From the mouth of babes – post about Patty
I’m 56, she’s 59. He’s 8.
My wife delivered him at age 50.
My wife and I have known each other since junior high school, 1980. I met her the first week, we had the same homeroom.
It wasn’t until our 20th high school reunion in 2006 we reconnected.
We lost touch for a few more years until one night I saw her at a Flanigan’s in North Miami 2012. (Actually close to where we grew up). Thing is, when I said “hello” she turned her back on me.
She was with another guy who appeared a bit agitated. I later found out he was a post office worker… figures!
But the very next day, she sent me FB message asking for my number.
It was a nice surprise.
One of the earliest conversations in our relationship was about kids. I had by then been to dozens of pain treatments at UM Jackson Pain Center from the hernia surgeries. It was a tough period. But having always wanted to be a Dad, I was amazed that she wanted more children, as she was already the mother to two young men.
We decided to go for it.
The IVF process (while not terribly romantic) worked.
My wife got pregnant in December 2015.
She was 49 years old at the time.
We went to a French bistro for lunch as we waited to hear if she was pregnant. Weekly high-risk pregnancy visits with lots of ultrasounds. She carried our son to term and he arrived on his due date, August 23. We went to the hospital around 2AM.
Our dog, Spartacus, never slept.
He knew.
The doctor arrived hours after us and immediately need to do a c-section. Our son was born quickly, brought into the world in about 25 minutes.
Meet Simon.
He is inquisitive, attentive, empathetic, creative & kind. We had him experience travel, weekly art classes, gymnastics, a puppeteer, a percussionist and all the food we enjoyed.
Thai, French, Italian, Japanese.
Simon loved it all.
A lot of talk today about the downside to everyone having kids later. (In our case, much later). But here’s the thing –
Simon wouldn’t be able to experience all of those things, had we not ourselves…
been so experienced.
He may be 8 years old – but he reads at an 8th grade level. And this month, he’ll complete pre-algebra!
But more than anything we’ve been fortunate enough to give to him, it’s really more about what he’s brought to us. We get to see the world from a very different perspective. Nothing I’ve ever done made as much difference as being a father.
He completed me and my wife,
and still does.
From the mouth of babes.
The child is the father of the man…
no doubt!
To anyone out there who still thinks they’re too late, too old, out of luck… I hope this posts finds you today and gives you some encouragement.
I found my wife at age 43 at a Flanigan’s in Miami.
I had my first son at age 47.
today, I’m 56…
and I’ve never been happier.