Painting the picture

Okay, so I'm painting here if you don't mind. I have to paint the picture before I can live it. So, here's another installment...

Our extended Family
R's father passed away December 25th 2000. R's Mothers name is K. She is a very kind woman, who I'm lucky enough to get along with. She adores Tide and washes him with love every time she sees him. (even though he is technically her 8th grandchild) I'm not always on the same wave length, but that's okay, we work through our differences. K is dating Mr. Mike, who is, much to our surprise, crazy about Tide. All of R's Grandparents have passed away. R has one bio-sister Dawn. R has two half sisters, Deb and Diana. The two half sisters have just recently (last 7-8 years) reappeared in his life.

My father lives in Maine, his name is Dad. (original, eh?) He has not been here to see Tide since his birth. He is emotionally inept. My Mother lives 9.24 miles from my door. (according to MapQu3st), we'll call her Mother. She has only seen Tide I'm guessing ten times (if she's lucky) since his birth. She is emotionally inept. I have one Brother, we'll call Germ. (very appropriate if you knew him) He lives 3 hours from us in Florida. I could care less. My Mother's Mother is still alive (Grandma) and lives 7 miles from here with her son (my Uncle E). Uncle E has only left home for a short stay with a girlfriend in the late 70's. The only other main family player is my Aunt Pat. She is one of my true best friends. (My Dad's sister and nothing like him) She has flown across the country four times to see Tide since he was born. She is his Grandma Pat. We talk (e-mail) on a daily basis.

Tide is lucky enough to have Grandpa Norman, who is crazy about Tide, but no way actually related to our family. Norman is just unbelievable. He is now 80, and is still helping us and his family rebuild from the Hurricanes. Norman helped reinstall our Dock at the end of December! He is how you wish everyone would look at your child. Pure admiration, his eyes sparkle and dance whenever he sees Tide. He's been a long time friend of ours, but has just warmed our hearts with his love for our Boy. Tide calls him Grandpa.

So I guess, even though my Mother and Dad are really not involved with Tide, He is truly lucky to have the many people who adore him. R and I feel it's very important to surround Tide with love and affection. These handful of people K, Mr. Mike, Grandma Pat and Grandpa Norman, just make us so happy because they do just that every time they see Tide.