It Was Only a Matter of Time

I had a fairly stable home life as a kid. All growing up, you could count on several things as a part of my family.

Mom and Dad loved each other, and wouldn't give up, even when things got hard (and they DID get hard!).

We moved a lot, but my parents always tried to help us kids make the best of it.

Dad made chili and spaghetti, and the best shredded beef burritos you've ever tasted. Mom made pretty much everything else.

Sundays were family days.

Christmas was the best time of the year.

We'd take big vacations rather than save every penny for the future.

And whenever my Dad was with his brothers, he would instantly forget his children's names.

It wasn't a problem most of the time. Sure, Dad had some issues when we had pets...one of our dogs was named Butterscotch, and she had a knack for getting out of the yard. One day my dad was chasing her down the street and was bumbling over her name..."Come HERE Zach...Cilla...Chris..., um, uh...GOLDENROD!" Our dog actually stopped in the middle of the road and turned to look at him, before continuing her escape.

From time to Dad would call us kids by the wrong names, something I am certain happens in most families.

But nothing compared to when my dad was with his brothers. He couldn't call us by name if his life depended on it. It was truly amazing...once the effect occured while they were half a world away; we had a phone call with my uncles, and I became Adam, my dad's youngest brother for hours.

We would make fun of Dad, mock him and the inevitable confusion that would result from proximity of any kind with his brothers.

I should have known better.

We have (at present) only one kid, and so I have been able to avoid the challenge of remembering his name. That may change come August...but in the meantime, we've already added to the equation with Ody.

Aiden and Ody. Ody & Aiden.

Last night during prayers, I was asking for the Lord's blessing on...wait for it...Odin. Laughing, I tried to correct my mistake...and promptly asked the Lord to bless Aidy.

The curse has been passed down to me. Sigh.