I’m not sure if I’ll ever get The Morning Chalkboard Project published, but at some point, the Shepkids will start reading them all.
That is when they will learn more about their Oldman and all of his ups and downs of being their dad.
Hazel sent me a text Thursday night, “Can I go to urs this weekend ?“
Towards the end of 2024 and now into 2025, both Fritz and Hazel ask to come to Riverside on the weekends when I don’t have custody.
One reason is because I love them and I know that sooner or later, they will be off doing their own thing.
Like Louis and Ella once sang, “One of these mornings, you're goin' to rise up singin' and you'll spread your wings and you'll take the sky, but 'til that mornin', there's a-nothin' can harm you with daddy standin' by your side.”
The second reason that I cave in is when I was their age, I wanted to be with my dad and get as far away from my mom as possible.
For them, it is a lot easier. They live on the other side of Mannheim Road. When I was a kid, I lived one hundred and eighty miles down I-65.
Just like the Shepkids, my mom suffered from depression and alcoholism. Just like the Shepkids, my Oldman nurtured with tough love and tenderness.
There was a couple times when I was told that I couldn’t get on the train in Indianapolis and take the four and a half hour trip through Crawfordsville, Lafayette and Dyer. Arriving in Chicago and immediately heading over to Maxwell Street for a polish.
Just like my dad probably felt when I came home…
…I feel secure having George in his room, Fritz in his room and Hazel in my bedroom. Hearing them breathe or occasionally elbowing the wall while they sleep is comforting while I’m cramped on the sofa.
Someday when you read this Hazel, sleeping on the couch wrecks my neck and back, but that is what dads do.
Fritz, I enjoy making you pancakes in the morning, but I’d rather be at the diner reading the Trib with my buttered rye toast, bacon, eggs over easy and burnt hash browns.
And George… you’ll never go away. We are going to be the eclectic dad and son living on the fifth floor of The Edgewater Beach apartments.
Good therapy this morning. I’m sure I’ll be sleeping on the couch and making pancakes this weekend…
…because I know that dad’s home is the safest place in the Shepkid’s life.
That’s why we often drive past 220 South Lombard, because that was once the safest place in my life.
“So hush little baby, don't you cry….”
