My Son is Fucking Awesome
Yeah yeah yeah, everyone says that about their kid. I'm starting to realize, though, that my son loves me the way I love/loved my father: quite unconditionally.
Thursday night, after dinner, we setup our Christmas tree. As explained in a previous entry, Friday afternoon, my wife, my son and my two nephews hung the lights and bulbs and whatever else goes on a Christmas tree. I was assigned the task of setting up the scenery under the tree. That is absolutely my favorite part, as I'm a Lionel Train junkie. Well, I'm not that much of a junkie, but I love the one that I have. Dearly. It was my Grandfather's on my Dad's side. He bought the set in either 1939 or 1940. I cannot pinpoint the year. Regardless, he eventually passed it on to my Father (which caused a huge fight for years between my Dad and his brother, Eugene), and it eventually fell to me.
Anyway, I get home Friday night. In my living room is a note from my son, with the following words:
Dad,
We left this for you to hang up. We thought it would make you happy.
Love,
Matthew
(there was actually a bit more to the note, but I cannot recall what that is at this point. I'm going to scan it in and post it as a picture eventually)
When I saw what he was talking about, I burst into tears. Little things, these days, seem to do that to me. See, we have a Christmas Bulb with the name of almost everyone in our immediate family on it. My son, when he was younger, used to call my Dad "Papa". Not Pap, or Grandpap, or whatever. He called him Papa. So that's what we put on my Dad's Christmas bulb. Well, that was what was laying behind the note that Matthew had left me. I was completely floored, but in a good way. My Father used those exact same words when my brother TJ came around (three days before he passed away) and they made amends. When it was just my Father and I, on August 4th 2006, he had said "This day has been amazing. I'm am very happy to be married to Donna finally, but your brother completely floored me, but in a good way". Now I understand what he meant. I thought I understood him before, but at that moment, I was sure. And I felt what he had felt when my brother walked into that hospital room to make amends with him.
I bawled like a kid with a skinned knee on and off all night on Friday. It was Barbie's idea to leave the Bulb for me, but it was all Matthew's idea for the letter. He knew that I'd come home and he'd probably be on the computer playing Warcraft (which he was doing ... heh) so he left me that note. I was completely floored, and I am still in amazement at the capacity for love that a child has for their parent(s). Like I said before, My Son is Fucking Awesome.
Thursday night, after dinner, we setup our Christmas tree. As explained in a previous entry, Friday afternoon, my wife, my son and my two nephews hung the lights and bulbs and whatever else goes on a Christmas tree. I was assigned the task of setting up the scenery under the tree. That is absolutely my favorite part, as I'm a Lionel Train junkie. Well, I'm not that much of a junkie, but I love the one that I have. Dearly. It was my Grandfather's on my Dad's side. He bought the set in either 1939 or 1940. I cannot pinpoint the year. Regardless, he eventually passed it on to my Father (which caused a huge fight for years between my Dad and his brother, Eugene), and it eventually fell to me.
Anyway, I get home Friday night. In my living room is a note from my son, with the following words:
Dad,
We left this for you to hang up. We thought it would make you happy.
Love,
Matthew
(there was actually a bit more to the note, but I cannot recall what that is at this point. I'm going to scan it in and post it as a picture eventually)
When I saw what he was talking about, I burst into tears. Little things, these days, seem to do that to me. See, we have a Christmas Bulb with the name of almost everyone in our immediate family on it. My son, when he was younger, used to call my Dad "Papa". Not Pap, or Grandpap, or whatever. He called him Papa. So that's what we put on my Dad's Christmas bulb. Well, that was what was laying behind the note that Matthew had left me. I was completely floored, but in a good way. My Father used those exact same words when my brother TJ came around (three days before he passed away) and they made amends. When it was just my Father and I, on August 4th 2006, he had said "This day has been amazing. I'm am very happy to be married to Donna finally, but your brother completely floored me, but in a good way". Now I understand what he meant. I thought I understood him before, but at that moment, I was sure. And I felt what he had felt when my brother walked into that hospital room to make amends with him.
I bawled like a kid with a skinned knee on and off all night on Friday. It was Barbie's idea to leave the Bulb for me, but it was all Matthew's idea for the letter. He knew that I'd come home and he'd probably be on the computer playing Warcraft (which he was doing ... heh) so he left me that note. I was completely floored, and I am still in amazement at the capacity for love that a child has for their parent(s). Like I said before, My Son is Fucking Awesome.