Being a Grandfather
The last six weeks have been hectic for me, so my blog took a back seat to other priorities. I will talk about them later, but for now, I want to talk about grandparents, and specifically grandpas. September 11th was Grandparent’s Day this year. Though as a family we do not celebrate the day like we do Father’s Day or Mother’s Day, it did lead me to some reflections on the importance of grandpas.
I happen to be the proud grandpa, papa, of ten, and the great grandpa of 1. Seven of them were born to my children, two resulted from a second marriage to one of my children, and one was adopted into our family. It is a diverse and wonderful group of young people that I enjoy spending time around. Family gatherings are wonderful. Everyone gets along and seems to like each other’s company. If you get to the blog through Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/buck.jones.507/, you can look at my posts and you will find pictures of my grandkids fishing or with the fish they caught.
I don’t believe we have ever spoiled our grandkids. We didn’t have the money. But we tried to build a relationship with them. Of course, that was more difficult with some and is becoming more difficult as they age. The youngest are now in high school. The oldest is married and living in California. She is in nursing school and works at the hospital there. One is living in Kansas and is currently in the Police Academy. Another is in California doing an internship as part of her final year in college. It is hard to see them move away. But it is also a joy to see them grow into wonderful young adults.
This Friday through Sunday we had the opportunity to have one of our grandsons and a granddaughter over to dinner while the grandson’s parents took a trip to Chicago. He is in high school, playing football and I had forgotten how much teenage boys eat. And my granddaughter, who is working and in college, is no slouch when it comes to eating either. It was fun. I hope their memories of me are as fond as my memories of them. I also hope I am an example of a loving spouse, father, and grandfather in these times of temporary relationships.
My Grandfathers
When I grew up, my parents moved from Missouri to Colorado shortly after my brother was born. Every year, as far back as I remember, we took the thirteen-hour drive back to Missouri on summer vacation. We would stay at my maternal grandparent’s house. My maternal grandfather was a broad-shouldered man with more hair on his shoulders than his head. Before he retired he was an engineer, he drove trains, for the Frisco Railroad.
After he retired, they bought a cabin near the shores of Bull Shoals Lake, https://www.bullshoals.com/. While we were back there we would spend several days down at the cabin. That is where I learned to swim. I also remember him sitting in his recliner watching wrestling on television. He would move in the chair like he was participating in the match. If my dad tried to tell him it was all staged, they would disagree.
Though he may have been stubborn and set in his ways, he was an example for me of someone who loved his family and took care of them. I know that as I have aged, I am also becoming stubborn and set in my ways.
While we visited Missouri, we also spent time with my father’s family. Unfortunately, I never met my paternal grandfather. He died when my father was young. No one ever talked much about him, and my paternal grandmother’s husband was a bit odd. We didn’t call him grandpa. Everybody called him by name. As I grew older I found out my paternal grandpa committed suicide. Recently I was able to get a copy of the death certificate and coroner’s report. I feel sad that I never knew him and have only seen one picture of him.
I hope that my grandchildren and great-grandchildren are glad to have known me. I know my family will read this and I hope they have fond memories of grandpa, whether it is me or my father or my grandfather.
Beta Readers
If you have read this far, thank you. Now I am going to change topics. It is nearly eighteen months since I retired, The Adventure Begins. One of my goals was to devote time to completing a novel I had started several years before retirement. I thought I could have it completed by this time last year. But writing is harder than I thought, and editing is even harder. However, I have finished the first draft of the novel manuscript.
I am currently looking for a couple of Beta Readers to evaluate the story. I am looking for a “big picture” evaluation and am not concerned about minor grammatical errors or spelling. I need to know what works and what doesn’t and will provide questions for you to answer. Honest feedback is critical. If you are a regular reader of science fiction and fantasy; if you have time to complete the 88,000-word novel and provide honest feedback within 4 -6 weeks; if you believe you can give honest feedback contact me. I will provide the manuscript to you as a .docx, .pdf, or .epub file, along with the instruction sheet.
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