My Childhood
I grew up in New England. I’ve always enjoyed sports.
I remember when…
- the Red Sox always seemed to find some way to finish 2nd. I envied the Cubs fans, who always were ready to look forward to next year by July…
- the Celtics with Bob Cousy dribbling out the finals and Red Auerbach would light up a cigar after each win…
- the Patriots did not exist…
- the big bad Bruins with Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Derek Sanderson, and company…
- Neil Armstrong taking a giant leap for mankind…
- JFK was shot…
- the Rose Parade…
- the 1959 Giants / Colts epic championship game…
All watched in black and white. Our family did not have a color TV until I left for college.
I remember…
- Family dinners at home…
- Washing dishes by hand…
- Card games…
- Learning how to cook with my mother…
- Riding a bicycle a couple of miles to school…
- Taught to respect my elders…
- Neighborhood baseball games…
As a young man…
It took me 4 1/2 years to earn a degree in Engineering Science. At graduation in June after I finished classes in January, I got my first hint that a lot would change in my lifetime. My fellow students were discussing using calculators for exams. One of my classmates stated that while everyone else was using calculators, he still was using a slide rule. I reminded them that in January everyone was using a slide rule. Yes, I know how to use a slide rule, though that skill is a little rusty.
I changed jobs often, each time getting a significant raise until my mid-30’s. Still single along the way I started playing tennis. Eventually, playing 5-6 times a week. I was in great shape and enjoying life in general. I meet my 1st wife on the tennis court at a Friday Night mixer. The format was always the same. Trading partners every 1/2 hour or so and then finishing playing with significant others. Being single this night on the last round I got partnered with my future spouse.
The match started with me thinking it was a social event. I hit a couple of short lobs over my male opponents head which he promptly smashed at my partner… Ah, I had a decision to make, who do I make happy? My partner or this macho buffoon on the other side of the net… I decided I needed to play better. At the end of the match I met the buffoon in the locker room and he asked why I played so well… The rest is history. My future spouse was impressed with my thought process. We married about 6 months later…
Life as a Husband and Father…
Within 2 years my son was born. There is nothing in this world which matches the joy of being a parent. Before the actual moment, I promised myself I wouldn’t be the parent who talked about his son as the best child in the world. I’m sorry but that lasted right up to the point my son was placed into my arms and I held him for the 1st time.
My life became:
- Toddler Gym classes
- Swimming lessons
- Soccer with the grocery store balls in the back yard
- Building Towers with the cardboard blocks in the family room
- Reading at bed time
You’ll notice something missing from this list. I gave up tennis. We decided to be a child centered family. I define child centered as living life at the child’s pace and leaving time for the young one to learn from their environment. My mother-in-law once suggested that I catered to my son too much. I explained that I had a choice, I could spend too much time or too little time. I chose to spend too much.
Until he got into High School, I tried…
- to chaperone at least one field trip a year.
- be at every school event
- participate in school meetings
- coaching his athletic teams including baseball, basketball, and soccer…
- even in high school I attended every school event I could…
My marriage on the other hand… ended in divorce when he was in elementary school. We split time with him 50/50, this now young man suffered having 2 homes and going between both once a week. That he did not go crazy is a miracle.
His teacher helped in this endeavor. After the separation and before the divorce, I started going to school to have lunch with him one day a week. His teacher realized I was there and asked if I would like to read to his class after lunch. For the rest of the school year, I had the privilege of my son sitting next to me, while I read a book to his class. This convinced my son, that he was not the reason daddy was no longer living with his mother.
Work…
I developed software programs and systems for over 42+ years…
And now I am retired…
Where did all the years go…
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