Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun
Shine on you crazy diamond. — David Gilmour
“Beware the ides of March.” — William Shakespeare
“Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.” — John Lennon
For over four decades, March has been a favorite month for my wife, Alison, and me. No, not because it is historically our greatest snowfall month. For the record I’m OK with being done for winter now, thank you very much. March is the month in which both of our kids were born. Our daughter, Meredith, was born on March 8, 1978 and our son, Wesley, on March 14, also known as Pi Day and the day before the dreaded ides of March.
It’s hard to believe that when our daughter was born we had just bought land, but not yet begun construction on the house in which we still live to this day. We rented “The Dog House” from Ed and Charlotte “Chotsie” Lefevre from 1973-79. The Dog House was marginally bigger than a real dog house. It was a great place to start a lifetime. We had the run of the estate. We could hang out at the top of the majestic gardens built by two Italian stone masons or go skinny-dipping in our own personal private quarry. These were pretty cool digs for two kids in the early 20s who didn’t have 50 bucks to their name. Money didn’t matter. We had each other. Life was good. After six years of Party Time came the two words that strike fear into the hearts of every man: “I’m pregnant.”
By 1977 we had nearly had our fill of partying (emphasis on nearly). Learning of the impending arrival of a new human goes a long way toward sobering you up. Alison and I had been together for nine years and now we were about to add a third party to our duo show. A lot goes through your mind when this news hits. Most of the thoughts are anxiety ridden. How are we going to be able to do this? We live in a one-bedroom house. Where’s the kid going to stay? How are we ever going to find the money to raise this person? How….how...how?
There’s no point in fretting. The kid’s coming so suck it up. Figure it out. Get busy. The future seemed so bright and simultaneously so scary. Your brain’s telling you how wonderful it’ll be to have a baby and at the same time screaming “What are you thinking?”
Meredith arrived. Since we had no room for a crib, she slept in our sock drawer until we could start building our home ourselves (with the help of many friends). Lord knows how we were able to secure two acres of land, build a house and not starve to death, but we did. As is the case with every young couple having their first child there were many days riddled with fear and anxiety. You work through them, because you have no other alternative (except for reverting back to those carefree party days! Nice try).
We’d been in our new house a year when those fateful words, “I’m pregnant,” were heard again. Forty years ago today Wesley arrived. All bets were off. We now had two additional people (or as I used to refer to them as “the tenants who never paid rent”) in our lives. Unfortunately, this charming, little 24-by-32-foot house we built only had one bedroom. No problem. The kids can share a room. Surprise! Kids grow up way faster than you think. A few years later we were adding on to the house. It was hard to grasp that college would be just around the corner. How we were able to survive those days is a mystery. Were it not for some photographs, that period of our lives would be a blur.
Forty short years ago Ronald Reagan was sworn into office; a severe recession hit America; Reagan was shot; Walter Cronkite signed off the air; Michael Donald, a black man, was lynched in Alabama; HIV-AIDS came into being; Mark David Chapman was sentenced to prison for the murder of John Lennon; the first test-tube baby was born and Mohammad Ali lost his title to Trevor Berbick.
Today, our two kids, born of humble beginnings, each have two kids of their own. They have their own homes and businesses. Our daughter pursued her passion and started a pre-school, Tioronda Learning Center in Beacon, N.Y., and our son, along with his wife, May, chased their dream and now own Moonwink Burmese Restaurant in Manchester, Vt.
Some days it feels like all of this was a faraway dream. Other days it feels like it happened just last week. Time is a crazy thing speeding up one minute and dragging on the next. We’ve all lost a year that we’ll not get it back due to COVID-19. We’ve got a lot of livin’ to catch up on.
Here’s hoping that the ides of March this year will work out better for all of you than it did for Caesar. Shine on you Crazy Diamonds.
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