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.

For those lucky to still be blessed with your Mom, this is beautiful, for those who aren't this is even more beautifu, for those of you that are Mom's you'll love this.l

I have been trying to clean and straighten up my Man Cave but keep getting interrupted by coming across things like this. It's a little long but beautiful. Nice time to come across it with Mother's Day coming up.
This is a truly BEAUTIFUL piece. Please read it at a slow pace digesting every word and in leisure, do not hurry, this is a treasure.
For those of you lucky enough to still be blessed with your Mom, this is beautiful, for those of us who aren't this is even more beautiful, for those who are Mom's you'll love this.
The young Mother set her foot on the path of life, is this the long way she asked, and the guide said " Yes " and the way is hard. An you will be old before you reach the end of it. But the end will be better than the beginning.
But the young Mother was happy, and she would not believe that anything could be better than these years. So she played with her children, and gathered flowers for them along the way, and bathed them in the clear streams, and the sun shone on them, and the young Mother cried, nothing will ever be lovelier than this.
Then the night came, and the storm, and the path was dark, and the children shook with fear and cold, and the Mother drew them close and covered them with her mantle, and the children said Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near, ad no harm can come.
And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary, and the Mother was weary. But at all times she said to the children, a little patience and we are there. So the children climbed and they reached the top, they said Mother, we would not have done it without you.
And the Mother when she laid down at night looked up at the stars and said, This is better than the last, for my children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness. Yesterday I gave them courage, today I've given them strength.
And the next day came strange clouds which darkened the earth, clouds of war and hate and evil, and the children groped and stumbled, and the Mother said, look up, lift your eyes to the light.
And the children looked and saw above the clouds an ever lasting glory and it guided them beyond darkness. And that night the Mother said This is the best day of all for I have shown my children God.
And the days went on, and the weeks and the months and the years and the Mother grew old and she was little and bent. But her children were tall and strong and walked with courage. And when the way was rough they lifted her, for she was as light as a feather, and at last they came to a hill and beyond they could see a shining road and golden gates flung wide and Mother said I have reached the end of my journey. And now I know the end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk alone and their children after them.
And the children said, you will always walk with us Mother even when you have gone through the gates. And they said we cannot see her but she is with us still. A Mother like ours is more than a memory, she is a living presence.
Your Mother is always with you, she's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street, she's the smell of bleach in your freshly laundered socks, she's the cool hand on your brow when you're not well.Your Mother lives inside your laughter and she's crystallized in every tear drop.
She's the place you came from, your first home, and she's the map you follow with every step you take. She's your first love and your first heartbreak, and nothing on earth can separate you.
NOT TIME, NOT SPACE NOT EVEN DEATH.

My Tribute To All Who Have Served In The Military, Past, Present, & Future

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This is why I respect all military people so much, past, present, and future.

Although I never served in the military, my past from the time I was born until now I have been very much involved with the military and feel I know quite a bit about it.

My Dad ran away from home and joined the Navy when he was 15 years old. He was big for his age and was very mature so some how he was accepted.

When his parents finally learned where he was his Mother wanted to get him out. His Dad said no if that is what he wants leave him in there.

He had never been out of the state of West Virginia and all of a sudden as a teenager he seen the world. Egypt, Italy, Hawaii, The Philippines, just to name a few of the stops he made.

The motto back then was " Join The Navy And See The World " and he did just that. He served 4 years and loved it and reenlisted for 4 more years.

On his second tour while at sea he became very sick. In those days you went into sick bay until you would get to a port. When he did get to a port he had full blown tuberculosis from which he never fully recovered from. He was given a medical discharge and veterans pay.

Him and my Mom had reversed roles, she worked and he took care of the house. Several times he had to go the The TB Sanitarium. We didn't own a car so when we would go visit him my Mom and I had to go by bus or train.

He passed away in 1952 when I was 12 years old. He was only in his forties..

Because the only life he ever knew was the military he was a strict disciplinarian, every thing had to be done just right. If I did my chores and he wasn't satisfied it was do it over until it was right. He made sure that I respected my elders, my teachers, people in authority, etc. You better say thank you, please, yes sir, no sir,etc. or you paid the consequences. I am sure there were times when I thought he was too tough but in hind sight it helped shape my life.

 

 

My Dad

 

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Two of my Uncles also served one in the Navy and one in the Army.

In 1965 I opened a Hess Gas Station in Odenton, Maryland right across the street from The Fort Meade Army Base. Fort Meade was also the head quarters for The National Security Agency that employed civilians and military for all branches of the service. In the 8 years I owned that station I probably employed in access of more than a 150 military part time. So to say I know a lot about the military I am not kidding.

I was there during part of the time of Vietnam, seen a few of the guys I knew go there and didn't make it back alive.

To me any one that serves in the military is to be applauded whether they were ever in combat or not. Just serving their lives are disrupted in so many ways. Being away from their families, moving many times especially if they are career military. Some of the kids of the ones I employed told me stories like in 12 years of school they were in as many as 15 schools.

As I travel around Palm Beach County I see way to many of the ex military people on street corners begging for money and I think that is so sad. We spend unbelievable amounts of money on illegal's, people who are healthy and just to lazy to work. I think instead of doing that we should take care of our veterans, especially those that are disabled.

 

A Montage Of Pictures

A Tribute To My Beautiful Wife Joan For Her Birthday

Saturday March 29, 2014
Tomorrow is my lovely wife;s birthday. I won't tell you how old she will be but she was born on March 30, 1940. LOL
I want to honor her on her birthday with a few of my thoughts as to what defines a good woman.
A good woman first is a good daughter. Joan was a wonderful daughter. She lost her Father when she was twelve years old and her Sister Chary was about one year old. Her Mother being the bread winner of the family had to work a lot so Joan in addition to being a big Sister
 also at times had to act as a Mother. Her Mother remarried and had a Son Russell and a Daughter Debby and Joan has always been there for them also.There are so many things she did that made her a great Daughter.

                            Her Mom holding Janet when she was first born.

A good woman is a good wife, Joan married her childhood sweetheart. She went with him when he was drafted into the Army. She always stood by him and after he got out of the service she helped him become a very successful business man.

A good woman is a good Mother. Her Husband passed away when her Daughters were 17 and 13 years old. She did a great job taking on the role of Mother and Father and developing a great relationship with her Daughter Janet until her untimely death in a car accident on December 24, 2002 and still exists with Barbara. She was also their best friend.
A good woman is a good Grandmother. She is a great Nana to Christopher, Carter, and Griffin. And that is an under statement.

                                                    Christopher & Carter

                                        Christopher, Carter,and Griffin

                                                        With Carter

                                            Carter & Griffin

 

With Carter

 

 

 

A good woman is a good friend. She has many friends she loves and who love her. She has friends in all age groups. From small children to senior citizens.

 For Joan's 70th birthday I contacted a lot of her family and friends and ask them in lieu of gifts if they would write some things about what she has meant to them.

I knew she had a lot of friends but the response was overwhelming. The tributes just poured in from family and friends as to how much she has meant to them and how much they loved and admires her. No gifts could mean as much as that.

A good woman is someone who has a lot of fauth and acts on it, who is kind and gentle and serves others. She puts her religious beliefs into action by going to church, ministering to others, " she is a Stevens Minister at our Church " and living her life in accord with them.

A good woman is one that enjoys life and like to have fun. She does that for sure, not only does she have fun but she makes things fun for anyone around her, 

 

With Janet &; Christopher

 

 

With Christopher at the pumpkin patch

 

 

 

A good woman is successful, she has held a variety of jobs in her life and hads done well in all of them.

A good woman is someone who takes meticulous care of her apperance. She puts lipstick on and combs her hair to take the garbage can down to the street in case someone is walking by. LOL

A good woman is kind, always pleasing her family, she cooks a great meal, keeps a neat house, listens to the cares and woes of those she loves without expecting any thing in return.

When I first started thinking of doing a BLOG I was given advice telling me I needed to keep them short, can't be done when I am talking about my beautiful wife.

I really could go on and on about Joan but I will close by saying what a great lady she is. She has had a lot of tragedies in her life but family and friends who know her would never know it by her actions. She never puts herself first, always putting family, friends and every body else including lucky me first, every one before herself.

A great thing about a BLOG it gives me the chance to tell the world how much

I LOVE HER AND RESPECT HER.