Truth is everybody
is going to hurt you,
You just gotta find
the ones worth suffering for.
Bob
Marley
When I was a younger, and particularly unkind, son to my
mother, she would usually respond with that often heard saw, “I hope your children
turn out exactly like you.” And I would
laugh to myself, thinking “me have children?” as if such a thing could never
happen.
And yet, here I stand today, best man at my eldest son’s wedding,
and I think my mother was probably right, with the only exception being which parent
our children would turn out to be just like.
Yes, yes, I was fortunate indeed that my sons would turn out less
troublesome to Jackie and me than I was to my mother and father.
That notion led me to think about legacy and what traits we
may inherit from our kinfolk. Or, rather,
from my perspective, which traits we might want our siblings to confer on our offspring. With that in mind, I offer Geordie the
following gifts from those closest to you:
From Aunt Sandra – determination
From Aunt Barbara – business sense
From The Original Party Animal, I mean Uncle Mike – a very
small measure of attitude-that’s all anyone really needs
From Aunt Ruth – graciousness
From Aunt Grace – talent
From your mother – unconditional love
From me – the ability to own your mistakes and learn from them
So Geordie, with these additional gifts joined with your
other attributes, we offer you, a more perfect Breidenbach, to Clare.
And to Clare, we offer patience. Relationships, like fine wines, improve over
time. Good luck to you, son. Your mother and I wish you nothing but the
best.
