Eric Turns 30!

It's hard to believe our "baby" boy turned 30 last week. Although with Eric, he always remains the same--funny, boyish, caring and compassionate. He was dubbed "friend to all" in high school. He is known for his incredible sense of humor and his humility. He speaks his mind, generally with tact, but sometimes is blunt and to the point. You can always depend on his honesty in all aspects of his life.
Giving him a "surprise" party was a challenge for poor Nyki. He knew about it, just not the details of the party. She eventaully told him not to mention it and let her do her thing. He did. And he put on the surprise face when he arrived. The party was a lof of fun, with friends coming in from out of town that he hadn't seen for a while. It's always good to renew friendships!
Since marrying Nyki nearly 5 years ago, we have seen him go from fun-loving, anything-goes daredevil, to caring husband, and now protective father. Emery is all about her daddy. When he walks in and she hears his booming voice, her whole face lights up! She speed-crawls to get to his legs where she pulls herself up waiting for him to pick her up. I don't think there is anywhere she would rather be than in her daddy's arms. And he is such a good father. He is somewhat overprotective, but I chalk that up to being a first-time father. (What's so wrong about a grandma who lets her granddaughter teeth on a twizzler?)
At any rate, our thumb-sucking baby boy is now a 30-year old, dare I say, Man? How can this be? Being our last child, everything he did was special. And it still is.

A Day in the Park

Yesterday was beautiful here in Cincinnati. The temperature was 72 degrees, the warmest so far this year. Mylina and I picked up my grand mother, Ruth and took her to the park for a mini-picnic. We bought some Subway sandwiches and chips and a couple of sodas and we were off.

Gram loves to do things, and go places, but it is getting increasingly difficult as she slows down a bit. She is 92, and after having a stroke several years ago, she walks with a walker around the house, but when we go out, I push her in her wheelchair. She kept telling us how wonderful it was to be out and how much she loved the breeze.

Grandma is a remarkable woman. She has seen much, loved many and enjoys her life to the fullest, every single day. She has traveled the world, loved three men totally, and had two wonderful children, my dad and my aunt. She worked for Champion Paper Company for 40 years and built her life from scratch. She is dedicated to her family and friends. Her best friend, Jackie, have known one another for 55+ years (I know that because she remembers me as a baby!). Jackie calls her every single night to check in and and make sure Gram is okay. She is a treasure in Gram's life.

One of the thousand things I love about her is her hands. Even at 92, they are strong, with long straight fingers, hard fingernails and they are easy to hold. They still grasp my hand well, hold on to her beautiful great-great grandchildren, Sierra, Parker and Emery, and reach for my face to give me a kiss. I know she has seen more and experienced more, has had more things fall through her fingers and even more that she has held onto, than most people will ever know. She is a very special person and a woman to be admired.

So we have five generations in our family, and hopefully we will keep that many for several more years. I would love to host a 100th birthday party for her in 2015.