Its been a while and many things have changed. For the sake of some distant time, someone may read this, It is April 2020 and we are in the first few months of the Coronavirus, COVID-19. It’s been about 3 weeks since Mary and I have seen our grandaughters in person. We are all taking precautions as tough as it is. As of this writing, all retail stores are closed except, bank drive-thrus, gas station, hardware, and grocery stores.  The entire world is in a “Shelter in Home” status.

I miss my daughter dearly in San Antonio and it brightens my spirit every time I hear her voice. My son and daughter-in-law now have 2 beautiful daughters. Finally, after 3 weeks, the girls came over this week and stayed over on my birthday. My daughter Jennifer sent me this lovely photo and I created a video montage of the girls decorating the cake with Mary. Notice the matching aprons they are wearing, A gift from Suzy, my daughter-in-law.  Many thanks to all of my family and friend who wished me a happy birthday. It couldn’t have any better unless Jennifer was with us. I’m just learning Adobe Premier so the quality or lack of it is all mine.

 

It happened today for the first time! When my son and his lovely wife had their first child, my wife and I were elated.  Less than a month later, my son, a Gonzaga grad, called and invited me to go with them to the NCAA final  4 in Phoenix Arizona. Of course, I thought he was inviting me to the game along with his in-laws. Unforeseen circumstances left my son, his wife, my new granddaughter and I heading to Phoenix.  I was lucky enough to be the first one they trusted me to watch her. Okay, I did have a lot of help from cousin Jose’s wife Ozzy who had small kids. I watched the game at their house. After a few months of maternity leave, my wife and I babysat on Mondays and Fridays. This was great because we could watch the baby and have them over for dinner 2 nights a week. I am grateful for having so much time with her. Never having a chance to meet my grandparents, I was the youngest of 4 and my mother was 41 at my birth, I never really thought of grandparents as part of a family. Many many days have passed since Natalia said “Dada” and this morning it happened! After spending the night, my wife brought her out of the bedroom and she said it, clear as day, “GRANPA“.   I’m grateful to my son and daughter in law for giving me and my wife the time we cherish spending time with her. As I shared my story in this short time of less than a day, I heard soo many stories of families who don’t have the same opportunity and closeness. Find a way to make amends and give our children the much-needed love they deserve. There are so many stories in the news of bad parenting. This is a story of great parents and grateful grandparents on both sides. We are blessed.