Today is your grandfather's 70th birthday. You get to spend it with him, and that means a lot to him.
When your mom and I knew we were pregnant with you, I had a little chat with him. He was visiting your Uncle Bob and Aunti Kim in Atlanta over Thanksgiving. We went for a walk, sat down in the woods and I asked him about his experience as an older father.
He and Gigi adopted Peter in his early 50's. He told me that having another child in his 50's was the last thing in the world he was thinking of, but when it happened it is the best thing in the world. Now he and Peter are best friends, and their lives are so much better.
So I waited, then told him, "Well, I wanted to know because I am going to be a father for the first time, at age 53, and that means you are going to be a grandfather. And it wasn't an accident, it was planned."
He looked at me, smiled and said, "So, I gather you are serious about this between you and April."
George (you call him Papa) has become a great friend of mine. He is an early bird like we are - and we get to have that time to chat and enjoy watching you.
One of my other favorite memories is when you were just home from the hospital, about six days old. Your mom was exhausted from feeding you. He and I were up in your room and you were crying. I put my finger in your mouth and your mouth was dry. I didn't want to wake up your mom, so I found a bottle of formula from the hospital and you drank it down and went back to sleep. I was worried that the breast feeding mafia would picket the house. But you did just fine, and your mom got sleep - and I looked at George like a fellow co-conspirator, "I guess he is going to be alright, I'll tell April when she gets up." Your mom, needless to say, was quite happy about it.
You have a lot of people in your life who are special son - and today is the day to enjoy him.
Love,
Dad
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| From Today- you and George at their Cottage in Cobourg |
