We just returned from a 10 day jaunt to Florida, to visit with family. During that time, I spent a fair amount of time with Gage. I love that boy!
His curiosity is amazing! We visited the doctor because he has a weight problem. He was asking the doctor questions!
We did a lot of swimming and spent time just enjoying each other.
I was in Florida just 2 months ago and in that short 2 months, his reading skills and math skills have improved so much that I was amazed. He is now sounding out signs in Walmart and other places. To watch him doing that gives me so much enjoyment, knowing that with having his parents and 2 sets of involved grandparents, he is fortunate to have been given a great start in life and a good foundation to build upon.
We love him dearly!
He also enjoys "let's play on the bed, Papa". We wrestle, play ride the bull, and sometimes just talk to each other. I am able to give him, through play, lessons that I hope will carry him through life, to remember his Papa after I am gone.

So, 5 more days til we meet again! Get ready for 2 weeks of fun and learning, because I'm not just coming down for fun.
I can't wait, because I love you and want to see you become a smart and caring person, and if I can help then that's what Papa's are for.

In 2 1/2 weeks, I will be there to visit with you, as I know in my heart you need help. I will always be there to help you when you are in a problem spot.
I am looking forward to seeing you and swimming, reading and whatever else we decide to do.
You are very important to me.
Love, PaPa

Well, to say the least, it's been a rough week for the two of us. Something knocked me down for 6 days and you have had a bad sinus infection. Not good either way, but at least both of us are on the mend.
It's was great to talk to you tonight, as I miss you very much. Someday you are going to read these entries and understand why I decided to write them. I am trying to leave a journal of our lives together that you can learn from, and I hope you will understand. You are a very big part of me and I hope that lasts until my time is up.
We have things planned for you this Christmas when you visit and hope that you have a great time. Imagine that, 173 days and you will be in Maine with all your grandparents other than Grandma Grace, and we know she wants you to be here. I've got an axe for you to cut a tree with, the shotgun is ready, and maybe we can go rabbit hunting.
I want you to go on a night walk with me in the woods on snowshoes and I'm sure Grandma will want to join us. It is absolutely beautiful when it's snowing and maybe we will get lucky with a good, cold night.
Enough for tonight, I love you and miss you.
PaPa

Been home 9 days now and I'm doing great. Got my tomato and green pepper plants in, the grass partially mowed, all my garden plots tilled in, so things are looking good.
Faye talked to LeChelle today and of course Gage talking on facetime came up. She asked him if he wanted to talk to PaPa and he said "that's OK, I'll see him at Christmas time"! I don't think he realizes how far away that is.  So I will of course call him in the next few days, maybe even tonight.
I never thought that in my life I would feel what I feel for him, and I do miss seeing him, but I will survive.
I just hope that I can continue writing a book for him about our relationship. After all, that is what these pages represent to me, a chronicle about life and who we are.
Love you, Gage!
PaPa
.dennismoconnor.com

So Tuesday afternoon, we started our journey back home to Maine for the rest of the year. I always have a difficult time leaving because of my love for my family. But somehow, this year, Gage made it a lot easier.
Gage and I have a game we have been playing for the past several years called simply "let's play on the bed, PaPa". Sometimes we make a tent with the sheet, sometimes we wrestle or he climbs all over me or jumps on me, other times we just talk. When he knew we were leaving the next day, he simply said "I'll miss you tomorrow" to myself and Faye.
Fortunately, we convinced his parents to let him spend christmas with us in Maine this year. Now all he does is talk about shooting my .22 or my .410 shotgun, chop down a tree, decorate it with strands of popcorn, play in the snow and generally just have fun. We are all looking forward to that time, including his mother, as she will get a two week vacation.
He will get to see and play in snow for the first time in his life, with all that goes with it, and spend it with his grandparents and great grandparents.
Love is grand and grandparents are love. May you all sometime in your lives feel that bond.
Gage's Pages
dennismoconnor.com

I remember Gage's first year as the year he first rolled over, with a look on his face like "I finally did it"!
It was the year he first walked, walking and dropping, walking and dropping. Finally, he was able to stand by himself.
I used to give him his nightly bath 3 or 4 times a week and we had developed a routine. I would bathe him, dry him and head for our bedroom to dress and put his lotion on. As we entered the room, I would hold him over the bed about a foot high and just look at him. He knew what was coming, because that smile of trust just lit him up. I would then drop him onto the bed and the laughter would start. We'd play peek-a-boo, I would tickle him gently and he would fill the house with laughter. I can hear it today.
At the time, he was fascinated by GiGi's keys, in fact all keys. So I gave him a lock with a key, thinking I'd like to see how long it would take him to figure it out. !!! 15 minutes !!!! After that, there was not a lock in the house that wasn't attacked. And the taller he got, he went after the higher locks, same with cabinet doors. His curiosity had to know what was out of reach and what wasn't. I still see that curiosity today.
At 1  1/2 years old we gave him his first electric 4 wheeler. Took him about a month to figure that out, mainly the switch, to go smoothly.

Dennis O'Connor
February 26, 2017 · A Boy Named Gage
On the day that you were born, my life forever changed
With love, with wonder, forever rearranged
I’ve never felt, in my whole life, what I felt on that first day
When I fed you and I held you and on my chest you lay
To bond with me and me with you
You stole my heart that day
As you grow older and I watch you change
It fills me with joy and sadness
For I see a growing boy, and my baby has gone away
In his place is a great young man
And I’m sure he’ll do all that he can
To make this world a better place
Because in this time, in this age
We need a young man named Gage
Love, Papa
dennismoconnor.com