I don't suppose its unusual for the occasion of a 50th birthday to provoke a degree of introspection and retrospection. Fortunately, as my day approaches,
I can agree with the words of one of my favorite gospel songs, "it is well with my soul."
Just a glimpse of our lives in recent days tells the story...
On Friday, Brenda and I went to our oldest grandson's third to the last T-ball game. They won...and so did the other team because no one keeps score. Adding to a long list of things we'd vowed to do better than our parents, we'd been to every one of his games and all but one practice, and even our sons and their families had been to about half of his games.
Then Brenda and I enjoyed the hot summer evening in our "carnival ride to go" (convertible) on our way to our favorite Mexican restaurant before going to our almost completely refurbished home for an evening of converstation that would go into the wee hours of the morning. 30 years later, we still have a lot to talk about...
Saturday was busy. Our youngest grandson's two-year birthday party was pushed back a week because of a death in our daughter (in-law's) family, so the day was split between that and our father's day gathering later in the day. The kids always do well at organizing these things, and we like the way such gatherings keep our acquaintences with her family fresh.
Later, all the kids and grandchildren came to our house for father's day and, as usual, the food was great...especially the filets our daughter (in-law) grilled to perfection. As usual, the house quickly got filled with the toys and sounds of children at play...and we covet the joy that adds to the atmosphere. The large wood playset we had built in our back yard last year got plenty of use, too, and I got a bunch of really good pictures of our kids enjoying the day with theirs. It was a great father's day gathering. Later, the joy of the occasion fueled our late night conversations long after everyone left.
That gathering was done on Saturday instead of on father's day because, as almost all Sundays between April and September, it was softball Sunday. It was unseasonably hot (mid-90's), but I managed to complete my 71st and 72nd consecutive game since I started playing with my sons and a bunch of other young men I know and like (including a couple I coached in little league baseball years ago). Unfortunately, we lost one of the two games, but, at the mid-point of our 20-game summer season, it was the first loss we'd incurred, so we're still in first place by a game. For me, there wasn't really anything I'd rather have been doing on father's day than playing softball with my boys. We took our middle grandson home with us after the game for an overnight visit, which to our delight, is a regular thing with all three of the boys.
I stayed home on Monday to oversee installation of a new condensor unit for our upstairs AC, and this afforded me a little more time with our grandson, too. Later, our son and his wife brought us some very good news from a doctor's visit when they picked him up. Then, our oldest son dropped by to borrow the new sliding mitre saw they'd gotten me for father's day. He needed it for a job at our workplace, so I got to see it in action today when I came in. I thought to myself, how great is that they got me such a great gift and we're close-knit enough to where he could borrow it for use at the workplace we all share two days later? Then Brenda and I jumped in our "carnival ride to go" and went to our middle grandson's junior T-ball practice, a somewhat controlled chaos involving dozens of 3-4 year olds, a bunch of plastic bats and balls, and a few rubber T's on a baseball field.
Tonight, we have an early meeting at our house to finalize paperwork and payment for the new siding, windows, and gutters we just had installed on our house, and then our schedule is pretty open until we face off in a double-header with the second place softball team on Sunday. Brenda and I will make good use of the free time, even it involves nothing more than one of our favorite passtimes -- just being together. We'll probably spend some time planning and preparing for the "wedding reception we never had" we're having later this summer to celebrate our 30th anniversary.
So, aside from updating friends who occasionally drop by on our state of affairs, I guess my only point is that even though the world seems to be teetering on the edge of catastrophe, and I'm a few days from 50, it is, indeed, well with my soul. Though some doubted, our kids have stepped fully into life as good, decent, and responsible adults, and we are happy and healthy enough to enjoy the blessed places we've grown into as patriarch and matriarch of a wonderful and close extended family. Somehow all the curses that should have been blessings extended by so many former friends and relatives don't much matter when all of my true Father's consolations are factored in...
Just a glimpse of our lives in recent days tells the story...
On Friday, Brenda and I went to our oldest grandson's third to the last T-ball game. They won...and so did the other team because no one keeps score. Adding to a long list of things we'd vowed to do better than our parents, we'd been to every one of his games and all but one practice, and even our sons and their families had been to about half of his games.
Then Brenda and I enjoyed the hot summer evening in our "carnival ride to go" (convertible) on our way to our favorite Mexican restaurant before going to our almost completely refurbished home for an evening of converstation that would go into the wee hours of the morning. 30 years later, we still have a lot to talk about...
Saturday was busy. Our youngest grandson's two-year birthday party was pushed back a week because of a death in our daughter (in-law's) family, so the day was split between that and our father's day gathering later in the day. The kids always do well at organizing these things, and we like the way such gatherings keep our acquaintences with her family fresh.
Later, all the kids and grandchildren came to our house for father's day and, as usual, the food was great...especially the filets our daughter (in-law) grilled to perfection. As usual, the house quickly got filled with the toys and sounds of children at play...and we covet the joy that adds to the atmosphere. The large wood playset we had built in our back yard last year got plenty of use, too, and I got a bunch of really good pictures of our kids enjoying the day with theirs. It was a great father's day gathering. Later, the joy of the occasion fueled our late night conversations long after everyone left.
That gathering was done on Saturday instead of on father's day because, as almost all Sundays between April and September, it was softball Sunday. It was unseasonably hot (mid-90's), but I managed to complete my 71st and 72nd consecutive game since I started playing with my sons and a bunch of other young men I know and like (including a couple I coached in little league baseball years ago). Unfortunately, we lost one of the two games, but, at the mid-point of our 20-game summer season, it was the first loss we'd incurred, so we're still in first place by a game. For me, there wasn't really anything I'd rather have been doing on father's day than playing softball with my boys. We took our middle grandson home with us after the game for an overnight visit, which to our delight, is a regular thing with all three of the boys.
I stayed home on Monday to oversee installation of a new condensor unit for our upstairs AC, and this afforded me a little more time with our grandson, too. Later, our son and his wife brought us some very good news from a doctor's visit when they picked him up. Then, our oldest son dropped by to borrow the new sliding mitre saw they'd gotten me for father's day. He needed it for a job at our workplace, so I got to see it in action today when I came in. I thought to myself, how great is that they got me such a great gift and we're close-knit enough to where he could borrow it for use at the workplace we all share two days later? Then Brenda and I jumped in our "carnival ride to go" and went to our middle grandson's junior T-ball practice, a somewhat controlled chaos involving dozens of 3-4 year olds, a bunch of plastic bats and balls, and a few rubber T's on a baseball field.
Tonight, we have an early meeting at our house to finalize paperwork and payment for the new siding, windows, and gutters we just had installed on our house, and then our schedule is pretty open until we face off in a double-header with the second place softball team on Sunday. Brenda and I will make good use of the free time, even it involves nothing more than one of our favorite passtimes -- just being together. We'll probably spend some time planning and preparing for the "wedding reception we never had" we're having later this summer to celebrate our 30th anniversary.
So, aside from updating friends who occasionally drop by on our state of affairs, I guess my only point is that even though the world seems to be teetering on the edge of catastrophe, and I'm a few days from 50, it is, indeed, well with my soul. Though some doubted, our kids have stepped fully into life as good, decent, and responsible adults, and we are happy and healthy enough to enjoy the blessed places we've grown into as patriarch and matriarch of a wonderful and close extended family. Somehow all the curses that should have been blessings extended by so many former friends and relatives don't much matter when all of my true Father's consolations are factored in...
