Dear Archer and Donald- let Poppy be the first to tell you that time flies. It slips away, and it moves faster and faster as you age. There was a time in my life when I thought this idea was foolish, but now I am a believer. Time flies. When I was a bit older than you are today, we lived in Des Moines and I had a great time with my uncle Bill (who is near my age) and my cousins, Delmer (aka. Del Jr.) and Louis (aka. Butchy). We played sandlot baseball. We played throw-back football, and sometimes we just hung out. We were just kids in '55, '56, '57 and we had a lot of fun together. My brother, Larry, and I played Little League baseball on a team that our uncle Louis (Sr.) managed, and given the chance, my uncle, Bill and I would torment the younger kids. It was the beginning of rock n' roll, and I can remember listening to Richie Valens and Little Richard at Del Jr's house. We had a lot of fun playing outside (yes,we played outside) and there were summer days when I swear time stood still. But...Butchy moved to Utah. Del Jr. moved to California. Bill fell in love, and time passed. Before I knew it, everyone had built a life somewhere else. There were kids, and deaths, and occasional get-togethers... but our sandlot days were over and time continued to fly.
Butchy became an accountant. Del Jr. worked in restaurant management. Bill became an excellent airplane mechanic and supervisor for American Airliines, and I kept trying to climb the corporate ladder. We all did fairly well... but now our working years are behind us. Uncle Bill, who is the patriarch of our clan, retired a couple of years ago, and cousin Butchy too. I was never clear on exactly what Butchy did for a living, but I've just learned that cousin Del is retiring after 48 years in the restaurant business. 48 years. That's a long time, boys... but it passed in the twinkling of an eye... and I am not far behind. Soon now, we'll all be retired and our working years, like our sandlot years, will be gone. Don't misunderstand me- the 60 years between 1955 and 2015 have been full. We've seen the technological revolution, the advent of modern music, the breakdown of traditional values, enough joys and hurts to write a book (if anyone would read it), and many of the greatest sports stars who ever lived. Much more importantly, we've all been blessed with children and grandchildren to love. If we had stayed on the sandlots, the world would be a lesser place because neither one of you would be here.
I guess there are just two points I'm trying to make. I can't believe that time has passed so quickly- that's one- and two, I hope that each of you will make the most of every minute you live! There is nothing we can do about the passing of chronological time. It comes and goes and we count it. But we can celebrate kairos time... which is special time. It transcends the counting of time, and it lasts forever. It's the time when your daughter walks across the stage to get her degree; it's the time when your child scores a soccer goal or performs at a recital; it's walking to a bakery with your grandson, or bringing a little toy home to your great-grandson. It's standing at the altar with the one you love, and it's walking with your family behind a brother's coffin. Boys, please dance with life's moments because they won't last forever! Also, I pray that you will give faith a chance because it has made a huge difference in your poppy's life and in the lives of my extended family too. Uncle Del was the first to be "born again," and then Del Jr. Finally, Uncle Bill jumped in with both of his Pentecostal feet, and last of all, your Poppy was saved! Butchy has been a faithful Mormon throughout his entire life.We are all men of faith today, and it has given us more Kairos moments.
Although I wish I would've used some of it more wisely, I wouldn't trade my time for the world. I've been blessed with a loving wife and great daughters. Your grammy and I have 3 phenomenal grandchildren- one of whom has given me the honor of officiating at her wedding this summer... and the even greater honor of walking her down the aisle- and (dare I say it) with an awesome great grandson too. Your faces. Your presence. Your joys... make it all worthwhile for grammy and me. But I still wonder- how did the time pass so quickly?
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