Eighteen years since I proposed. Nothing special about 18, I guess. Except that we’re still together, so we seem to be fighting the odds just fine. I proposed the day after Valentines Day. I refused to be stereotypical. I was ready to propose on Valentines Day, but I stubbornly waited an extra day.

Tonight we went to Bandidos after music practice and shared a medium nachos, just the meats and cheeses (no beans). Pretty boring for an anniversary meal, I suppose, but it suited us.

After 18 years, we could have a kid ready to graduate from high school. Instead, we’ve got a 20-year-old and a 20-something, and their baby. Went straight to Grandpa and Grandma. That’s what people are calling us. I never minded. Pam wasn’t sure about it at first, but now she has embraced her Grandmahood.

Connor and I watched an entire football game this afternoon–the (hated) New England Patriots beating the NY Jets. Mostly, he slept, occasionally waking or flailing his arms at some dreamed-up rabbit or whatever he envisions while he sleeps. But he’d always go right back to sleep. And, considering this photo that Pam snapped without my knowledge, I guess I didn’t exactly see the entire game, either.

Another Christmas season is over. This one will probably rank as the most memorable Christmas Pam and I have spent together. That’s because of having Allen, Carolyn, and Conner living with us, and being entirely outward-focused. Pam and I spent very little on gifts for each other, instead agreeing to focus on getting gifts for our three houseguests. Heavens, that’s sure a lot more fun!

On Saturday, my family came over to our house. That means my parents, Rick and Doreen and their two kids (from South Bend), and Stu and Joyce and their four kids. Curt, Stu’s oldest, was working at the airport and couldn’t make it. First time we’ve been short for a number of years. But then, we picked up Tom, Paula’s husband of six months.

Carolyn had to work, but Allen and Conner spent the first couple hours with us before going to pick up Carolyn and then heading to Carolyn’s aunt’s place. Of course, everyone took turns holding Conner. Mom and Doreen got Conner presents (Doreen made a neat baby blanket).

• Doreen and Rick. Doreen’s got Conner.
• Benjamin (left) and Cameron. Cam’s Superman outfit pumped up to make him look real buff.
• My brother Stu, with my parents in the background and Cameron.

On Sunday afternoon we headed west, toward South Whitley, where Pam’s brother, Jim, has a house. The whole crew was there–Jim and Kelly, with their four kids, Jody (Pam’s sister) with her two kids, and Pam’s dad, Chuck. Jim has a big-screen TV, which made it extremely convenient to watch the latest meltdown of our beloved Colts.

We got back to our house around 7 pm, and then Pam and I got busy wrapping presents–for each other (basically just stocking stuffers this year), and for Allen, Carolyn, and Conner. All five of us had a stocking hanging from the fireplace. We filled those, and then our houseguests returned. Allen and Carolyn started wrapping their gifts. Allen is really, really careful and exacting in wrapping. I’ve seen that same detail-consciousness in watching him put together model cars. I imagine he’s the same way in assembling bicycles at Dick’s Sporting Goods.

So we got all the presents wrapped…and then commenced opening them. It was fun, just the five of us sitting on the floor with Welch’s Sparkling Grapejuice. Pam had found a Led Zeppelin hooded sweatshirt for Allen, and he loved it. She also found a gray Chicago Bears hoody for Carolyn. Carolyn is an avid Bears fan. I got some tools for Allen, looking toward the day when I see him working as a mechanic. He brought his toolbox inside, and we cleaned the grease off his toolbox and his assortment of sockets.

There were other gifts. Allen got me a nice, heavy folding knife. You can’t go wrong getting knives for me. Carolyn got Pam a set of three ceramic bears (Pam has lots of bears in the house).

• Allen and Carolyn wrapping presents. Allen is very meticulous in wrapping presents, easily the best wrapper of us all.
• Allen with his Led Zepellin hoody. He likes 70s rock groups. Good man.
• Carolyn with her Chicago Bears hoody. She’s a big bears fan.
• Carolyn Opening a present with Conner.

Pam had to go to work today, but I had the day off. Allen and Carolyn just got back about an hour ago. They’ve been running around town all day, spending Christmas money they got from various sources. Carolyn showed me a cute outfit they got for Conner at Kohl’s, using a gift card my Mom gave them. They also got a chair for Conner that rocks and has things he can grab and play with. And the chair vibrates. Very cute. He’s been sitting in it, and seems to enjoy it.

• Pam with Conner.
• Me with Conner.
• Me with Conner again.

Something historic happened today. I held a baby. I’m 50 years old, and today is the first time I held a baby. That I can remember. Maybe sometime in my past a baby was forced into my arms, but I have no memory of it. I certainly never initiated an act of baby-holding. I would tell people, “I don’t do babies.”

But nine days ago, Allen and Carolyn moved into our spare bedroom with their 2.5-month-old son Connor. I’ve been absolutely captivated by him, and little actions and sounds from Connor reach out and grab my heart in ways I can’t explain. I’ll sit on the couch and watch Allen play with Conner, manipulating his tiny hands and feet and letting Connor kick him in the chest, while talking nonsense in an attempt to evoke a response. Preferably a smile. Connor does smiles real well.

I can’t say I was ever captivated by any of my brothers’ kids when they were babies. Not Curt, Paula, Benjamin, Jonathan, Anna, or Cameron. Now I’m wondering what I missed. While the rest of my family members swapped time holding a baby, I steadfastly avoided any appearance of being in line for my turn. Sorry, Stu and Joyce and Rick and Dorene, but your kids just didn’t do anything for me.

But now, we have Connor in the house for the foreseeable future. I didn’t know for sure how I would feel about having a baby around, this little package of unknown quantity. But I’ve watched Pam and Carolyn and Allen holding and enjoying Connor, and gradually the thought built up, “I’d like to hold him sometime.”

I got my chance this afternoon. We volunteered to watch Connor while Allen took Carolyn to work at 1:30. Company was coming over, and Pam had a little more cleaning she wanted to do. So she left me to watch Connor while she finished up. He sat propped up in the corner of the loveseat, and we carried on a conversation for a while. But then he became discontent laying in that position. And so I gladly swooped him up, holding him on my shoulder, and he found new contentment.

Pam, of course, rushed out to take a picture of this spectacular event in our universe, so she could show it to my family, who would undoubtedly find it astounding. But she needn’t have rushed. This will happen many, many more times.

Last Wednesday, Pam and I took my parents to the World War 2 Victory museum in Auburn, Ind. I’ve been wanting to go there ever since the museum opened in 2003. It contains the world’s largest collection of World War 2 vehicles–over 150 of them, a good share of them German vehicles.

Wow, what a place! I loved it. The WW2 movies tend to show the same vehicles–an assortment of tanks, trucks, jeeps, and motorcycles. But my goodness, the variety of vehicles from that period was incredible. Very interesting vehicles like I’ve never seen.

There were no Japanese vehicles. We were told that they were mostly destroyed during the war. So everything was from the European theatre.

The museum is across from the Kruse car auction lot, and is owned by Kruse. He bought the whole collection from a Belgian collector. The WW2 collection is housed in just one side of the mammoth museum building. The other side consisted mostly of the Car and Coach Museum. The cars were nice, but we all felt that the horse-drawn carriages, including some royal carriages and stagecoaches, were the stars of this collection. They also had three Batmobiles–two from movies, plus the TV show Batmobile. Plus Batgirl’s cycle.

Wow, four days since I’ve posted. And I’ve been on vacation. Just shows how busy this vacation has been.