Saturday, November 30, 2013

Bob was right

Jilda and I have never had children. There's a story there but I'll leave it till another day.
But we've had the good fortune to live next door to Jilda's brother for most of our lives.
He, on the other hand, had three kids which we helped to shape into young adults. These three have also all had children.
Samantha is the youngest of his three children and she still lives at home. Jordan, who I speak of often is her 5-year-old son.
All the great nieces and nephews are special to us, but he lives next door and we see him almost daily.
He and his mom had cabin fever today, so they came over to walk the path to the barn to get some exercise.
I'd stepped down to get the mail at the same time they began their walk so I snapped this picture with my phone.
I can't believe how grown he looks in this picture.
It seems like a moment ago he was an infant that resembled the Buddha.
What's different between Jordan and the rest of our great nieces and nephews is that proximity has given me an opportunity, to document his young life in photographs.
I could post so many that you'd feel like a hostage at Aunt Mildred's house watching her three-thousand vacation pictures from her trip to Branson, Missouri....but I won't do that.
Still, sitting here tonight looking at this photograph, I can't help feeling a little like I'm stuck in some twisted time warp where the past melts into the future.
I could use a tired cliche, but Bob Dylan said it about as well as it can be said:
Life is a jet plane, it moves too fast.


  1. Hello Rick. It is lovely to meet you. Thanks for visiting Write...Edit...Publish, my monthly permanent bloghop blog. We are gearing up for a December posting of TRADITIONS. Perhaps you'd like to join us. It'll be a little quieter come December, but you will get known by other authors/writers who are very generous in their critiques if you desire such.

    And I have an auntie who couldn't have children, which is a shame, as she has been such a darling surrogate mum to many children.


  2. I have followed you, but it hasn't shown up yet. D

  3. What an adorable, wise face he has. I think both of you get the best of them living next door to you~

  4. Life certainly does move fast! It never ceases to amaze me that I'm no longer sixteen...after all, feels like that was just yesterday!

  5. When I think about my daughter being 21, it just doesn't compute. There's something about seeing them everyday that tricks you into thinking they're still a baby, and then for some turn around, and they've aged overnight. It's devastating!

  6. Life goes by TOO fast--my youngest turned 50 this year!! Jordan is absolutely precious--enjoy him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  7. There is nothing like watching kids grow to show you how fast time passes by!!

  8. Life certainly does move my quickly... it is amazing to me... :)

  9. It's so nice that you make the effort, and do so with joy, to be involved in Jordan's life. I rarely see relatives.


  10. I love how Jordan is so close to you all. And I see a huge difference in him just from when I started blogging 3 years ago. He's a lucky boy to have you and Jilda right there!

  11. I live next door to my brother in law too, we are not able to have children so seeing our nephew grow up is also a blessing.


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