I could use some cheetos
OK kid, Here’s the deal
It’s been a few months since your mother and I split up. Since then you and I have moved to Florida, and bounced around between my mothers house… my fathers house… and johns house.
Life has been rough, yet rewarding. You have met new friends, and had experiences you wouldn’t have had if we had stayed in South Carolina. So far I haven’t regretted the move in the slightest.
So… Here is where I need to update you a little bit.
About a month ago i had to go back to South Carolina to solve a problem your mother was having with a friend of hers… During that time i learned that shortly after we left your mother started seeing the man she cheated on me with, again. they built a quasi-relationship, and then she broke up with him… for reasons im sure you will hear about later on… if you ask that is.
Your mother and i started talking… like humans… like adults… something we hadn’t done in a very long time. We laid our issues out on the table and solved a lot of the problems we had been having for the past few years.
Most of those problems had to do with us lying to each other. I had been lying about how i found out your mother cheated on me… and she had been lying about various aspects of their relationship.
We both came clean… We told each other the full truth, and in the process became friends again.
Knowing that most issues were resolved i felt comfortable coming back to Florida… so i packed and prepared to leave… then your great grandfather passed away.
I’m going to stop for a second and tell you some things about your great grandfather… these are things that i never want you to forget.
He loved you, possibly more than he loved anyone else. He once said that you were the only member of the family that hadnt lied to or stolen from him… you made him happy whenever you were around.
Two days before he died i spent a few hours talking with him, he asked about you… looked through some pictures, watched some videos, smiled, laughed… it was amazing. Before I left for the day he asked me to bring him some cheetos.
The last thing my grandfather said to me was “I could use some cheetos”
I spent the next night sitting at the nursing home with him… all night.
Every breath he took scared the shit out of me… i was afraid it would be his last…
Though…
He died the next night… while me, your mother, and her friend bradlee were eating taco bell and talking about bradlees boyfriend, and his commitment issues.
My mother brought you down with her for the funeral… you went to the viewing, and while everyone was crying, you were playing with dale earnhardt and a kyle petty hot wheels cars.
I will never forget the irony of watching you push a dale earnhardt car into the wall of a funeral home.
You met every member of your family that night. Everyone loved you.
I’m getting side tracked… back to my story.
After your great grandfather passed I was forced to stay in South Carolina for a few weeks, and during that time your mother and I decided to try and work out our problems and bring our family back together again.
Your mother decided to move to Florida so that we could all be together, but… the move is going to take her a few months…
So now I am here with you, and she is there with Bailey… and the separation is causing problems.
You see… I still have trust issues… Everyone i talk to says that is completely normal… and i think so too, the problem is my issues are causing me to act very paranoid.. and frankly like an ass.
For a long time during the arguments your mother and I had, I would feel so ashamed of myself… and the situation our family was in, that i would say things that were mean to your mom. I would remind her of what she did, and how it destroyed our family, and how it was all her fault. When in reality… none of that was true.
Relationship problems are never one sided… no one person is ever fully at fault. Our family split up… and that was as much my fault as it was hers… It took me a long time to realize that.
So now i am used to arguments… I expect every one of our conversations to lead to an argument, and i get very defensive. Hell… I start most of our arguments. I don’t mean to… I don’t mean to make your mother feel bad. I’m just sort of used to that. I’m used to her hurting me… then me hurting her back.
Let me tell you this… your mother has hurt enough.
Believe it or not but there was a time in our relationship where your mother and I had never argued… never raised our voices, never even really disagreed.
I want to get back to that point… but before i can do that I need to be able to see your mother the same way i used to. As a beautiful, perfect partner. A strong, kind, and loving mother.
To do that i have to let go of the past.
And as of today… that is what i will do.
small cell lung carcinoma
Dear Jason,
Today i want to tell you about your great grandmother.
Her name was Pauline Whitfield, she was a loving wife, a caring grandmother, and a smoker. She died from lung cancer.
This was the last recording she ever made. I want you to hear it.
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My grandmother died before she could meet you… and i regret that…. because she would have adored you. You would have been able to know her love. The warmth that only she could provide. If only she had not been a smoker.
At this point, everyone in your life is a smoker. your parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts.
Yes, even me.
I don’t want you to have to feel that you lost someone too soon.
So, as i am writing this i am smoking my last cigarette.
I am quitting because i love you, and want to be in your life for a very long time. I hope that i am not too late.
Read Moretoday is a new day.
Dear Jason,
Over the course of your life you will develop passions for ideas, philosophies, memories, or for certain material possessions. You may find that over time those passions will begin to fade. You may find that your passion has turned into a routine, that you don’t actually care about them anymore… you have just developed a habit. A habit that is difficult to break.
You do not have much time in this world, we all die suddenly. Embrace your ideas. Make them a part of you, but tread cautiously… because if you are not careful you may become them. They may turn you into a person that you never thought you could be.
I have often pondered the meaning of life. Why are we here? What is the purpose of our short, rather insignificant lives? After many late nights of introspective contemplation… this is the closest thing to an answer i can come up with. Live your life so that you may make at least one other person truly happy. If everyone were to live this way, there would be peace.
With Love,
your father.
Unfetish
Melissa’s site is finally done. Check it out @ unfetish.net let me know if you find any kinks that need to be worked out.
Read MoreAbout Me
Having grown up in the sweltering Florida heat, George enjoys staying indoors, and air conditioning. A Level 7 Elvish Photoshop Mage with +10 Dropshadow Power, George specializes in visual design & interaction design — two fancy terms he uses to make himself sound important and to explain that he cares about both how things look and how things work.