Pop

Life is good: that's the consensus here after a weekend of visiting Pop and Arlene. After all his years of purposeful living, and age related health issues, he keeps at it.

Pop lived his life on the docks of San Francisco as a Longshoreman, and hard work that began long before he could complete school. Physical work can't help but wear down a man, that and raising six boys. I love to see the twinkle in his eye as he tells stories or teases one of his sons.

He is an accomplished artist and woodworker, with the most beautiful workbench downstairs with every kind of tool imaginable and everything in its place. He enjoys making trivets and beautiful mantles and toy boxes that fill our homes. He loves his boys, their wives, and his grandchildren.

Pop can't hear so well anymore but enjoys the excitement in his son's voice as he shows him trip pictures of Italy. All over the house we see paintings from Venice and he has traveled there himself eight times and knows these places like the back of his hand. And so this afternoon became all about reminiscing and sharing the places we had seen and not seen, and it was like getting an extra side trip for free.

All this Mediterranean talk made us hungry, and we dined on a traditional Italian meal of homemade minestrone and a plate of proscuitto cut thin the way he likes it, ringed with mozzarella, basil and tomato, with a side of bread and red wine. We worry a bit about Pop's decreased appetite, but today wasn't one of those days, and it was fun to see him dive right in and take seconds and thirds.

Not every day is like this, making it all the more dear with the laughter and warmth and full bellies. My mother used to say that people forget to come over when their parents get old, meaning me I suppose, but it wasn't that I forgot. Mid point in life is just crammed with living our own lives, working and raising the kids, dealing with the things that need smoothing out, and it got hard to find the time.

And that was a pity because time with our parents is the only place where life stands in true time and we can catch a memory on the spot by holding hands and laughing the day away. What a great, great way to spend our time.