Where to begin... (Originally published on May 21, 2008)

It's been a while. A long strange trip actually. I just needed to write. To get thoughts to move from my brain down to my fingers. To have knowledge spread.

The events of the last few months have seemed amplified. Somewhere along the way, my siblings and I have become adults. This fact should have been clear several times, but the idea was somehow abstracted. This week, it became less abstract. My father went into the hospital last week complaining of chest pains. He didn't think much of it at the time. Nor did his doctor's initially. They began examining him and found some arterial blockage. By the time Friday rolled around, the decision had been made to have bypass surgery. The surgery was scheduled for Monday. My sister Megan and I flew down to Nashville on Saturday.

My father is currently out of ICU and recovering from a quadruple bypass. There was no damage. There will be some lifestyle changes, but he should be back up and around in a couple of weeks. He's only 55 and our friends in the medical field have become quite adept over the last few decades.

It wasn't until I was returning to Philadelphia on Tuesday that something seemed to sink in: the number of things going on simultaneously. My sister Betsy is pregnant with her second. She was in Washington state looking at houses for her upcoming move. Her daughter is approaching her first birthday. Her second wedding anniversary was the day after his surgery. We stayed with Bridget and attempted to entertain the lovely Audrey while her father worked on the house in preparation for sale. Megan is taking classes and should actually have been working on a paper. Bridget and Alan have to clear up a fallen tree in their backyard. I brought some electrical wiring I wanted to work on. Meetings were cancelled. Vacations rescheduled.

I was absorbing all of these events and thought about the fact that my mother is scheduled for her second knee replacement this summer. Grandparents get knees replaced not my... Oh, wait. My mother is a grandmother. She has been the mother of the bride 3 times over.

The generations have gone up one. We are no longer the kids. My father had all five of us by the time he was my age. I was already 9 when his 32nd birthday rolled around. My mother is now the matriarch of a family that includes 11 1/3 people and spans 3 generations. All 3 of my sisters are homeowners. We are spread out over 4 states.

It has been an interesting couple of years. There has been sadness and joy. Pain and pleasure. Beginnings and endings for those people that believe there can be either. Quite a bit of travel and many evenings spent at home. Through it all, there have been stories. Through it all there has been love. I turned 30 at a bar hanging out with my aunt 14 days after my sister had gotten married. I turned 31 behind the wheel of a car, ten days before my niece took breath. In 13 days, I'll turn 32...

My guess is that it will be another interesting year.