Counting the Days

Pam and I finally had our anniversary dinner last night at Perry’s steakhouse. It was our first time dining there but will not be our last. Every single thing was gloriously delicious, from the pork chop bites appetizer to the bananas foster dessert. Perfection. Our server was highly skilled and adorable. The atmosphere of the place was elegant and soothing. The bill was nuts, but this is 2025.

One thing both of us noticed was a bit annoying but not at all surprising anymore. Several men, even older ones who should know better, came to Perry’s Steakhouse dressed in t-shirts, wearing baseball caps—inside. Look, if this were Joey’s Hotdogs that kind of outfit would be fine. But what goes through someone’s head to walk into a first class fine dining establishment sporting a John Deere hat? This is the equivalent of showing up at a funeral wearing flip flops, Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. I am not longing for the days when men wore wool suits to baseball games in July. I realize that with changing times comes changing fashion and for the most part I’m ok with that. I’m glad that people don’t feel they have to wear a three piece suit every time they go to church or the office. But wearing the same clothes you would cut the grass in to a classy restaurant seems lazy and low class to this observer.

—Old Guy Rant Over

As the days on the calendar melt away one by one, I find my thoughts becoming more and more dominated by the pending arrival of my first grandson. He is due in eleven days. Kaitlin sent us pictures of the finished and waiting nursery last night. I actually felt a lump in my throat as I watched the guided tour video she sent. I tried to imagine her sitting in the rocking chair reading a book to him. I pictured him standing up in his crib holding on to the rail. I thought of what it is going to feel like when I hold him for the first time. I have been waiting for these moments for many years. Pam and I talked about it last night at dinner. What was it like when she went into labor with Kaitlin and Patrick? The odd thing was that she couldn’t really remember much about either experience. I remembered even less. All I really remember about it all was how profoundly it changed my life, how my entire life is divided into before I became a father and after I became a father. Maybe it will happen again. All things that happened before I became a grandfather will fade. My new role as Pops will provide me with the juice I need to finish my life well.

Katlin and Jon, like Patrick and Sarah after them, will have it a lot harder than we did, bringing new life into the world. The world is more expensive, more fast paced, less dependable. They will have the added struggle of managing social media and other technologies at odds with raising healthy, well adjusted children. But they will have one advantage that we also had, maybe the best advantage of them all—loving, supportive and devoted grandparents.