Aedan and a Uke

Aedan and a Uke
Originally uploaded by waterlooHildreds

Today is India Independence Day. It is also the nicest Saturday of the summer so far.

This is a picture from last Saturday of Christine and Aedan at a concert put on by Cutesy Girl Band the Tra La La's. Aedan used to like Rod Stewart quite a bit from our Montreal trip. But lately he is listening to a lot more Tra La La's. He also kinda likes the singer whose lap he is sitting on.

This week there has been a big problem with one of the products that I manage at work, so I am actually at work now. On the way in though Dianne bought me some kulfi and samosas in honor of Independence day. So my sleepless mind has been thinking a bit about independence.

I can clearly remember my Grandpa. My Grandpa died when I, his first grandchild was 11 at the age of 71. My Grandpa and Grandma started their family towards the end of the Great Depression, after he had already established himself as a mechanic. On VE day he pulled a lot of kids through town on his Rumley tractor.

I loved hanging out with my grandparents. We would walk up to the post office and he would sometimes buy me MacinTosh Taffy and cream soda for the trip. Grandpa took me to his sawmill and gave me apples. He also let me sit on the seat of the tractor that he would be fixing sometimes. I have tons of great memories of hanging out with Grandmas too.

But I said that I was thinking about independence and I am. I like being a Dad, and so far being a Grandfather is even better. One of the things that I liked just about the most was taking the kids on Sunday afternoon while Dianne napped. This past Sunday I was reminded of how much I liked that when Aedan and Christine and I went for a swim at our neighborhood pool.

So about the independence thing. Sometimes I get called on for not treating my offspring like grown-ups. I am sure that sometimes the offspring that is pointing this out is correct. I also suspect that it is just the way it is between generations that the younger is sensitive to being treated in a way that makes them feel like they are not respected as adults. In fact I pretty clearly remember such sensitivities of my own.

The conclusion? We are not really so different between generations as funny hair styles would have us believe. We are also none of us as independent as we sometimes think. Hell is a place where everyone is seated around a sumptuous banquet trying to reach their mouth with 3 foot chopsticks. Heaven is full of the sounds of people joyfully feeding each other with the same chopsticks across the same table.

Happy Independence Day India! Thanks for Kulfi!