August 15 1974

That's right. It was on a day just like this 33 years ago that "our" family began. It was quite a day and if you'd asked me then what it would be like 33 years later there is no way I'd have figured it could have been so good. I know that as a couple, we had hopes of children but by the time I realized the cause, we had five. As I watch the next generation grow I marvel at the process. I often ask myself, "When did that happen?" I'm talking about things like crawling, walking, toilet training, talking, and so on. It all seems a blur. I'm thinking that grand parenting is a way to watch kids grow up in slow motion as compared to the speed of light that children grow. I suppose most of the reasons my memory suffers is because I wasn't as involved in the nurturing process as fathers are now days. At any rate, I look forward to many more experiences with my sweetheart. Once while we were courting, I played Dona the Beatles song with the line, "will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm sixty-four." So far, so good! As I write this I imagine that I'm writing to our children. I'd like them to know that I'm proud of each of you. I'm especially proud of your choices, particularly your spouses. It's also very comforting that you are all, in many ways, like your Mother. I've said before, I'll never be as giving as her, but she did choose me and that has made all the difference.