March 31 - a big day!

Today is the birthday of my dear wife, Michelle. She is 10 years and 2 weeks younger than I, so, this morning, when I told her kiddingly, "You're getting old, like me!", she grinned and retorted, "Yeah - but I'll never catch up to you!"

Family dynamics

My Dad (b. July 4, 1907) was just shy of 50 years old when I was born, the eldest of three in his second family, and this sets up some interesting relationships. I was reminded of that this past week when my 86-year-old first cousin Curtis Link died. His mother, my Aunt Mildred, was one of Dad's older sisters, born in 1902 (dying in 1981), and I remember her clearly, even though by the time I first knew her she was already quite old, being 55 years my senior. Curtis was born in 1924, and I appreciated being at his service on Wednesday and hearing his daughter Kristi and granddaughter Amy reminisce about him. Curtis's father, Joe Link, died in late 1957, when I was not yet 9 months old, but I heard Dad speak glowingly about him very often.