Belated Birthdays: Willow and Judah

 

by Pa Rock

Proud Grandfather

I have used this space for years to talk about my children and grandchildren on their birthdays, and by doing that I was setting myself up for failure because I was bound to eventually forget one of them.   That has finally happened, and to make matters really bad, I missed TWO instead of one.  Pa Rock is old, very old, and he really regrets missing the birthdays of Willow, who was eleven on November 30th - and her brother, Judah, who turned thirteen two days later on December 2nd.  Mea culpa.

I did get birthday cards out to both of those wonderful grandkids on time.    This year I went with horse-themed cards because I know that they both like horses.  The cards should have arrived at their home in Oregon with time to spare.

Willow is in fifth grade and enjoys the finer arts.  She draws and paints, has mastered the ukulele and now is learning to play the clarinet.  She is in band and studying under the same band teacher who taught her oldest brother, Sebastian, how to play the saxophone.   Willow is also the family pet person and has been the main caretaker for the family's three cats - a mama and her two grown kittens - as well as the ever-faithful "Pixie," the family dog.  When Willow and her family visited me here at The Roost this summer, one of the things that she had fun doing was catching lightning bugs and putting them in a jar.  There aren't any lightning bugs where they live in Oregon.

The lightning bugs are gone now, but when I see them again in the late spring I know that I will think of Willow - and smile.

Judah surprised me this summer by how much he has grown, and yes, thirteen is a "growing" age.  When they were here he seemed to be interested in everything he encountered.  Judah enjoys activities at the computer, and if I had a question about how something works, he would be the grandchild that I would seek out for advice.

Judah is far more suited to navigate these modern times than his bumbling - and forgetful - old grandfather!

Happy late birthdays, Willow and Judah.  Just because I got busy and let them slip by unnoticed does not mean that I don't love and think about you every day - because I do!  

And I miss you.