What A Difference Carter And Griffin Have Made In My Life.

What A Difference They Have Made In My Life:

Just since the first of the year through Facebook and the Remember When Sites I am on I have reconnected with so many people that knew me and my daughter Martha.

I write about and post pictures all the time about Carter & Griffin. Actually I brag about them a lot. LOL I refer to them as our Grandchildren. One thing a lot of the people have said to me is, I didn't know Martha had any children.

I decided to update my BLOG for those of you that don't know the story about Carter & Griffin.

Years ago there was a country song written by and performed by Ronnie Milsap called what a difference you have made in my life. It was a song he wrote as a tribute to his wife but I have borrowed some of his words to covey what a difference Carter & Griffin have made in my life.

What a difference you've made in my life,

You're my sunshine day and night,

Oh what a difference you've made in my life,

What a change you have made in my heart.

Oh what a change you have made in my heart

You gave love a new meaning,

So I joined in the singing,

That's why I wanna spread the news.

As most of you know I don't have any biological grandchildren. Martha and Jimmy got custody of Jessica when she was about six years old, she is now 31 years old. When I met Joan her grandson Christopher was about 3 years old. At that age children know you are not really their grandfather. A year after Joan and I were married in 2001 Christopher's Mom Janet was killed in an automobile accident on Christmas Eve, 2002. Since then he has lived in Apopka, Florida with his Dad so not a lot of contact with him over the years.

So I figured I was never going to know the feeling of being a Grandpa. I would tell my family and friends who were grandparents it didn't really bother me, I would say things like I don't have patience with kids anyway so I probably wouldn't be a good grandpa anyway. But deep down I was envious of family and friends that had grandchildren.

Joan's youngest daughter married Brett and lo and behold Carter was born on February 1, 2005. I was there about a half hour after he was born. After he was cleaned up and it became my turn to hold him I felt like a grandpa and I just knew we were going to bond. Barb asked me what I wanted Carter to call me, I said instead of being called grandpa I would like to be called Papa. So I became Papa to a little guy who made such a drastic change in my life. Lucky for me we did bond from the beginning and have continued a great relationship. We had great times together, going to the park, going to McDonald's, playing baseball, soccer and games together and he loved for me to read to him. Once in awhile he would go to work with me on my part time job a lot. He started going with me when he first started walking. He was so young I had to take diapers with me and change him during the day. If he didn't come to work with me people would ask me when are you bringing Carter again.

One time a lot of the family was meeting at the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. I was outside waiting for him to come with his Mom and Dad. I was on one side of the street and he was on the other side, when the traffic cleared he pulled loose from his Mommy and came running across the street yelling Papa, Papa, and jumped into my arms, with tears running down my cheeks I looked up and said now I know for sure there is a God. LOL That also assured me I was a Papa for sure.

When Barb found out she was pregnant with Griffin she said Joe I know you have so much love for Carter is there room in your heart and mind for another little boy. I told her I didn't think that would be a problem. LOL

When Griffin was born in 2009 he was premature, the first time I saw him he was in an incubator with wires and probes hooked up to him every where. It was all I could do to keep from bursting out crying. He had to stay in the hospital and Mommy had to go home with out him, hardest thing she ever had to do she said.

Well you can see from the pictures I post he is doing great now.

One time I told Joan I wish they had been in my life when I was a little younger, but now I know the timing was perfect, being retired I have not missed hardly any of their games, their school activities, birthday's etc. As always God knew what he was doing.

One day at my part time job a group of us were talking about the movie" The Bucket List " that had just came out. I was asked what I still had in my bucket list. For those of you that never seen the movie it was about a list you wanted to do before you died. I told them I had been so lucky in my life, great family, great friends, traveled a lot, seen a lot, done a lot so my bucket list didn't have too many more things in it.

I said I just want to live long enough to make enough of an impression on Carter & Griffin that when they get old enough to realize I was not their biologial Papa that it won't make any difference to them, and if I am lucky enough to get to Heaven and one day I am looking down and some one asks them about their Papa that they will say my Papa was a cool guy, that would make my bucket list complete.