Saturday, February 28, 2009

The Old Dad

For regulars this story will be familiar; for me it's just getting old.

The day of our new one's arrival was a bit busy as you can imagine. I didn't get much to eat. On the way home from the hospital to the existing brood I stopped to nourish myself at a Quiznos. I was the only customer in the joint until a family entered. A youngish man and woman with a 13 year old boy and an obvious newborn in a carrier. As the man and boy ordered the woman sat down at the table next to mine and put the carrier up on the table. I could see the baby sleeping. After a little while I asked how old the child was. The woman told me the girl was three weeks. I wished her congratulations. She said it was strange because it had been a long time since her 13 year old's birth and they had been quite young then.

She asked me if I had children and I said, "Well yes, I just had a brand new daughter today as a matter of fact." She congratulated me and we chatted a little more.

When her son and husband came over she told them that I had just had a baby today. Her husband said he had overheard us talking and wished me his best. I went back to eating and then he turned in his chair and asked me very nicely, "Is this your first grandchild?"

"Daughter - she's my daughter."

His wife looked like she was going to kill him.

This is my life.

4 comments:

Baywatch said...

yr own damned fault for going to Quizno's!

rhonanon said...

You need to get out of the Real America and come to the Fake America where it's not so common to be a grandparent in your 40s!

Steve said...

You know the solution, son. More hair dye, and much more sausage -- plump them wrinkles right out!

Anonymous said...

Hey, the way you look these days, you're lucky he didn't assume it was you great-grandchild!