Grandpa's grin says it all. You helped him have fun, feel useful, accepted and loved with this "simple" request: Will you please take Flat Stanley with you, and then send him back to me? My Dad had convinced himself, and nearly everyone around him, that he could neither read nor write. There were times in my life when he was so much fun to be around, yet his spirit had begun to fade... until his grandchildren began to arrive.
On January 10, 1977, John B. Law Jr became a Grandpa. He was 43 years old when he fell in love with his first grandchild, Kristen Marie. He had his struggles and frustrations with the noise level and commotion of parties and visits as the years went by and our family kept on growing. He was just shy of 63 when I gave birth to his 13th grandchild, and two months later, your cousin Amanda Kathryn Law was born. On his 64th birthday, he shared his birthday with his 15th grandchild, Matthew John Mitchell and then in Sept 2000, Nicholas Law became the 16th Law grandchild. Ten years later, we began welcoming the "greats" : Ava, Madeline, Ashlyn, and two days after his 83th birthday, Violet Mae. He adored each and every one, but I
felt and witnessed his love for you, and I have no doubt that his abiding love continues to envelop us all.
This amazing 70 year old, your Grandpa, was
thrilled that you asked him to participate in your class project. We lived more than 500 miles away, and during your school years, trips to Connecticut were fewer. Perhaps it was because he had worked so hard for so much of his life at a job he no longer loved, and now had one he enjoyed, felt useful and had friends. (Flat Stanley visited the Stonington Police Department, and came back to us with a patch to prove it!). It think it was simply because you asked. In doing so, you let him know you believed he
could, which lifted his fears, and his heart, knowing you believed in him. You erased his disbelief in himself by believing. Thank you for being YOU! I adore and admire you, more than words can say, and am grateful for new eyes with which to view our lives from a new perspective. xoxo Love, Mom
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