Dear Joseph and Lucia,

This is always such a fun time of year.  As the temperatures slowly get warmer, the plant life blooms and everything turns green again.  It’s also the time of year we get the pool ready for another season of swimming fun.  Every year I do, I always hope this is the summer one of you two will reach out and come and enjoy this with us.  At first it was really hard, figuring out how to take the filter apart (and back together) and getting the pool clear of all the stuff that makes its way into it during winter.  But this year, it was pretty easy.  Michele and I have it down to a science and were able to get it all done yesterday morning.  It’s really gratifying to see the water clear up and the little water fall run at full flow.

We also went a bit outside our comfort zone this weekend and went to a concert downtown Saturday night.  The Foo Fighters played at an outdoor venue and I was able to get us tickets for the lawn.  I doubt this is a band your mother would approve of.  They play rock and roll quite loudly and use a lot of foul language.  Of course, it rained off and on throughout the concert.  We had rain gear, but that still didn’t keep us dry.  The band played for 3 hours straight.  We all danced and sang and didn’t care about being soaked.  A friend of mine from work, Richard, came with us.  Michele and Rachael bailed before it was over, but Richard and I stuck it out.  I haven’t sung that loud for that long in a very long time.  I hope you guys are able to enjoy different kinds of secular music now and not just limited to church music.  There is a whole world of experiences you will miss out on if you don’t try new things.  Hopefully, going to public school introduced you to friends that shared this with you.

I’m not sure if you guys know or not, but, your grandmother passed away last week.  Irma Foreman, your mom’s mother, held on for quite a while, but finally passed Wednesday, the 19^th.  Your Aunt Trish has been amazing.  She took care of everything.  I’m sad to say I couldn’t make it to the funeral.  It would not have been a good idea to go.  A bright spot is Trish came across some old photos your grandmother kept from a few of our visits.  I’ve added them to this post.  When I look at them, it really digs deep how much I miss both of you.  You guys mean so much to me.  It’s taken 10 years for me to be able to live a “normal” life without you two.  I just do the best I can to be the best father I can be so when you do finally reach out, I’ll be there ready.  I’m waiting.

Love,
Dad