Renaissance Granddad – rejuvenating, revitalizing, and moving on!
I have been very bad about writing on this now renamed blog, so maybe I should explain why I renamed the blog, Renaissance Granddad. To start, last year was a year of big changes in both my family and life. The year started out with my employer of 34 years Lippincott and Jacobs Consulting Engineers not having any work for me. I was basically laid off, but I was on call if they had work. So for nine months I collected unemployment and worked part-time at Target. I really didn’t go out and look for a new job because I didn’t think anyone would hire me at my age (63) to do the work that I do, and certainly not at the wage I was making. So I hoped that maybe work would turn around, but it didn’t. When my unemployment benefits were exhausted in September I decided to look into filing for Social Security benefits. What I found was that, with what I would receive from SS couple with a few more hours at Target, we wouldn’t be doing badly. So we took money from my 401K, paid off our car loan and our outstanding credit card debt, and so far we’re not doing badly at all!!
Now for the two BIG changes in our family. We became grandparents with the birth of our first two grandchildren Oliver Edward son of our son Andrew and his wife Meaghan and Zoe Isabella daughter of son Peter and his wife Melisa!! Oliver arrived on March 14th and Zoe on September 17th a day before my wife’s birthday! So in actuality not working full-time has given me more time to spend with our grandchildren. In August Kathy and I babysat two days a week or so for Oliver for most of the month when Andrew went back to work. Additionally, there was no problem being at the hospital on the day that Zoe arrived. This winter I have been lucky enough to babysit Oliver for a day a week for most of January and February and Zoe for a couple of times and while it’s hard work, especially with the wild little man Oliver, it has also been wonderful! There.s times we…..
Quietly read Dracula
and times we pull Granddad’s beard
What I didn’t do anything?
But it’s all great! And Miss Zoe has been pretty amazing too! She is really, really observant and reacts to everything she likes, like one of her Valentine’s Day presents……
Zoe not even 5 months old!
As I thought about this blog and its focus, attempting to turn back my biologic clock and being happy. Renaming the blog to include Oliver and Zoe, who are certainly reasons for turning back that clock and sources of happiness, seemed like a no-brainer! When I saw that renewal, revitalization .and rejuvenation are all synonyms of Renaissance I thought yeah Renaissance Granddad that’s what I want to be, as I enter this new phase of my life!! I hope that the Renaissance era for this granddad lasts a good long time with these two and maybe more grandbabies – who knows!!
