When my wife, Jane, and I decided to have children, we originally thought maybe three, tops. We had two boys and a girl. Then we ended up with four more after a relative had been killed, leaving their four children orphaned. We took them in, being the good people that we are, and life hasn't been the same since. Since then, we have added several more, bringing our total to two parents and ten children.
Unfortunately, our children are no longer so little: some are even giving us grandchildren! Mike, Jr. and his wife have three boys (Colin, Seamus, and Patrick) while Adam and his wife have four girls (Colleen, Megan, Siobhan, and Margaret Mary). Our daughter Melynda has two daughters (Stormi and Taylor). And that is not counting the grandchildren our adopted children have given us! We have nearly 30 grandchildren to spoil now!
The only three children who are not married are our youngest, Kimmy (Kim), Britni, and Alejandro, who are 19, 18, and 13 respectively. They lead busy lives with school, friends, and church. They are the only children who remain with us; the others have since flown the coop (but regularly stop by with their broods, excepting for Mike, Jr. and Melynda, who live out of state. Mike, Jr. lives in Chicago, Illinois, where he works as a firefighter; as for Melynda, she is busy raising her daughters in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Her husband is a lawyer for disability rights.
We see Mike, Jr. and Melynda during Christmas; if they can't be with us, then they call and send us cards with the latest pictures of their family, which we greatly appreciate.
We did see Lu-Anne, Adam, Polly, Stevie, and Robyn when they came to downtown Nashville for the annual Red White and BOOM! Celebration and Festival; we visited for a while and had lunch. While the grown ups talked, Jane and I watched over the grandkids; we had a great time playing with them and hearing about their latest escapades. Our grandkids are all getting so big! Seems like only yesterday when they were just born; no, it seems like yesterday when OUR brood was the ages of our grandchildren! *Sigh!*
Jane and I are not nearly as young as we used to be. We find it harder to get around: Jane has been diagnosed as having multiple sclerosis (she was diagnosed last year; she uses a cane to get around (or a scooter on her worst days); meanwhile, I am currently fighting prostrate cancer and am doing very well, even despite it all. I have been taking chemotherapy and get regular monthly checkups, to make sure it isn't getting worse; I may eventually end up having surgery in a month or so, just as a precaution. It is scary, but I am trusting in the Lord above to get me through this.
The children have been a wonderful support system through both Jane's and my illnesses; I don't know what we would ever do without them! They have all grown into capable, caring, compassionate human beings; we are both intensely proud of them!
Well, Jane needs me, so I will go for now. I am sorry it's been ages since you have last heard from us. We are doing okay, as you can see, and even though Jane and I do have our problems with our health, we still consider ourselves to be extremely blessed; things could easily be a lot worse. I just thank God that they aren't! Take care; until later, this is Mike Mulligan, Sr. signing off! God bless you always!
~Mike, Sr. :)
