"Anniversaire Nombre Deux"

......... The fair haired princess returns to the place that once brought her happiness. I embrace her as I had done many times before but this time is different. As she turns to leave once again, I silently wish "see me, see me now" and she does. We never again take our eyes from each other.

            Remember this excerpt from “Decades… The New Millennium” ? It’s the concluding paragraph from the fairy tale like story line I used to describe our search over the years for true love and happiness. It was a search that began many years ago before Joyce and I ever knew each other and concluded on this day, May 29th, two years ago.

           We both knew that something special happened that day, but I don’t think that either of us could have ever imagined just how much our lives were about to change! We were suddenly whisked away as if we had fallen into a vortex that magically transported us to another dimension. A dimension not like Rod Sterling’s “Twilight Zone” dimension of sight and sound, but a dimension of unbridled excitement, passion and new found love. It was a place we had never been before, a place we had searched for and longed for most of our adult life but had continued to elude us until this day.

           Over the past two years we have traveled many roads, weathered many, many storms, and fought battles that would have weakened many relationships such as ours, but through it all our love remains strong and true. For we have found the fairy tale of love affairs that most can only dream of and long for. Sure, we still have much work to do before we get to where we want to be, but two years ago today we started the most wonderful of all journeys, a journey filled with hope, promise, happiness, and everlasting love !  

A word to my “Fair Haired Princess”

My Dearest Joyce,
         Thank you so much for all the love and support you have given me over the past two years. I could not have made it without you. My love for you grows stronger with each passing day and along with it comes a level of happiness for which I have never known and it’s all because of you. My hope for you is that you have enjoyed the first two years of our new life together just as much as I have.

I love so very much !!!

Happy 2nd Anniversary

Tomorrow

          Tomorrow is the big day. Or at least we hope it is! Tomorrow is the day that my newest grandchild is scheduled to be born. The somewhat unusual choice by it’s parents not to know it’s gender has added quite a bit of suspense to the occasion.
         As the hours tick by I find myself becoming more and more anxious about tomorrow. It’s not like I haven’t been through this before, but it dawned on me just this morning that this time feels different for some reason. The level of emotion I am feeling is definitely higher than any other time that my girls have given birth.
         I began to remember back through the years to the births of my grand children. They all are special to me but some jump out as being extra special. Jacob was the first. Being first always holds special meaning. It was so wonderful to be a grandfather, I was so proud of him and still am to this day. Then there was Anna Kate. I still remember the shock we felt when we found out that she was born at home with the help of a mid wife. It was such a departure from what we were used to that at the time it was hard to comprehend. Although many of Monica’s kids were born like this, I have to admit, I never got over being scared.
         Elizabeth was Amanda’s first born. Being a single mother, and living with us at the time created a situation which we had never experienced before. By default we were directly involved in the day to day raising of her. At times I felt more like her father than I did a grandfather. Ten years later that special bond between us still exists.
        And now there is tomorrow. This child born tomorrow will be my first grandchild since my divorce. I am now on the front line, no buffer between myself, my daughter, my grandchild. That’s the difference. That’s why I feel the way I do. I feel so much closer to my daughters now than I did before. I feel more of a sense of responsibility this time around. But you know what ? I like it ! I like it this way and I am so looking forward to the future with this and every single one of my grandchildren, Those here today, arriving tomorrow and all those to come!