Nov. 30, 2003 - 20:47 PST

THE WONDERING JEW

Or Not

Fast forward will do the trick now and then. In some cases it is pure profit to a person. But, but, but. Why is it now that I am older the time zips by faster each day. I would like to savor each fleeting moment as they come. Not the case though, they go by so fast that the numbers on my train of thought are indecipherable.

I cheat, I do. I have in my memory things in the past that are good things that happened to me, to us. In moments when the weeks spin by like seconds used to, I take some of the good memories out and do a rerun of the fun.

Tonight after our rummy game after things settled down I thumbed through my memory book. Back to the time our youngest daughter was born, so tiny she was. I did a slo mo of her young years, watching her grow into becoming the wonder of a person, wife and Mom of today. Specifically I remember walking down the aisle with her at her marriage. In a somewhat self satisfied way I murmured to her, "Now my job is done Milady." In almost a whisper she replied, "Not until you have held my baby in your arms Daddy." You know Doug, you never even knew that your daughter was planning on a family ?

They waited for the right time and her first one was on the way, still a passenger. I was in Denver at his birth, Heather was here for the premier. It was not long after he was born that I could come and truly hold him in my hand, his bottom at the crook of my elbow and his head in the palm of my hand. Next one is teaching him to climb the stairs at our house, carpeted and padded it was. He thought it was fun to the max, but his Mama didn't. But their stairs where they lived was carpeted and padded also. I finally eased the situation by telling her that it was probably only a week or so premature and he would have done it on his own. Watching him on his Hot Wheels, pedaling around on the big back deck of their house, the roar of the wheels almost deafening on the sounding board of the wooden deck. In the spare moments would come, "Tickle me Grandpa," and he would be tickled 'til I was tired out.

After a couple of years or so his baby sister came on the scene. Then Heather and I could take turns with the kids. She'd pamper the baby girl, hold her while she napped and Heather enjoyed every minute of it. During that time I would be chasing him around the deck on his Hot Wheels, making sure I couldn't quite catch up to him. He, pedaling away merrily laughing all the while. Then later on Heather would do girly stuff with little sister while grandson and I continued the chase me game in one form or another. We all had fun going to Amazon Park near where they lived, I would get tired out from pushing the swings, or the crazy tire thing that could be swung and twirled at the same time. There was a barebones fire truck anchored down for the kid to play on, they would spend lots of time on that. Time passed, fast. Then he was beginning to ride a bicycle and our trips to Amazon let him perfect his prowess on a bicycle. Sometimes he would bring his basket ball and practise shooting hoops.

Now he is fourteen, over six foot, his sister will soon be eleven. Both are smart in school and very active in seasonal sports. They both play basket ball and she plays soccer. The team she is on just won the state championship for her age group, a trip to Portland for that game.

Our daughter turns more miles than a taxi driver I bellieve just getting the kids where they have to go for their after school activities. Besides that she takes them to school and brings them home.

A memory stands out in my mind, him on his Hot Wheels on the back deck, going for all he was worth, around and around he'd go until his Dad would come out and make him stop and rest. As soon as he could get permission, back out he would come and make those wheels roar some more.

His sister is a very girly girl in spite of being a player on the athletic field. She has a whole family of dolls, each with their own names and mannerisms and of course their own wardrobe. I only go into her room when invited, and sit exactly where I am told to to be an audience for what she wants to do at the moment. I guess that pixilation is my name, but by golly I do have lots of fun being a guest there.

Sometimes the family will gather around the big dining room table and play 500 rummy or Up Word, maybe Scrabble, much gaiety and blather ensue with laughter as the seasoning.

They all went out to get their Christmas tree today to a place where they could wander and hunt their ideal tree and cut it down themselves. They have an extremely high ceiling in their formal living room and the tree almost touches that. Father and son made a production out of bringing it in and getting locked down in the holder. Then the cords were cut to let the branches spread out. Man, that is a monster tree, one that Heather and I are excused from decorating, except for a few formal ornaments just to say we had a hand in the whole thing.

Time has flown so very fast this time. The kids have been busy on their studies and sports, Heather and daughter out shopping, the Mister at work a good part of the day and me here at their house, waiting to get the word that I can get on the net. Unfortunately there is only one telephone in the house, so I must stay off the net most of the day and sometimes even during the evening. SO , that's life, I remember how it was before we got the second line for my Webtv. Heather would get unhappy if I was online too long and unhappy if I stayed up too late. And that was life too.

Soon we will be on our way home, the stay here too short. It is probably best for the family here that we don't stay too long at a time. But oh, how I wish we could stay even so. But Heather and I are not much help around here anymore and it is hard for daughter to try to take care of our needs and take care of the rest of her brood too.

Things are speeding by much faster than I want, the sweep second hand on my personal clock going faster each day, whether I want it to Or Not . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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