The majority of my ramblings on this blog have revolved around Daniel’s death and life. This is natural, I suppose, as he is why I started the blog. Most of the writings have dealt with my grief, crying, and general sadness. There has been a taste of fond thoughts, hope at seeing him in heaven and humor but it has mostly been negative things. As I have said, I don’t know how long I will grieve to this extent, but these moments are winding down in number and intensity. For this, I am grateful.


Yesterday, I began to give some thought to the bright side of my life which led me to the other members of my immediate family. From the youngest, Caedence, my sweet and newest baby girl who is only a month old; Judah, my nine month old grandson who is crawling everywhere and pulling himself up to a standing position; Cambria (19 months) who does the “pretty girl” dance, runs to give me hugs and loves to play chase; Logan the five year old future UFC fighter who is hooked on all things Godzilla and who jumps up to sit next to me without prompting; Luca my seven year old deep thinker, future doctor or lawyer who is the most awesome Lego builder I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.

These five grandchildren were birthed by my two extraordinary daughters, Heather and Holly. Judah is Holly’s son; the two girls and the other two boys are Heather’s. Currently, Holly and Judah live with us so I get to see them interact almost daily. Holly is a great Mom who talks sweetly to Judah, calling him “Bug.” She makes him laugh a lot and it is a joy for me to watch them together. Sometimes they play chase with Grandma Linda who holds Judah as she “runs” away from Holly. Good times.

Heather’s mom skills are awesome and she needs every bit of them to deal with her four kids. I call Luca and Logan “Comanches” due to their wildness. Cambria adores them and wants to do everything her big brothers do. Caedence is nursing and she can scream louder than any infant I have ever heard. Heather takes all this in stride and handles all four very well. She is also a doula (look it up) and is training to be a midwife.

My daughters are awesome; they have big hearts, care about others and love their Daddy. I am so proud of how they are raising their children. I am prouder to be their father. They are not great mothers by happenstance. They learned from the best. Linda is a great mom and an even better grandma.She loves her babies with a passion and it shows by how she interacts with the four who live in Sebastopol when they are visiting us. She takes Luca. Logan, Cambria and Judah on walks to the park, plays games with them and invents all sorts of fun things for them to do.

Yes, I have many “bright spots” in my life and I am so grateful to God the Father who has blessed me so richly. I encourage anyone who is facing adversity to look for the bright things in your life.

Personal note to my sons-in-law Sam Masamitsu and Bryan Nani: I didn’t mention you above because ummm, I couldn’t think of anything to say. (= Treasure your blessings, boys.




Proud Big Sissy



UFC Fighter of the Year 2032





 


Proud Fisherman


Children of the Corn

Brand New Caedence with Mommy Heather

Holly and Judah




Comments

Mouse said…
Thanks for the kind words Dad. as parents we want our kids to grow up to be better than we ever were and as kids we want to grow up into something our parents are proud of. Thanks for everything you taught us. you're the best
November 29, 2012 at 7:34 PM
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