The Family

This could be me with all my wonderful "children."

I have just completed reading Mario Puzo's "The Family," a wonderfully written story about Pope Alexander VI, also known as Rodrigo Borgia, and his relationship with all his children. (That's right, you read that correctly.)

I think it wouldn't matter what your religious beliefs were, you could become totally mesmerized in this story and the times in which it was written.

It was during one of those current moments, between getting into bed and falling asleep when your mind wanders that I thought about this unconventional pope, and how much he enjoyed his personal family, and it occurred to me that after all these years I have not once been disappointed by any one member of my children. I think that is an absolutely brilliant thing to be able to say.

I am father to three offspring. From my marriage to Violeta, (the singer), there was born to us two daughters. This was during a time when, as parents our maximum life expectancy was quite short. Mine was set at a maximum of age 47. It was also a very peculiar time because most families hoped that you had boys, so that if  by some strange stroke of fate you lived to become an old person, you could hope that your son(s) would take care of you.

I do not recall even once wishing one of my daughters was a boy. In terms of each of my daughters distinguishing themselves, they have both done an excellent job of making the most of their lives. They are fully accomplished professionals in their fields, and that allows me to look upon what they have achieved to date with great pride. As icing on the cake, I have three grandchildren, and one great grandchild. Very impressive indeed!

The bad news is that Violeta died at the age of 42, much, much too soon. However, her own legacy is well documented and distinguished, and is partly recorded on a CD called "My Shining Hour."

At the age of 50, when I thought I was out of the business of new fathering, along came my newest addition in the form of a son. Times had changed for the better because I was over the cutoff point of age 47, so you could say that together with Lorna, we celebrated by making a new start. Becoming a father at that age is probably not recommended because no one has any idea how life will turn out. However, in my case it literally has been a new life experience for me. With a boy, anything can happen, but my son has turned out to have his head well fastened on to his shoulders. It also helps that he is handsome and that he has grown very tall. There are people here in Spain who think he has something to add to fashion modelling, and he is planning on an outdoor sporting career.

Parents are pre-destined to disappoint their children as there are so very many ways in which we do this. We cannot have enough time to spend with them and earn a living for us all. We can never do things fast enough for them, nor can we ever have enough money to suit their every need, nor perhaps should we. And then, sometimes we make mistakes that we wish we didn't, and sometimes our children get hurt by those mistakes.

I am so happy that I can say that the way things have turned out we are all well balanced and we are on solid ground, and that we are a solid family.  We all seem to be in a place that makes us happy and content, and that feels really good for me to be able to say. Yes, we are lucky, but love and good decision making has brought us to this point.

You know what? Life is gooooooooooood!

Picture of a slightly over weight happy guy!

Copyright (c) 2013  Eugene Carmichael