I had a pang of melancholy while we were sitting in there in the cold trying to locate you in the crowd of graduates at Folsom Field. Sitting at any event, waiting to catch a glimpse of you was always a good day for me.
I always had a deep appreciation for what magnificent souls you both were. It does not surprise me that you turned out the way you did, you were wired that way from when you were very young. So waiting to see that unfold at all of those games, concerts, sporting and social events was like having front row seats to the best show around. The cold/heat, the bad smelling gyms, the long days, early mornings, late nights, did not diminish the experience one bit.
Of all the amazing things you get to do in life, nothing really compares to watching your kid cross another threshold or reach another milestone in life. Nothing makes me so happy to be in a stadium or gym full of other parents and grandparents doing the very same thing. So on Friday, I was soaking that all up.
It only gets better, your next milestones and thresholds may not be celebrated in stadiums or on national malls. They will will be celebrated with smaller audiences but have a depth to them that will pale in comparison to the stadium. All of the really amazing things in life are directly in front of you and waiting for you to recognize them.
You will never have a full appreciation on how full and happy you have made my life until...
You leave 2 hours before an elementary Christmas pageant to get 4 hard uncomfortable chairs close to the stage. All of this to take a bad movie of your own child who may not know the words to the song that his class is singing. The very same kid you have spent the day with, who has been pressing his luck all day. He/She will walk by and you will wave at him like you have not seen him for years and you will whisper his name and try to do it louder than the lady next to you. And when they walk by you will swell with pride that will make your heart hurt.
That is the day I want you to re-read the entire Dad blog. You will then begin to understand how deeply you are loved and how intensely proud I was of you all these years.
Make sure and call Grandma for no reason at all. She was telling me that you were those rare kids that were beautiful on the inside and outside and did not yet know it.
Love Dad
