Gerald is my father-in-law. He and my mother-in-law divorced when my wife was two and he just never was much in my wife’s life. He didn’t make promises to her he couldn’t keep and he didn’t reject her, he just wasn’t there. My mother-in-law wasn’t the only failed marriage he had, he was married at least once before her and has been married at least twice since her. I think his current marriage will last until he dies.
Gerald has fathered a number of children. As best as I can tell he was never a dead-beat dad, he just wasn’t there. Golf and work came before family, it seems. They are all grown now with children and grandchildren of their own.
I’ve always liked Gerald. He’s probably been the best father-in-law a man could ask for. He has never butted into my family’s business and never been a source of contention between me and my wife. My wife would have liked a closer relationship with him growing up but she has accepted him for who and what he is and loves him as a daughter ought to love a father.
Gerald has been somewhat crippled since he was a boy. He had some type of bone disease in one leg that left it a few inches shorter than his other. This condition has given him problems several times over the years landing him in the hospital and in intensive care units more than once. He’s always recovered and gone back to work in his HVAC business.
Gerald is now in his late 70s. Last week complications in his bad leg led to a stroke. He’s suffering from paralysis to his left side, the side his bad leg is on. This past weekend the complications that led to the stroke also led to that leg being amputated. I don’t think he knows this yet.
If Gerald makes it out of the hospital I have no doubts that he will recover and probably even get to the point that he will need a prosthesis for the missing leg. If nothing else Gerald is a fighter. My concern now is for my wife, her step-mother(s) and her half siblings. While Gerald has strained all of his relationships over the years his family still loves him. Even several of his ex-wives.
Keep fighting, Gerald. I’m confident you can recover. This next year will be interesting.
