Ode to Family

Boy, am I feeling lucky.

I've been thinking of this article in last week's New York TImes, When Grandma Can't Be Bothered. That title says it all----not every grandmother is ready to be like Marian Robinson (the First Grandmother?) and give up her job and everything and move in to take care oft he grandkids.

Granted, Robinson is moving into some pretty nice digs and there's a full roster of staff to assist in vacuuming, grocery shopping, and the like. Still I've long nodded on reading about Robinson taking care of her granddaughters, rather than a nanny (nothing against nannies, necessarily!). My own parents---known to Charlie by their Cantonese names, Gong Gong and Po Po----are Important People #3 and #4, after Jim and me (Dad and Mom, you can vie for who gets the #3 spot). My parents live in California but have always come to see us at least four or five times a year, and we always spend the winter holidays in California.

Currently, my mom and dad are pretty much Charlie's main/only babysitters, though things have changed. Charlie was long ago taller than my mom and he's catching up rapidly on my dad. They showed up in St. Louis where Charlie was born as soon as they could find a flight. When we took Charlie out of school in the fall of 2005 as there was not appropriate placement for him, my mom flew right out and lived with us --- sharing the same room as Charlie, in fact --- until Charlie went back to a new school.

But who else glad agreed to come to New Jersey in the waning of winter for two weeks to help Jim take care of Charlie while I've been away?

Maybe we don't have a whole village raising Charlie but we have a good-sized family (including a long-lost relative of mine who's originally from Jersey City)---and just wanted to say thanks for joining us and helping us on this long journey. I know I'm able to be here (in Olympia today, site of the ancient Olympic Games in honor of the god Zeus) thanks to good family ties and, especially, our tight team of three.