Skip to main content

Oh, Michael, I Miss You So - Part 1



"A dragon lives forever but not so little boys


Painted wings and giant rings make way for other toys."



Today marks the birthday of my grandson's 6th birthday. Michael Nathanial and sis Alhanna left to live in Oshawa, Ontario Canada last summer. He was 4 then about to turn 5. I have not seen him since. I will highlight our time together since he arrived at our house in Galesburg at the age of 2 1/2.


Alhanna was born in Galesburg in October and then left shortly after so I don't have the history with her that I had with Michael. For two years Michael and I were inseparable. This is our story.



They all arrived from Florida via a Trailways Bus. Brendan, Lindsay and little Michael. He could barely talk and was quiet. Certainly not love at first sight. In fact I think I referred to him as a "friend of a friend" when discussing our little man who moved in with Nancy and I that cold winter night. Brendan saved Lindsay and Michael from a tough situation and we were more or less pleased to help him and his new family. I wasn't sold on the deal at the time, being a bit of a grump when "change" comes knocking. But I decided to do the best I could and welcomed them with gifts and smiles.

I don't know when it hit me. It wasn't like an apple falling on my head or a great epiphany. It was more subtle, more insidious. It happened over time, with a few words, a few gestures, a few pats on the head, and a few rides on the back. It happened. I became a grampa, and I haven't been the same since.


Happy Birthday, Michael





Comments

  1. All these Michael posts made me cry you jerk. Why did I come by your blog and start looking around anyways huh?!? I miss you guys so very much. (THis is Lindsay by the way)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Flashback Friday

Class, Or Lack Thereof The Dwight Vice gravestone in Oquawka, Illinois. I bring this old chestnut out every so often just to remind me that class is classless.  Dwight Vice was killed in his home near Oquawka in 2001.  It was one of those things that can generate crime:  two guys thought Dwight had a lot of money stashed at home because of his pot-selling sideline to supplement his fishing job.   Not really one of those big drug deals gone-bad things.  Marijuana was, according to the trial, about the only stuff Dwight sold.   But these two guys barge into the house and killed Dwight and attempted to kill his 11 year old kid, Darryl, before they took off with what money they could find.   His son, now 23, was stabbed in the back and left for dead.  He survived and is wheelchair bound and has undergone several surgeries to repair his wounds.  He will be paralyzed for life.   None of this is pleasant.  Reading the f...

The Mary Davis Home - Part 2

None of these pictures were taken by me,  they came right from the MDH website.  I am posting these so that friends who have never seen inside where I worked can gain access.  After 27 years I have many stories, tales and acquaintances.  But, I wouldn't know how to express them appropriately in a few paragraphs.  I enjoyed 98% of my stay there and hope I made a difference in the lives of a fraction of the kids who entered.  The original MDH at this site was just the front part.  The large red-roofed area in back was added on in the 90's. This is the Jerry Carlton library.  It was unofficially named after one of the counselors who truly loved the place.   He passed away around 2002, I think.  Mr. Farber looks like he is explaining a few things to a client. The classroom. Activity area with the gym behind the windows. Another shot of the classroom. It was a little different area to teach since we had 2 classes and 2 teachers i...

Flashback Friday - Cold Case - Part One

53 years ago today, Gordon "Peel" Duncan walked into the dark post office in Seaton Illinois and was brutally assaulted by an individual or individuals.  He died two days later.  The murder was never solved.     Gordon Duncan was one of the publishers of the Seaton Independent, a weekly newspaper in town that started in the late 1800's and stopped publishing in the 60's.     We  boys were just young children when this took place, but we have been fascinated by it ever since.  The imagination of kids, I suppose or maybe the fact that it was unsolved.  Regardless, this was a big deal in our little lives.  For our parents it tended to shatter the idea that Seaton, our town, was safe.  That it could fend off the forces of evil in the world, that in our little universe we would be impervious to harm was gone forever.  For us kids I don't suppose we were old enough to know real fear.  Fear for us was not getting our list ...