Happy 85th Birthday Chris!

Chris and Mom - Christmas 1997


Today is a very special day. My step father, Chris, is 85 years old. He and my mother married almost 31 years ago; four years after my sister and I both got married. Even though we were not “raised” with Chris, he is still very much a father and grandfather to all of our family. One of the first times I met my step father was when he and my mother came out to Tucson, AZ to visit my family. Mom and Chris were “dating” at this time, and it was so sweet, but at the same time so strange to see my mom and Chris all lovey dovey. My first thoughts were all kids thoughts… gross… my mom is in her 50’s and she’s acting like a kid! I laugh now that I am in my 50’s and my kids say the same thing towards Jim and I. Ha-ha! But after my first thoughts, I then was happy for my mother. She finally had a man who truly loved and cherished her more than life itself. That was when I started to love Chris. My love for him began because of his love for my mother, but my love has increased for him because he did not stop with his love; he spread his love to mom’s family. He has always treated us as if we were his own children. It has never been your children and my children… it has been our children. That’s how he sees us all.

Now, Chris is in his twilight year. He is in kidney failure and we are not sure if or even how much time dialysis will give him. But we do know that we deeply love him, and cherish all the wonderful memories we have shared with him through the years. Most importantly, we know that we will truly miss him when he does leave, but what a day of rejoicing it will be when we all get to heaven!