So Now I Finally Know!

We had a most wonderful birthday gathering in honor of our eldest son last Friday evening with all but two of our entourage able to attend. Some folks look forward to attending great events, concerts, or traveling to exotic places. I like those types of things as well but just for the record, there is absolutely nothing better for me than to enjoy my kids, their wives, and my grandchildren. We are still fortunate to have them all come together, usually in our home, several times a year. It used to be several times per month but with everyone going in all directions and the grandchildren getting older, its much tougher to do these days. We had one of the best times Friday night and when it was all over we knew the grand kids had fun because our place was turned upside down. What a blessing!

My eldest son and I had a good laugh last Friday talking about the hot water heater incident. If you didn’t read about it, you can in last Friday’s blog. In the discussion he let me in on a piece of information I had not known before. He remembered it all quite well. He said it all began whenever I tried to tighten the safety check overflow valve and I broke it. That sounded typical for me but I couldn’t remember exactly what had happened. But then for the NEW news: My wife, his mom, had actually called him and told him she felt like I might be close to doing some real damage. What? She did what? After all these years I now find out it was a conspiracy at work! He didn’t just happen to drive up. He was actually dispatched to come and save me from myself.

This is not the only time I have much later learned the real story behind things they have kept from me for years. My wife knows the details. The boys know the details. Me, I’m just tooling along thinking one thing and then wham bam, there it is. Oh, so that’s why you needed the money. That’s why it had to be done quickly. And it goes on and on and on. Now I find out that my wife is placing 911 calls whenever she sees me with a pipe wrench. The question is: How many other things do I not have a clue about?

I’m sure the answer would be that I know everything I need to know and if I knew all the details about every little thing that happened on our way of getting the boys raised up and arriving where we are today, well, they would say, “You just couldn’t handle the truth”. Therefore, I end up being the real version of the “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” policy. While I am very thankful for a wife who handled the domestic front while I was engrossed in doing my thing for the big company, it still seems eerie how they did so much without me having all the details.

Typically, the only time she really got me involved was deep into the process and I reckon it was when they had determined I was necessary to resolve whatever the problem was. I was always aware that the boys would use their mom as the conduit to get to me when they needed or wanted something. She would run interference for them and usually in the end they would achieve whatever it was they were wanting. Fortunately, when it comes to things like the hot water heater episode, my ego is not bruised or damaged. Sure, I wish I could be one of those guys who can do just about anything mechanical but that’s not going to happen. I’ve got a track record and may even own some world records, so you can check it out.

However, when it comes to knowing the real story of the past forty plus years, you will have to consult with those who have the inside information, and that’s obviously not me! …More later.