August 1, 2011

grandpa


























Before Ollie was born, before we had decided on a first name, we knew his middle name would be James, after his grandfather, Will's dad who died the year after I arrived in Australia.  I didn't know him long but he was one of the kindest people I've ever met.  I never knew him to do or say a thing that was anything but good.

He was this sort of joining force for a family already close to one another - hard to explain but since he's been gone (7 years ago today), the family has lacked the cohesion that used to be, at least that's how it seems.  Will's dad was the story teller, the speech giver, the chef, the guy who knew all the answers to Trivial Pursuit, the guy who knew about wine, art, science, geography, history... and the one that everyone in the family looked up to.  Including me.  He had an amazing life, one which I know very little about really, which is a shame because it would be a story I would like to be able to tell my children.  He was proud of all his six children, but I always got he sense that he had an extra portion of pride and joy for Will, his youngest son.  I know he would have been the happiest of us all to see him graduate and become a husband and father.

The boys call their grandmother ma-ji and would I guess, call their grandfather baba-ji, just as I did my own grandfather.  I often wonder what he'd think of them, and what they'd think of him.  I think he would have been an awesome grandfather, and I think our children would have loved him.  And because of that, we miss him.

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