My Godson

or,
They Grow Up Too Fast!

West York
Pennsylvania
USA

First there was just Fred, one of dozens of Jennifers of her era, who longed to be unique among the Girl Scouts at Rainbow Connection. Then there was Fred, Melvin and Side-Kick, life of the Lock-In at the old Junior High (at least as I remember them). Then there was Fred, Ned and Ed, which soon became Phredd, Gnedd, Eadd, Ted and Edna, singing silly songs down the Appalachian Trail. Now there's Phredd, Nathan and Aunt Gnedd.

Now we're scattered to the winds, and reunions are few and far between. Nathan is my oldest, best friend Phredd's son, and at 5 years old, he's seen me all of 4 times, including today! I didn't even meet him till the day when he was over a year old and I became his godmother. I make it out to see him once most years, but rarely when his mother needs the support the most.
It was, therefore, a high priority for me to see him on this trip. And to see Phredd, of course. It was, as usual, complicated. Phredd is laid up with severe asthma, living at her father's again, and her car's transmission was being repaired, but eventually we managed to make it work. And she was right when she said I wouldn't even recognize Nathan!

From Back to Penna.

He's the size of an 8-year-old, talks your ear off, runs circles around his poor Aunt Gnedd, and is the spitting image of his Aunt Yum-Yum (and his mother, apparently, but all I remember about her from elementary school is that we couldn't stand each other)! However, with great verbal acuity has come much better control over his emotions, though his problems are still obviously many, and it was great to see how much better things were going than the last time I saw them.

From Back to Penna.