Commitment

When our son Jace was born, he had numerous birth defects. He had a syndrome that was quite rare thus there was very limited data and the multitude of doctors could not provide a clear prognosis. As any parent with a new baby, the commitment to protect in secure surroundings, provide food and shelter to the best of your ability, and most importantly, to love unconditionally is the immediate focus. All babies are dependent on the parents to guide, nuture, and teach them as they grow and if there are birth defects, that dependence intensify. So as the doctors started the journey with us, it became apparent that faith and attitude would be our closest allies. The first ten years were a roll-a-coaster of emotions. There were many more better days than not due to the tender care of his mother and his bright and happy disposition. Even though Jace had 46 surgeries during that period the eyesight, that everyone tried so hard to save, vanished in late April of 1981. The surgeries stopped along with the light in Jace's world.
The one thing that never stopped, never faltered, or wavered was our commitment of complete and total love and support for our son.

Father's Day

I became a father on July 21, 1971 with the birth of our only child, our son Jace. Even though he was with us for only 32 years, I realized his time with us was a gift. He was our greatest teacher, an everlasting inspiration, and a child that was perfect for us. His life's journey was education that started for him at the age of 4. He excelled throughout his years, with a few bumps in college, but rebounded nicely earning 2 bachelor degrees, one masters, and was working on a second masters at the time of his death. He was also teaching so his dedication to learning was a life-long commitment. Many may think Father's Day is difficult for me and it would be if I had never had Jace in my life. I miss his smile, his voice, and his hugs but I just close my eyes and my mind is flooded with memories of them all and that is when I know I will be a proud father forever.

Today, June 15th is the first day of my blog. This blog was created for my upcoming book of poetry entitled " My Papa, My Pal" which should be available by October 1, 2007. The book is written in memory of our son, Jason, who died in September, 2003. ( The picture on the left is of us together at his graduation ceremony for his Masters of Mathematics.) Since I am at the start of the baby boomer generation, my 14 year old girl angel help me create this new site since technology is second nature to them. I will be adding more photos and posts in the very near future.