Past Stories: Uncle Mike's Letter

Note: Written quickly in May 2009 so it could be sent to him before he died. I am so grateful his girlfriend Chris was able to read it to him while he was still awake.

Dear Uncle Mike,

First of all, I am so happy to hear about your new life with Chris. She sounds like a very nice and compassionate person. On the other hand, I am so sorry to hear about your health issues. I hope you are able to recover and live life feeling content with Chris.

My life has definitely been heading in the right direction. After having some difficultly conceiving Isabel, she was born May 25, 2006. Prior to having her, I was diagnosed as being pre-diabetic due to my weight and lack of exercise. I postponed losing weight since I knew I wanted to get pregnant again. You know me I never like doing the hard stuff twice, example losing a lot of weight. After I had Isabel, my family felt complete so I was able to focus on my well-being; physically and mentally. By the time Isabel was 9 months old, I had lost 40 pounds. Once I reached 127 pounds, I dove into the soccer world again.

So for the last 2 years, I have been playing soccer 2-5 times a week. There is about a group of 50 people that I see on a regular basis due to soccer. Some days we are on the same team and some days we are on different teams. It all depends on what team I am playing for since I am on a few at any given time. As you know soccer is the sport I love to play. Remember watching me when I was little?

Steve and I finally decided to get married April 12, 2007. As you know I was never going to be big on the whole wedding day fiasco. We got married during lunch at the county clerks office for $140. My type of wedding! Along with Steve, I inherited a stepson, Austin. He is 13 yrs old with a birthday coming soon on June 16. Yes, that is a day after mine. He is a wonderful big brother. Keven and Isabel love him so much. He is so protective of them when we are out and about. However, at home he is the typical lazy teenager. For outside activities, he participates in wrestling, shot-put and band. This year, he will be heading to high school. The same high school I attended years ago.

Keven, my kindergartner, is my loving little Casanova. At his young age of 6, he is excelling in the art of sweet talking. Besides sweet talking his parents and grandparents, he sweet talks his teachers and my friends. Everyday, he wants to snuggle, hug and kiss. Everyday, he says I love you, mom. Most days, he wants to open my door, put my seatbelt on, get a thank you kiss on the cheek and then close my door. However, this little Casanova is sneak-yyyyyy.

He also excels at the art of bargaining, manipulating and compromising. To tell you the truth, I am a little scared of his attributes. Who knows what he may swindle out of me as I get older. Here are a few quotes from my darling little Keven:

*"Mom, you know why I follow you around all the time? Because my heart grows bigger every time I see you."
*"Mom, you are so stinkin' cute."
*"Mom, you know why I want to sleep with you? Because I love you so much."
*"Mom, you know what time it is?...It is snuggle time!…..Let's snuggle cutie patootie."
*"What do you want to watch, mom? We can watch whatever you want because I love you so much."
*"Mom, tell Jennifer (my best friend) that I picked out the necklace for her."….."Jennifer, do you know why I picked that necklace out for you? So you will never forget me."

Keven is the kid that wants to play every sport. Very soon, he will have to pick his favorites to participate in during the years. But for now, he is on the swim team for his 3rd year which started April 6th and will end mid July. Right now, he is playing T-ball for his 2nd year. And starting in August, he will be playing soccer for his 3rd year. For a short time, he tried gymnastics and karate. I see him giving karate another go in the future. But I do not want to enroll him until he is 8 or so. It is a big commitment all year around. I am hoping to introduce him to music, football, basketball, and wrestling soon. Only time will tell the activities he truly will enjoy.

Isabel, my teenage toddler, is my loving but stubborn little princess. At the age of 2, almost 3, she is already a pro at blatantly ignoring me, whimpering for sympathy, and knowing exactly what it takes to irritate her brother, Keven. On top of the great attributes she has mastered, Isabel thrives on little sleep. She dropped her 2nd nap at 9 months and the entire nap time routine at about 2 and a half. Where Keven was just dropping his 2nd nap at 2 and a half. Despite all her antics, she is the cutest little girl ever.

Here are a few zingers from Isabel:

*The week before last Thanksgiving Isabel gave herself a haircut. She managed to cut all her bangs off. And she managed to leave a bald spot on the top of her head. We had to live with a short comb over bob for awhile. Yes, it made me cry.
*As she is reading with grandma, Keven is competing for attention. "Keven stop bothering me. No stop bothering us."
*Referring to fudge we gave grandma on Mother's Day. "Grandma that is yours, I mean ours."
*She tries to tell Keven how to make a turkey sandwich the right way. She is a smarty pants and of course Keven wants to do it his own way.

They may be completely different but I am so lucky and blessed to have these two as my children. Having them is truly heaven on earth. And I am so fortunate that my parents babysit them while we work. Keven and Isabel love my mom and dad so so so much. Besides seeing them about 5 days a week, they spend the night about once a week. I love observing the relationship my kids have with their grandparents on a daily basis.

At the beginning of the year, I dearly hope we made the last move into our family house. The house that Keven and Isabel will live out their childhood until they go off to college. We live in a great neighborhood across from a secluded park that has a huge grass area, two horse shoe pits, two playgrounds and two re-paved tennis courts.

I don't know exactly why you turned against your own son in his time of need. It may have been to protect the relationship you have/had with Christina. We all have choices we regret but reconciliation can help heal the hurt. Despite all the short-comings in your lifetime, I want you to know you were a great uncle. I hope Michael can reconcile with you before it is too late. I would hate for him to live with the regret. We have this one lifetime with our friends and family. The time at the Dittmar house seems so long ago but the memories are as clear as ever. I do miss those wonderful and happy times.

Thank you for the warmth and love I always felt at the Parra household on Dittmar. Thank you for making me feel safe and comfortable in your house. Thank you for the cherished childhood memories I have of our time together. Thank you for going out of your way to make me happy with the little things; tamales and mexican bread. And thank you for making me happy with the big things; Rose Parades, shopping, watching my soccer games, and driving to and from airports, train stations (remember that dumb and dumber toilet moment from Grandma Molly's house), Sacramento, and San Luis Obispo.

Love you always,

Your favorite niece, Jennifer

PS…I have sent you a few photos. A short description is on the back.

Past Stories: Rewind Monday - Dad Retires At 60

Disclaimer: Writing in present tense over 3 years ago!
October 12, 2007 happen to be the actual retirement date. His work retirement party was 9 months ago. People may have started to wonder... or likely may have wanted their gifts back. But rest assure family and friends, he did not go to work this morning.

Lets rewind to my thoughts shall we...

Back in December 2006, my thinking went something like this...who would of thought that this time in my dad's life would actually come. Not very many of us. My dad is a work alcoholic. As a kid, he worked a normal 40 hour week or is that what I remember since he was at EVERY SINGLE one of my soccer games whether at home or away at 3:30 pm. To tell you the truth, now that I actually focus on the hours he worked it came out to 48 hour work weeks. Normal work day would be 9 hours plus 4-5 hours on Saturday morning while I was sleeping in. On a soccer game day, he would just go in early. Once, I left the house for college...8-10 hours on a Saturday became the norm. A part of me always respected and envied him for being a responsible and dedicated person. After being blessed with my two beautiful children, I truly know what it means to appreciate time with your family. So for the last four years, I have been sad for my dad believing that he is missing out on so many experiences in our daily lives. For him this retirement will be bittersweet--less time at work with his friends but more time to truly enjoy all the world has to offer for I know he will travel to places he has only dreamt of for years. Thank you dad for teaching me that the small things such as soccer games really do matter. That memory is the most cherished memory I have from my childhood.

It may have taken 9 months for him to cut the cord but he finally manages to be reborn. Reborn into retirement bliss I hope. Only time will tell...