Family: Isn't it about...time?

These past few days I've been thinking a lot about family and what role they play in my life. Of course, a lot of this was brought on by my parents visiting over the weekend, but it's always been something I think about. And now that I have a husband and a son and we're our own family now, this is something I'll ponder over and over as I raise my children in the coming years. Some days will be much different than others, and sometimes I'll want things to be different than they are. But family will always play a role.

This morning, our son Joshua met his grandpa. Now, that may sound odd, especially because I don't know if most of you know the situation. Suffice it to say that Cody hasn't seen his father in probably 6 or 7 years. I've never met him or even talked to him on the phone. There's been a rift of sorts, obviously, branching from Cody's childhood and the trial of losing his mom when he was 19, which neither father nor son dealt with very well. Once we got married, Cody sent him a letter inviting him to be a part of our life and saying he wanted his dad to meet me and be a grandfather to our children. I don't think we ever heard anything back, except for (I think) a letter from his current wife after Joshua was born, congratulating us.

So, it was a surprise indeed when Cody went to pick Joshua up from his great-grandparents' house (they watch him on Mondays and Wednesdays while Cody has class) and his dad was there. And it wasn't that awkward, from what I understand. His dad seemed quite humble, and there was a spirit of forgiveness and understanding in the room. His father even gave Cody a hug as Cody left to take Joshua home. Cody said he thinks Joshua knew who his grandpa was, probably because Cody looks a lot like him. I'm not sure what will happen now, if I'll get a chance to meet him as well and if we'll have more of a relationship with him, but I do love that now my son knows all of his grandparents. That was one thing that I have been worried about--I want Joshua to know his family. That's his blood there, his relatives. It's only fair that he gets a chance to meet them all.

Anyway, that's another reason I've been so pensive lately. Family is very important, and even though we may have struggles and hardships, we can and should always strive to reach out to each other. In our case, I imagine it to be a sort of prodigal son scenario--except, in this case, neither the son nor the father are solely to blame for the estrangement, and they both have things to do to bridge the gap between them. But due to almost pure chance (or was it inspired?), at least one small step has been taken. I hope this means good things for the Alleman men in the future.