There are two things I miss in my life…
My two grand dads
I nearly always think of them, everyday.
Even though they were from different backgrounds, and different lives. One was a school teacher, who volunteered to fight in WW2, and was based in Egypt, and Italy, during the war. The other was a miner, who served in the Fire Service during the war. One voted conservative, the other Labour. Their differences were quite vast, but the love they had was the same, and I had the same for them.
My proposal to Jayne (we had already talked about it) was in Venice, but it was on the same day as one of my Grand dads funerals. (I could not cancel the holiday)
My wedding to Jayne was one of my best days of my life, (bar the birth of Darcy) but it would have been better if they had been there. I know they were there in spirit, but it is not quite the same, I tried the “toast to absent friends” and missed by a mile. My dad managed to say what I failed to.
Now we have Darcy-pops, and naturally I would want my granddads to have a part in her life, but it is not to be, that’s something I have to deal with. I will have to make do with telling her about them.
I’m a man, and naturally men do not ask enough questions. We get the basic facts, I know little about my months as a baby, or about what my parents thought when I was born etc, etc, (bar the fact the nurses nicknamed me Kojak, (i was bold and nearly 11 lbs ))or when I first spoke etc , walked etc. It is the same with my grand dads. I knew them, but did I really KNOW them??
Something I MUST do in the future is learn to ask more questions, to find out more about my family. I have dabbled with my family tree, but my immediate family are the most important, and while I have people around me, I have time to ask questions, and learn.
As I get older I get this nagging sense of time passing, and the fact that family and friends will not always be there, as a kid you think you, and your family will live forever,
I must learn to use time more wisely, look forward to holidays back home, and enjoy spending time with those I love.
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4 comments:
Lovely thoughts, Gareth.
It's interesting that you say that men do not ask enough questions. I think that is true of Phil. He knows a lot about himself and his family after all of the questions I asked his parents. What was Phil like as a baby? Can I see all of his baby pictures? Tell me about Grandmother Porter... and on and on.
I think spending time with loved ones and taking pictures is a big deal. We NEED to do it. Preserve the memories. Remember the past. Cherish the people who have loved you. And, tell their stories.
Good stuff, man. Your blog is very timely for me.
I know what you mean, since my Dad died last year I've thought about him a couple of times a day.
Make the most of the time we have here.
lovely thoughts. It's nice to see a trend of people thinking about these things. Men or women, we've made our world spin so fast that we forget to stop and just look..ask questions....take photos.
Most men don't answer enough questions, either.
I have a feeling Darcy won't think that about you, dad.
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