Monday, July 15, 2013

A Family First: Three William Bairds in the Same Place at the Same Time



This is probably a first.  My father, as far as I know, never met his grandfather and likewise, I never met mine.  However, these things do not need to continue.  Over the 4th of July we went out to see my dad.  He's all but lost his war with cancer.  Though he's for the most part seems to be a tough man still.  It was hard to see him that way.  

The relationshp between father and son has always been complicated, at best, for Baird men.  While my father and I struggled with our past, with our worn patterns of almost 40 years of relating, Orest - William Orest Baird - piped up as he tackled his grandfather's legs with "I love my grandpa."

Even as I tried to intervene, I kept back tears.  While my father may be someone whom Marcus Aurelius would have been proud of and I am definitely my father's son, we are very different in some ways.  I cannot live up to my father's incredible ability to remain stoic and face adversity as he does.  I can choose to call on what strength I have to break historical cycle.  

And with my son's words, I have won my first victory.

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