Milestones . . .

Last Friday was my parents’ 56th wedding anniversary.  I have always appreciated being able to do the math easily – take whatever age I’m going to be that year, add one, and that’s how many years they have been married.

Here are two pics from their wedding reception.  It was held at Preston’s Party House – I remember it well, because I grew up playing baseball in Mrs. Preston’s vacant lot next door.  And I remember that suitcase – we used the whole luggage set for a long time.

And 25 years ago today my life changed forever.  Nothing truly prepared me for fatherhood -- it's a "learn as you go" endeavor.  Sometimes I learned from my father, sometimes from my grandfathers, sometimes from my friends, sometimes from something I saw or read, and sometimes I just made it up as I went along.  And along the way we reached the point in our relationship where sometimes I learned from my son.  I would not always recommend the path we took to get where we are, but I am very proud of the man he has become.  Happy Birthday, Ryan.