Earlier this week, I focused on music from 1982, which is where we have to go for the beginning of my friendship with Margaret.
In our school district, there were like seven or eight elementary schools. So when we merged together in 7th grade, we met a whole lot of new people and made many new friends. I am sure that Margaret and I had more than just one class together in 7th grade, but I just don’t really remember anything but band class.
I can almost bet that I was the one who started talking to her. I remember thinking that she was pretty and so I bugged her a lot. I know that I drove her crazy. I was a pest. FYI – junior high Keith was a real dork. Yet, she was sweet and talked to me. Before the summer, we swapped phone numbers. I spent a lot of time on the phone talking to her in 7th and 8th grade. This was in the days before “call-waiting” and it drove my mom crazy that I tied up the phone. I’m sure her folks felt the same way.
I remember passing notes in the hallway in school. Recently she sent me a picture of one that I wrote her. It was folded and read “To: A sexy girl I just happened to see walking down the hall and is my bestest friend. From: Some Goon.” I laughed. It was totally something I would write. I’m sure there was little or no content in the letter, more than likely it read, “This class sucks. What are you doing later? Steve broke my trumpet today,” or something like that.
Our friendship grew throughout high school. We became very close. I think her folks, my folks, and certainly my grandparents wanted us to date, but we had a very special friendship and that was fine with us. We never dated, but went on dates, if that makes sense. We went to a few dances together in school (Homecoming, Snowball Dance). After one of those dances, I remember we were sitting in her driveway and ready to wrap up the evening. We had been talking and knowing that she was going to go in the house, we both sat there for a minute. I’m pretty sure I was the one who moved in for a kiss, and as we got close to each other, we both started laughing. We just knew that we’d never be more than friends.
We both had Ford Escorts our senior year of high school. She tried to teach me how to drive a stick shift in hers in the school parking lot. I just wasn’t getting it and most likely burned out her clutch. She got me back one day, though. I was in the band room early, as I always was. She came busting through the band room doors and said, “Where’s Keith!!??” I came out of the band library and she was crying saying, “I hit your car!” The parking lot was icy and she slid into the bumper of my car and caused it to dent in. It was really nothing and we both laugh about that to this day.
Margaret was always smarter than me. She was in the higher math and English classes. She was always getting her homework done (unlike me). She did like to cause trouble occasionally. I am sure that I blogged about this before, but Margaret, Ronnie and I all went out to TP our friend Steve’s house for his birthday. After the job, we stood on his front lawn and looked up at his bedroom window and sang “Happy Birthday.” As we turned to run away, the three of us were grabbed by a couple policemen who threw us in the back of their police cruiser. I think we all thought we were going to jail! Graduation wasn’t too far away and I remember freaking out! Steve’s mom smoothed it over for us and we were all let go – to clean up our mess.
After high school, she was off to college and would go on to become a nurse. She got married and had children before I did. At this point, let me quote from an earlier blog (1/1/2020):
When her daughter, Marissa, was born she asked me to be her Godfather. I was honored to do it. A Godfather is a very important role for an Italian. When I got married the first time, sadly, I saw less and less of Margaret and my Goddaughter. Whenever I was supposed to get together with them, I was always informed that we couldn’t go or we had something to do with my ex’s family. (If you have followed this blog for any length of time, you are well aware of the narcissism that I dealt with and how miserable my life had become.)
After the divorce, Margaret was one of the first to reach out to me. She completely understood what was going on. Her forgiveness meant everything to me. I hurt her. I was hurt, too. I lost many years of our friendship, and I lost so many moments with my Goddaughter. After all of that, Margaret (and many other friends) had every right to just stop talking to me, but our friendship meant so much, that we have picked up where we left off.
When I attended my Goddaughter’s 21st birthday party, I pulled her aside and apologized for missing so many important things in her life. How do you explain that to someone? As I looked back on the past, my stomach was in knots. I was sickened to think of how I must have made so many people feel. She didn’t bat an eye, however, and told me she loved me and we all enjoyed a great evening! I remember driving home from her party crying my eyes out. It wasn’t fair to her that I missed so many things. It makes me angry to know that I missed so much, but I am also happy that I can try to make up for lost time with her!
From that party – two of my favorite pictures:
Shortly before our daughter was born, Sam and I went to lunch/drinks with Margaret and her husband Walt. We really had a great time. We laughed a lot and shared some stories (like the ones above) that our spouses were hearing for the first time). Much like Sam, Margaret was also a very important part of my post-divorce life. Reconnecting with her was so special to me. Again, from that earlier blog:
During lunch, Margaret said something that struck a chord. It was something that made me sad, and happy at the same time. She said, “I have seen you more and talked to you more in the past two years, than the entire time you were married.” This made me sad, because of what I touched on early – a great friendship almost destroyed, as well as the relationship between my Goddaughter and me, all because of the stupidity of someone else. It made me happy to know that our friendship remains and will grow even stronger in the years ahead.
It has certainly done that! She and Walt brought us food at the hospital the night Ella was born. She has become the most amazing aunt to Ella and Andrew! She loves them so much and spoils them rotten. What a blessing she is to me and my family.
Margaret,
I can’t help but think back on the incredible and amazing journey of our friendship. I am reminded of the countless moments that have brought so much joy and meaning to my life. From the day we met, I knew there was something special about you, beside you being Italian! I am so grateful for your genuine kindness, your support and advice, and of course, your infectious laughter. Throughout it all, your constant support has been a source of comfort and inspiration for me.
On your birthday, I want to tell you how much you mean to me. For years, you have been a rock through thick and thin, always there to listen and offer non-biased advice and counsel. You’ve celebrated my successes as if they were your own and offered me an ear during my toughest times. Our friendship is a treasure that I cherish deeply.
I read something recently that I can easily apply to you and me: “Everyone has ‘a friend’ for each stage of life, but only lucky ones have that ‘same friend’ in all stages of life.” THANK YOU for being that ‘same friend” to me!
Today, I wish you happiness, love, and laughter. I thank you for all the wonderful memories of the past and look ahead to many more in the future. I love you, my friend.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 