October 7th would have been my dad’s 100th birthday. Ten years ago, in the summer before his 90th birthday, I made a pact with my daughters and their spouses to plan an early birthday party, on his turf. He had never met one of his great grandchildren and had seen the three others only once when they were just babies. I was remembering a comment made by my then three-year-old granddaughter when she learned that my mother had died. “That’s so sad. She never got to meet me.” This little one, in particular, needed to meet her great grandfather.

School would be in session on his actual birthday so the plan was for July. This was not an easy feat. One family lived in Santa Monica, the other in San Francisco. There were jobs to be considered for the spouses. More problematic, his turf was in Missouri. There was no easy way to get there. No direct flights, few airline options and travel with four children under seven. I was asking a lot from my daughters. And Missouri in the middle of July! That was asking a lot of everyone. But they rose to the occasion and we made our plans.

At the time, my aunt had a big house on the lake not far from my dad’s home. A vacation house with many bedrooms. The perfect solution. An above ground pool, a fishing dock, something for everyone. We were set.

My expectations were not high for “a good time had by all.” I am not a big fan of Missouri. But this was all about Dad and the great grandchildren. Ten years later and they are all still talking about it. The amazing thunderstorms, the ease of catching fish off the dock(so easy that my son-in-law finally got bored hauling them in), the enormous property where the children could run free and build things out of found objects, Silver Dollar City which is still a favorite theme park of my other son-in-law, the barbecues and, of course, my dad.

Watching him with those great grandchildren will always be my favorite memory of him. Their joy and his joy. There was never such a party as this early 90th birthday celebration.  He didn’t make that 90th birthday.   He died in August of that year, after meeting those great grandchildren, his life complete. I will be eternally grateful to my children for making this one of his happiest moments. Grateful that they took time from their hectic lives so that their children could know a great grandparent. Grateful that they didn’t have to say, “He never got to meet me.”