A Very Special Day

A few weeks ago I was in the unusual situation of enjoying lunch with my son and my grandson on a Monday afternoon. It was an unusually nice day in February and Brian had taken the day off while Lindsay was at work so we went for a walk through the neighborhood. Brian showed me the best place to buy fresh fruit, some of his favorite restaurants and we ran a few errands. We ended up at his favorite Greek restaurant and sat together enjoying some wine and grilled calamari.  Yes, I said enjoying wine and it was a Monday afternoon. As we sat there talking and eating, Jack by the way slept for the entire hour being the perfect baby that he is, I could not help but think that this was probably the first time in a decade that I had been alone for a lunch out with my son. This was a very special day for me and I think Brian felt it too.

I realized that I am now in a unique and privileged situation that rarely happens to parents of adult children.  I am able to actually witness how my son is living his life. Since Brian left for college twelve years ago we have remained close but it is impossible to truly understand how one's child is actually living his day to day existence.  We all want our kids to grow up and become independent and I have always known about the major events in his life but now I can observe so much more. I can see what a wonderful dedicated father he is becoming and how natural it is for him to care for Jack. I always knew that he had chosen well when he married Lindsay but I can now see how well they work as a family and how important they are to each other. It is the little things that I am able to see like watching them cook a meal together or organizing their schedules that are so comforting to me. I can also observe the challenges that they face juggling their careers with their family life. It is difficult to express but it reminds me that sometimes your child can tell you about a new home or a new city that they are living in but until you actually see them in their surroundings you don't feel the level of comfort in knowing that they are happy. I now know that when I return home I will be able to picture them taking a walk to the park this summer and playing in the playground with Jack.  I will be able to visualize them in everyday situations and somehow that makes me very happy.



Father and son enjoy a beverage together. Cheers!

I know that our children are always "children" to us but this experience has made me realize that Brian has become the man that we hoped that he would become.  It is very difficult to believe that this is the same guy we waited up for so many nights during the teen years and I can only smile when I think about him doing the same thing in the future with his son.


What a beautiful family