Wow! By the grace of God, I will be 85 years old in less than a week. That, by itself, is a minor miracle.
On September 21, 2000, I Had a heart attack. It was caused by a complete blockage of my LAD ( left anterior descending) artery. The LAD is a major coronary artery. Its blockage is called “ The Widowmaker”. With God’s help, my amazing cardiologist at Roper Hospital removed the blockage, put two stents in my heart and saved my life ( the first time). Hmm. What if the “Widowmaker” lived up to its name? What would I have missed? The following is “not” an all-inclusive list. It is the thoughtful musing of an old man at about 5 AM.
First, I would have missed the many laughs, struggles, travels, love and just plain living with my wonderful wife, Marjorie for these past 24 years.
I would have missed the graduation from high school and college and the beginning of my grandson, Joshua’s career as a police officer.
I would have missed helping his mom, my daughter, Christine ( just a bit) to raise him to be the fine man he has become.
I would have missed his marriage to the beautiful Cierra and maybe most of all, I would have missed the birth of my two year old great granddaughter, Lucy.
I would have missed similar graduations of my gorgeous granddaughters, Sydney, Erin and Caroline and sharing the joy of those graduations with my son, Jim and his wonderful wife, Kiersten, while they live and work in the Savannah, Georgia area ( just 2 hours from us).
I would have missed the beautiful wedding of my lovely granddaughter, Sydney to her handsome husband, Tristan. I never saw such a beautiful wedding party than I saw at that ceremony.
I would have missed watching my gorgeous granddaughter, Erin , as she starred ( yes, starred) in several Carolina Crown practices and competitions as the prima dancer and guard member. Always prima in my very humble opinion. I think you’re great.
I would have missed a few trips to my only real city, New York. But what I will always ( a very variable word) remember is Caroline, while we were climbing the many Statue of Liberty steps, leaning over and saying, “Granddaddy, I don’t know how to do CPR”. Thank the Lord, you didn’t need it.
I’m so very proud of my granddaughters and look forward to celebrating Caroline’s college graduation at her home on May 11.
I would have missed the frequent phone, text and email conversations with my son, Jeffrey.
Jeffrey, his beautiful wife, Angela and my awesome grandson, Apollo live in the Portland Oregon area, which is a bit out of reach for us these days. They’ve had some very difficult health issues and I’m so very proud of their gargantuan efforts to overcome those issues. Jeff and Angela , please know that Marjorie/Mom and I are always here for you. I hope and pray your difficulties are behind you now.
As for Apollo, I couldn’t be more proud. I wish you continued success at Oregon State. I know you’ll excel in whatever you endeavor.
My next expected week full of memories will be June 29 -July 6 at Folly Beach. We’ll miss our Portland family due to travel distance, but expect the rest of our family will be there with us.
May I be so blessed as to have several more great memories over many more days and years
I do consider birthdays achievements these days. Eighty freakin five!! Who’d a thunk?? Enuf for now.