Half a Century
Joe's 50th birthday was last week, and instead of doing the blog post then, I'm doing it now, with pics from his suprise party. Before we get to those, though, I just want to share why Joe's 50th has been such a big deal. Joe's Dad, the one who raised him, not the biological we found out about 3 years ago, was 50 years old when he passed away from a heart attack with no warning. Joe was 30 and devastated. For the past 20 years, we have heard songs, seen tv shows, and had momentous occasions in life when Joe (or any son) would usually reach out and call his Dad, and those times have brought my husband to tears with memories and what-ifs and if-onlys. He has missed his Dad terribly and he always will. They had reached that stage in life where they could be friends...and we were finally back on U.S. soil so they could see each other more often. As it was, Joe saw his Dad when Wayne flew over to Korea for Chloe's birth (for 3 weeks), then spent a week with us the