Meet the family: Your grandparents

My boy, 

Today it's my pleasure to introduce you to your grandparents. You actually have quite a few grandparents: there's Grandma and Grandpa (Mom's parents), Nana and Papa (my parents), Great Grandma and Great Grandpa (Papa's parents), Great Nana (Nana's mother) and Great Great Grandma (Great Grandma's mother). Confused? Well, you'll figure it out eventually. All you need to know is that you have an exceptional level of love and support from your parents, your parent's parents, your parent's parent's parents and so on. 

Grandma and Grandpa live in Holyoke, Massachusetts in the same house in which Uncle P.J. and Mom grew up but, by the time you're able to read this, they might be living down in Cape Cod in Brewster full time. You can expect many wonderful summers spent visiting Grandma and Grandpa with no shortage of fun. Grandma was a school librarian for many years which means she will always know the best books for you to read and Grandpa is a master plumber (though retiring soon) so will almost always be able to fix broken toys when they need mending. Both Grandma and Grandpa are incredibly kind and thoughtful people. Their friends and family always leave with a smile on their face when parting company with your grandparents but I suspect you'll always part with them with a frown on your face because you won't want to leave them!

Grandma and Grandpa

Nana and Papa live in Southampton, Massachusetts in the same house in which Uncle Pat and I grew up. Their house is surrounded by trees and a great place for a nature walk. However, if you're a swimmer like your mom you need not have any fear as Nana and Papa also have a place on the island of Vinalhaven in Maine. That's right! Two summer vacation spots for you to enjoy! Talk about lucky. Nana is a teacher of the hearing impaired which means she helps those who have trouble hearing learn all the things they need to know. It also means she is infinitely patient (though not with your father when he was younger!) and kind. Papa used to manage a textile factory but has had to take time off due to ongoing illnesses. This has not stopped him from making crafts or inventions when he is able and telling terrible, terrible jokes all the time. Nana and Papa love to laugh and do so often though some of us are not always so sure of the joke. Even when you don't get the joke, you'll find yourself laughing at how hard your Nana and Papa are laughing!

Nana and Papa

Grandma (and sometimes Grandpa) will be babysitting you some days while Papa (and occasionally Nana) will babysit you some other days so you will see them often. You are one lucky kid!

Your Great Grandma and Great Grandpa live in Hudson, Massachusetts. Your Great Grandma cannot wait to smother you with kisses and your Great Grandpa is excited that there will be a fourth, living generation of Dempseys. Your Great Great Grandmother lives in Illinois and is turning 99 years old this coming year! She cannot travel as much as she'd like but we'll make sure you get to meet her as soon as you can. Your Great Nana doesn't have such a good memory anymore so may not be able to play with you but your Nana and I will always be happy to tell you stories of how she once was and you can be sure that she loves you even if she can't say so anymore.

Great Grandpa and Great Grandma

All in all you have some wonderful people in your life and none more so than your grandparents (grand, great, great great or otherwise). They had the joy of watching your mother and I grow up and they can't wait to see the wonderful person you will no doubt become.

Great Great Grandma

Love, 

Dad

P.S. I didn't have any digital pictures of Great Nana so just picture your Nana but wearing glasses and much older. 

Meet the family: Your mother

Hi buddy boy,

Today I would like to introduce you to your mother. She is the most beautiful and wonderful woman in the world. You and your mother already have a close connection given that you've been living inside her belly for more than half a year, sharing her food and fluids but I suspect that close connection will continue once you're on the outside. Your mom is a kind, caring and giving person who cannot wait to be your mother.

Subliminal messaging: Liverpool! Liverpool! Liverpool!

Your mom was born on September 1st, 1983 and grew up in Holyoke, Massachusetts. She was the second of Grandma and Grandpa's two children with Uncle P.J. being the first. They lived in a wonderful house on Norwood Terrace and had a loving and comfortable childhood. Mom went to a Catholic school for her elementary education (where she learned a great Christmas song about Jesus that she will no doubt sing to you even when you beg her to stop) and then went to Holyoke High School where she was a star swimmer. After high school, your mom attended Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts where she studied Business Management, made some great friends and eventually met me!

131 Norwood Terrace, Holyoke, Massachusetts

Your mother is a great friend and is still close with her childhood and high school friends as well as her college friends (something that you'll someday find isn't common when you get older). She is quick to share a laugh and loves a good conversation. Family is very important to your mother and she has a great (and extensive!) extended family who you will no doubt love and be loved by. 

Your mother loves to bake and do crafts, likes to go to Cape Code whenever possible, is a connoisseur of fine (and not so fine) television programs, loves to swim and thoroughly enjoys things as simple as snuggling up on a cold weekend day to watch a movie or two.

I have no doubt that you two will get along famously!

Love,
Dad 

What's in a name?

Dear Scooter Baby,

Now that we got all the serious stuff out of the way, we'll move onto lighter fare. For starters, you may be wondering why this blog is addressed to "Scooter Baby". By the time you are able read this, at least 50% of your grandparents may be calling you "Scooter" despite that not being your name. Your mother and I apologize in advance and you are deserving of an explanation. 

Your mother and I have traditionally steered away from those typical terms of endearment for each other like "baby" or "sweetie" and instead have opted for our own oftentimes bizarre nicknames. One of these is "Scooter" of which I will explain the origin:

Years ago, I took to calling your mother "My little biscuit" after which she started calling me "My special Triscuit" (yes, after the snack cracker). Somehow biscuit and Triscuit became "Miscuit" for reasons that scientists are still trying to understand. After Miscuit caught on, a misspelling of the new term of endearment as "Miscuti" lead to "Scuti" being the new term of affection. This inevitably lead to "Scooter". 

Now, how does this affect you? Well, your mom and I have opted not to name you until we meet you in person. We have some ideas but ultimately decided that we'd pick a name once you make your first appearance as we feel we'll know which name will best fit. We started out calling you "Baby" but, after we received an ultrasound photo of you  when you were about the size of a pencil eraser head with the description "Baby, six weeks", we took to calling you "Little Baby Six Weeks". We found this highly amusing as it sounded like a child's toy doll and the name stuck for awhile. 

Once you started to resemble an actual human inside your mom's belly and the reality sunk in that WE WERE HAVING A BABY, we needed a more "serious" name for you, especially considering you were no longer six weeks old. Since your mom and I had been calling each other Scooter for years, you naturally became "Scooter Baby". It is highly likely that Grandpa or Nana will still occasionally call you Scooter. Again, our apologies in advance. 

This evolution in naming should clear up the title of the blog as well as confirm your suspicions that your parents are, in fact, crazy. But I hope it also shows that it's okay to be silly no matter how old you are. Life will throw challenges and sadness your way on a regular basis so always remember to be silly and laugh whenever possible. Your mom and I will experience challenges and sadness as well but we hope that we will always be able to cheer you up with our laughter and that we will be cheered up, in turn, by the laughter of our Scooter Baby.

Love, 

Scooter Daddy

Mission Statement

Hi buddy,

You are very small and we've not yet met but I've seen you and felt you inside that person's belly in which you've been living on a number of occasions over the last six months  I'm the louder of the two voices you hear most often and the one who is generally responsible for that softer voice's warm, hearty laugh that you can't help but hear and feel (hopefully on a regular basis!). Even though we've not yet met, I love you to the extent that words cannot possibly describe. 

I am your father and I can't wait to meet you.
 

You've been growing inside your wonderful mother for almost half a year and it'll be another quarter of a year before we get to meet but you are all that your mom and I can think about. We saw you all nestled up inside your mom's belly the other day and you looked cozy, comfortable and happy. That situation is one that your mom and I will work hard for the rest of our lives to ensure continues though the world can be a scary and dark place. 

It can even be scary for someone as old as your parents. 

Although we don't really talk about it, both your mother and I have a tiny fear that something will happen and that, in the worst case scenario, we will not get to meet you or that something will happen and that you will experience a harder life than we want for you. Someday, you may not be able to read this or understand it when read to you for one reason or another. Regardless of what happens, we will always love you; especially if your life is harder than most or even if we never get to meet you. We love you and that will never change. 

Part of loving you as much as we do means that I have no plans or aspirations for you. 

I want you to be happy and healthy. I want you to be whoever it is that you'll become. It's hard not to think about your forthcoming appearance in the real world: what will you be like? Who will you look like? What things will drive you? It's easy for me to admit that I'd like you to grow up to be a Liverpool supporter, watching soccer with me every weekend morning, that you'll get as excited about the Patriots as your mother, that you'll be smart, kind and have a sense of humor like your sometimes deranged parents. But, truthfully, I just want you to be you with no ifs, ands or buts. 

You are so little but you are the biggest thing that has ever happened to your mother and I.

We hope that we are worthy of the challenge and deserving of your presence in our lives. We have a wonderful support base in your grandparents, your aunt, uncles, beautiful cousins and great grandparents and they love you (almost as much as your mother and I do!) and can't wait for your arrival. There is no doubt that you will always feel loved and that your mom and I will always do what's best for you. However, growing up is something that one can only do on their own so I'm compiling my thoughts from now until you can read in the hopes that they provide a road map for you. Not so that you become just like me but so that you become better than me.

Love always,

Dad