Was the Apostle Paul near his breaking point while he was in the city of Corinth?
How am I going to handle my first real brush with fear as a senior citizen?

I got my "family patriarch" membership card at a beach house in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina

Two very important people in my life
Me and my grandson and new granddaughter at a family vacation in North Carolina

I think I know why I really like the television series Parenthood which is about the daily life of a big family where there's plenty of real life.  The grandparents, their kids and the grandkids live life as part of a functional family unit.

We had a chance to bring our family together this month at a beach house in North Carolina where we woke every morning to the sun coming up over the Atlantic Ocean.  It was a big, beautiful house right on the water.

Our daughter, son-in-law and their two kids from Bosnia flew in and our son and daughter-in-law drove in from Washington, D.C.  Then there was visits with our son-in-law's family who live in North Carolina.

It's hard to describe it in words.  We were right there everyday with each other.  We ate together, played Monopoly, read books with our two-year-old grandson, talked, took some pictures and talked some more.  

I took lots of pictures to look at and share.  I'm blessed bigtime by God, way more than I ever deserve. I love being part of a family.

I've already added grandparent to my resume.  One of my kids referred to me as the family patriarch like Zeke Braverman on Parenthood.  You know, I kind of like that.  

Stay tuned for more, like pictures of my wife and grandson finger-painting with chocolate pudding on a granite countertop.