Family

Today is Father's Day. My dad has been gone 20 years and I miss him every day, but enough of that. I was blessed to spend the day with Hillary, Jamie, Caroline and Camden, and Jessica and her boyfriend Greg joined us for dinner at FMCC. Lucy and Kevin joined us at Dixie Chili for lunch after church at the Erlanger Christian Church. I can't get enough of this. Hillary lives in Glen Allen, VA and its been months since we were all together. Those 2 grandkids, well . . . . .

Family first. Always - in my book. Treasure your kids, spoil the grandkids. If you are lucky enough to still have parents around, visit or talk to them daily. Families can be natural (kids, grandkids, etc.) and families can be created (via marriages, adoptions, guardianships, etc.). In my book, families are families, and the relationships are blessed by God and to be honored and respected.

Jamie's folks, Mitch and Patti Billingsley, and his sister Ashley Kay, are wonderful people and live close, so they spend lots of time with each other. I am envious of them, as they see C & C grow and change daily. I have to do it long distance via Skype, telephone, Facebook and try to make regular visits. 8 hours in the van alone is a long drive for me and is draining. But part of my family lives in Virginia, so I do it as often as I can. If only the airlines were not so: 1) expensive, 2) hostile to handicapped scooter users, 3) unreliable and 4) generally a pain, I could avoid the drive now and again.

I used to be able to fly Comair, on their 'weekend traveler' program, round trip to Virginia for $150. But, Comair became so good that Delta bought it and destroyed it. Good job, Delta and, by the way, thanks for what you have done to CVG and for lying to everyone. Great corporate citizen. Should have been liquidated in bankruptcy and sold off. If I were king for a while, I would decree that Delta be forced to pay off the debt CVG incurred to ramp up for the promise Delta made making CVG a 'hub' then ban it from NKy and invite Southwest and other carriers back in. Delta is real family friendly - not!

In 33 years of practicing family law, I have seen some real dysfunctional families, some horribly abusive situations, some crazy behavior, but in most of those cases, something had intervened, such as alcohol, mental illness and drug abuse. I have also witnessed the love between parent and child, caring and nurturing grandparents, and selfless decisions made for the best interests of kids. I continue to practice in this area because I like to help people through trying times. I also enjoying helping children.

So, my conclusion is that no matter what your situation is, cherish your family in your own way and spend as much time together as possible. When they are gone, or move away, you'll wish you had them back. God bless families!

TLR
6.19.2011