A Grand Childhood Memory.....

One of my very best childhood memories was going to feed the ducks. My Step-father, whom I only had the pleasure of knowing for a very short 4 years before he passed away from cancer, took me many times.

We would save all of the old stale cereal from the bottom of the box, and bread for weeks, and then we would go to the pond and spend hours feeding all of the ducks. We would sit at the water's edge and name each one of them.

I will never forget him, and how much of an impact he made in my life. He was the only father I ever knew.

Last night we went to a picnic with our local Down Syndrome group, and we went to that same pond where I spent so many summer days. I realized that I have very seldom taken the time to take my own kids to visit the ducks. It was an enormous eye opener for me, as I now watched my own little girl doing the same things that I did as a child. She was amazed by them just as much as I was.

It made me think a lot about life, and my step-father. I realized how much I miss him, and how much I want to strive to be like him. He was so carefree, and loved life. Even when he was so sick from the chemo treatments, and when the cancer finally took over, he still had a smile on his face and a funny story to tell.

He passed away when I was 10, and I don't think I have ever appreciated him as much as I did last night. I will be taking my kids to that pond often, and telling them the stories of their Grandpa who they never got to meet, the one that took me in and loved me like I was his own.

Here are some photo's that I snapped, we had so much fun.