Part 2: About your family

whenever I see you playing with your father, I feel like I'm looking at two buddies. it's delightful to watch! your father brings out his adult self only when needed. most of the time, it looks like two little boys in a playroom as you go from bumper cars to electric trains to indoor basketball.

someday. you will take the measure of your own father. you will see the role he plays in his family's life, in your life, and in your mother's. you will know the dimensions of his impact on the world. but I know that none of those judgements or measurements matters very much right now.

when any relationshipp begins to sour, the details are different but the emotions are much the same: betrayal, disappointment, shattered dreams, and deadly silence.

I miss your grandmother. and I am happy about that. missing feels like a sad spot in my heart. it feels so much better than when I was angry with her, or worse, when I didn't let myself feel anything about her. missing means I love her.