Bright and early Sunday Morning. Once again I sliped out of the house while my wife of 6 years slumbers on. I have my usual Sunday morning breakfast with friends and aquaintences at the Firefly. But this Sunday is differnt. I made my first stop over at Sunshine Dry Cleaners, where that had about two weeks of my clothes waiting for me. Familarity starts setting in as the woman behind the counter, is one that has been there since I started dropping off my dress up clothes about 4 years ago. Breakfast today is my new ususal. Coffee and a bagel. But today is going to be different.
At 1pm today, I will be sitting in the Embassy theater, attending another high school graduation. The last one for awhile. Maybe forever. This time it is Abby. Abby Troue. My last daughter. The one whom I've shared a house with since 2001. Technically she is my step-daughter, and I do not want to take the place of her Dad. But she is just as much mine as she is his.
Abby was part of the equation, that led me to re-marry. Long ago, when I was divorced, I made a commitment to stay close enough to be able to stay invloved with my kids Tiffany, Josh and Rachael who were living in the Warsaw, Indiana area. It was the summer of 1995 that their Mom, Karen and I went through the divorce. My kids were 12, 11 and 10. Now, both Tiff and Josh have had more years with their parents divorced, than married. This fall marks that milestone for Rachael when she turns 24. ( I wonder if they ever have thought about that little factoid.)
Anyway, My original thinking was that once my three kids finished high school and went off to college, I could go where ever I wanted and start again. I know that when I left home after high school, I felt like I didn't need to stay near my parents. So that was my state of mind when I met Kathy in 2000. Kathy had Ian, who was out on his own, and Abby who was only 12.
I used to think that Kathy talked me into sticking around Fort Wayne, becasue she showed me how nice a place my hometown really is. But you see, my decision to marry Kathy was a multi-level decision. I knew that getting married again was also a commitment to Abby.
Today, Abby finishes High School, graduating from the same school I graduated from 29 years ago. Saturday is the offical grad party. I expect to see Rachael and her Brandon (who now live in Ft. Wayne) along with Josh and his Maddy (who also lives in Fort Wayne) along with many others. The circle is almost complete...
More to come, some of my friends have arrived and it's time to talk in person.
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