It happened on a Tuesday eighteen years ago today. I became a grandfather! That's right I've been a grandfather for eighteen years now. Yeah, I know it's my grandsons birthday, but I became a grandfather. So this day is really all about me. What? Wait a minute I'm not a millennial but that is the logic they might use. Mark, that's my grandson is technically a millennial. He was born the 388th day of a new millennium. That was January the 23, 2001. Mark is far from the stereo typical image we have formed of what a millennial is. No sir, Mark is old school cool. A member of the honor society throughout his school career, a student athlete, member of the Wesleyan church and a defender of freedom! A true Patriot. And today, today he will register for the draft. A boy no more, today he is 18 years old! And me, I'm still a grandfather.
I have had the pleasure, the joy, the privilege to have accompanied Mark on his voyage this far. Not many days have gone by when I didn't see him or at least speak with him. I've watched him grow and marked the milestones for him. With my trusty camera I have documented achievements and defeats. I have a lifetime of memories with him, his whole lifetime so far in fact. We often think of lifetime as an end, but it is not, it is just the time to the present moment. I'll be seeing him after school today. It will be different though, he'll be eighteen then. Well, almost as he was born near five o'clock in the evening on that Tuesday. Grandma and I will be with him when that happens, the birth of year eighteen for him. We will welcome it in together, just as we did the first. And yes, we baked a cake.
It is a reminder how quickly the years slip past. It's Mark's birthday, he's eighteen. I've seen him go from infant to toddler to juvenile and now to manhood. I've watched and encouraged every step. I remember when he was small, I remember being afraid. Afraid that he might get hurt in some fashion, I was afraid for him in a way I hadn't been afraid for my sons. It was a fear born of aging and wisdom. A grandparents fear. Perhaps it stems from a parents folly, who knows? But anyone that is a grandparent knows the feeling. Where you allowed your children to ride their bicycles to the store, or allowed them to play football without second thought or trepidation, with the grandchildren you worry. I have paused with sadness at a thought, the thought of my grandchild being sick or hurt in some way.
So today I mark another milestone. My life is intertwined with my grandson. It could be no other way and I am blessed beyond measure. In a short time, high school will end for him and a new course plotted. The plan is to go to college to study for the law. That's the plan today anyway. It's taken a lifetime to get here. To say I couldn't be prouder to be his grandfather is an understatement of momentous proportions. I could write chapters about his accomplishments but suffice to say, he's the best. A young man. Just how did that happen. It was all his doing, he made me a grandfather. Yeah okay, his Mom and Dad helped but I'm responsible for what Dad did sooo. Happy Birthday Mark.
I haven't told him yet but he has another job to do. After College, after law school, after marriage, he has to make me a great-grandfather! Hey, that's what grandchildren do you know. Grandchildren keep us alive and carry us forward. Generation after generation. He's eighteen today and all of that can happen in less time than that. How's that for perspective? Yes I have granddaughters that can make me a great grandfather but my hope is they will wait for another 25 years or so! They are only sixteen now. Forty seems about right to have babies. LOL
Something I have learned, a grandparents fear is an expression of love. I can think of no word for that. Doting is often what others would use, but that isn't accurate. Love isn't a doting thing. A grandparents fear is for the loss that may happen to another! The fear isn't for yourself. It just feels like it is.
I have had the pleasure, the joy, the privilege to have accompanied Mark on his voyage this far. Not many days have gone by when I didn't see him or at least speak with him. I've watched him grow and marked the milestones for him. With my trusty camera I have documented achievements and defeats. I have a lifetime of memories with him, his whole lifetime so far in fact. We often think of lifetime as an end, but it is not, it is just the time to the present moment. I'll be seeing him after school today. It will be different though, he'll be eighteen then. Well, almost as he was born near five o'clock in the evening on that Tuesday. Grandma and I will be with him when that happens, the birth of year eighteen for him. We will welcome it in together, just as we did the first. And yes, we baked a cake.
It is a reminder how quickly the years slip past. It's Mark's birthday, he's eighteen. I've seen him go from infant to toddler to juvenile and now to manhood. I've watched and encouraged every step. I remember when he was small, I remember being afraid. Afraid that he might get hurt in some fashion, I was afraid for him in a way I hadn't been afraid for my sons. It was a fear born of aging and wisdom. A grandparents fear. Perhaps it stems from a parents folly, who knows? But anyone that is a grandparent knows the feeling. Where you allowed your children to ride their bicycles to the store, or allowed them to play football without second thought or trepidation, with the grandchildren you worry. I have paused with sadness at a thought, the thought of my grandchild being sick or hurt in some way.
So today I mark another milestone. My life is intertwined with my grandson. It could be no other way and I am blessed beyond measure. In a short time, high school will end for him and a new course plotted. The plan is to go to college to study for the law. That's the plan today anyway. It's taken a lifetime to get here. To say I couldn't be prouder to be his grandfather is an understatement of momentous proportions. I could write chapters about his accomplishments but suffice to say, he's the best. A young man. Just how did that happen. It was all his doing, he made me a grandfather. Yeah okay, his Mom and Dad helped but I'm responsible for what Dad did sooo. Happy Birthday Mark.
I haven't told him yet but he has another job to do. After College, after law school, after marriage, he has to make me a great-grandfather! Hey, that's what grandchildren do you know. Grandchildren keep us alive and carry us forward. Generation after generation. He's eighteen today and all of that can happen in less time than that. How's that for perspective? Yes I have granddaughters that can make me a great grandfather but my hope is they will wait for another 25 years or so! They are only sixteen now. Forty seems about right to have babies. LOL
Something I have learned, a grandparents fear is an expression of love. I can think of no word for that. Doting is often what others would use, but that isn't accurate. Love isn't a doting thing. A grandparents fear is for the loss that may happen to another! The fear isn't for yourself. It just feels like it is.
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