things I didn't consider...

Emilio reminded me, last week, that having Grandpa here means that it will be harder to let him go, when the time comes.

I honestly hadn't considered this, when mulling the possibilities of his coming to live with us. I wouldn't have said that I was particularly close to my dad, I sort of just knew that he was out there, not too, too far away. But now, as he settles into our home, I feel myself drawing nearer to him. I find myself growing fond of his peculiarities...of the way he marvels over the Starbucks french press (and other modern gizmos), of his television too-loud-in-the-room-across-the-hall, of the way he asks me, each morning, if we need anything from the market.

I find his list-making endearing. And I love that, at the end of the day, he'll report that he forgot to get such-and-such (in spite of the list). I have asked him to consider the canvas bags for transport during his outings to Target. He prefers the plastic, we may need the bags...

then I just find a kind way to suggest that the bags are choking the planet (what about those poor cows in India?) and let the issue go...

I think that all of this means that I am closer to him, already. I know it means that I am more tolerant than I thought I could be.

and loving my dad more, at this point in our lives, is certainly worth considering...