Thanks everyone for the kind words and wishes. It has definitely been a wonderful yet emotional week for sure. Last night the wife and I were able to once again visit and we both were able to hold our grandson for a bit before leaving them alone to enjoy their little family by themselves. I can't wait for them to be able to bring him home as they have created such a wonderful and loving home for him to come home to. The work they have done to prepare his room and their home has been rewarding to watch.
Congrats Mike! When I had my first son I demanded my dad come to the hospital and be there for it. He was trying to go on a fishing trip. I would like to think he is glad he came and I made sure he was one of the first people to hold my son. Was a big deal to me and I thought his first grandkid should be a big deal to him too. I agree completely with you , had no idea how much I vould love something till I had kids. Today 10 years later he told me to get a bigger brain so I could understand what he was saying.
Thank you. I have been blown away by our kids wanting us to be there throughout this special event in their lives. Like you, when our son was born I wanted nothing more than to have my father present. Unfortunately, my father was a workaholic and a farmer so those two traits meant he wasn't away from the farm much, if at all. My family is quite large with my parents having seven children and 19 grandchildren (can't even count how many great-grandchildren) and none of their pregnancies were complicated and all went off with little deviations. My wife and I's pregnancy on the other hand was nothing but complications nearly from the start and I don't think anyone in my family, especially my parents, knew how to handle it nor knew what to say at any given time. I know my parents didn't have a clue on how to act so my wife and I were left to deal with most of it on our own and just had to figure **** out as we went. Looking back now, I think my father would have had a hard time being present during our son's birth and maybe that is why he wasn't present. He was a self aware man and maybe he knew he would struggle with all of the doctors, nurses, tubes and medical procedures so he stuck to what he knew and could control. To some extent I can kind of understand that mindset.
My parents did come up to the hospital a couple of times over the 72-days our son was in the NICU and I could tell he was worried throughout the whole ordeal. As I've mentioned in the past my father was not a religious man nor a sentimental or emotional man but I could tell deep down under that rock of a man he had a soft heart and one that would have changed anything about that situation if he could have.
One of my earliest and fond memories after we brought my son home was my dad holding our son and feeding him a bottle while my son looked up at him and had a hold of his little finger. The smile on my dad's face was priceless and I will always cherish that memory because I never really saw him engage with any of my other many nieces or nephews when they were younger and me being the youngest of the seven kids I was there to witness most of what the others never saw.
Also with me being the youngest of seven siblings, and by a good many years, I feel that my dad and I had a different relationship than some of my older siblings. My father was a rock solid man who didn't let anything get to him and showed no emotions. However, on rare occasions I did see his soft spot and I admired that, which also made me love him even more. I on the other hand do NOT hide my emotions well and this past week have been an emotional mess of a man. I hope my son and DIL can forgive me for that.
