This weekend, while away with my mom, we ran into some friends... more hers than ours, but we grew up with their kids too, so close enough. They have no grandkids yet, and although Girl doesn't have an Opa of her own, she seems very familiar with the concept. She latched onto the man (who isn't much older than my dad would have been) and within minutes was calling him Opa and letting him tickle and play and roll in the grass with her.
For the briefest of moments, he was my dad.
There are times when I really miss him... less for me than for Girl. They never met, but I know they would have had a relationship that beat all. Dad loved kids... he would have been teaching her insanely big words and rolling around on the floor with her. He would have been an open lap, and open ear and always good for a laugh. It makes me really sad sometimes that he wasn't around to see his grandkids, and that Girl doesn't have a grandfather at all (they both went to meet their maker). No matter how I want it for Girl, I do also wish it for me. It would have been a relationship that made me smile... seeing my little girl and my dad share secrets and blanket forts.
It is not to be.
I hear you.
ReplyDeleteI think this means that the uncles are going to have to step it up.
ReplyDelete