A Simple “Thank You”

Hi to everyone out there in Internetland. As a change to your normal programming, this is G, the other half of “Auds and Sometimes G”, posting here on Barking Mad.  OK, I know that I don't post on here often, or anywhere near as often as the Dear Wife would like, but I haven’t felt like saying much of a charitable nature so far this year, so I decided if it wasn’t on a positive note, it wasn’t getting posted.

Well, last Sunday was Father’s Day here in the USA.  I’m still trying to get used to that referring to me and not my Dad, but that’s a whole different issue. Back on topic, we had a great brunch, at what is rapidly becoming our favourite brunch spot, and then headed home for the “present”-ation. 

Those of you who know me will understand that goodies from the English Shop always go down well, as do framed pictures of the Little Imp. But what was a real surprise, and an unexpected one at that, was the note from Meg that came in her card. It was a Thank You. I’m not going to go into detail here and I’m definitely not going to post a copy of it, but I can tell you that it was one of those things that bring a lump to your throat.

 Meg made the decision to spend her senior year here in Maine, with her Mum. This meant, in simple terms, that I had an instant teenager in the house, and a senior at that, when I had expected another 11½ years of the Little Imp to get used to the idea. I had no clue what the year had in store, no idea how to prepare for it and just had to do the best I could. 

Now here we are, almost a year later. It was a brave move on her part to switch coasts for her final year at high school, but she worked hard, in school and outside, to make the year a success and did pretty damn good. Meg’s a good kid, bright and willing to work hard, even if does take a little pushing. She knew what she wanted and looked to us to provide support and encouragement. I like to think we did a good job in that regard. Now she’s graduated high school and is looking forward to going to college for 4 years. What’s more, despite the ups and downs of an eventful year and a mother-daughter relationship that could never be described as “ordinary”, we’re all still in one piece and talking to each other. And I got a thank you. I made a difference to someone. It’s an amazing feeling.

 Yet it carries a great responsibility with it. I need to keep making a difference, especially for a certain Little Imp, who, at almost 2½ years old, has a big sister she looks up to.  You can bet that in 15½ years’ time, she’s going to want to follow in the footsteps of Big Sis. It will be up to me, her mum and her sister to see that she has that opportunity and, thanks to this year with Meg, we know that we can.

 That’s all for now, so let’s go back to your regular programming.

 G

Comments

[Marlene]

Hey Gareth....congrats on a job well done!

[Tim]

Good to go Bro.
Hang on and enjoy the ride.

HFAE...T&J

[KD (A Bit Squirrelly)]

I still have just the utmost respect for you and how you welcomed Meg (and the others) with open arms and without hesitation (if there was hesitation I never heard of it from Auds). Congrats to you all for making it through a year together and Happy Father's Day G!

[MommyTime]

What a nice post. "Blended" families can be so difficult -- and it's always such a great thing to hear that people are doing such a good job making them work. Kudos to you and Meg for working together on that one. Happy Father's Day!