Never too Late

gee·zer
n. Slang
An old person, especially an eccentric old man.

Our family friend and the swedes cameraperson, DAN GILLMAN

has developed this website for all those men who

got started a little late in life with having a family..ie: (THE SWEDE)

The swede submitted this article.(true story)

The Badge of Honor

Some become Geezer Dads because they delay having children. I became a Geezer Dad because I delayed getting married.My family and friends were starting to wonder. 38 years old and no prospects…but I proved them all wrong and got lucky. Meeting and marrying my sweetheart Melanie in 1992, I had no idea what an instant family really meant.

With Melanie’s three daughters as consolation prize my first experience as a parent came cold turkey. It’s understandable that we decided to wait a couple years before we decided to have a child together. Little did I know that this delay would insure that I would become a certified Geezer Dad.At the time of my marriage I already had salt and pepper gray hair, a growing bald spot and needed coke bottle glasses to read the paper.

But with three healthy girls ages 5, 10, and 12 my grey hair quickly turned white.

Fast-forward two years and we welcomed to the family beautiful daughter #4. I had already experienced all the other phases of parenting and now welcomed the opportunity to get up in the middle of the night, change diapers and heat formula to the ideal wrist checked temperature. As my daughter grew and developed my Geezer status increased. “Is that your grand daughter?” was an oft-heard refrain. I just smiled and said, “Yes, isn’t she a darling?”

But the pressure to be a cool dad increased as I contemplated her first year in school…Kindergarten. Was I going to be the only grey haired dad in class? Would I be the dad that couldn’t run or jump or play like the other dads? Nay.Nay.

I determined that I would get fit and take the necessary steps to look the part.Just For Men was the answer. The miracle color that promised no one would recognize as fake. But what color? Brown, auburn, brunette? There were too many choices. I finally decided on the color that matched my high school graduation picture. After enduring ridicule from every friend and family member I settled into the routine of plastic gloves and tubes of dye. I looked good. But I didn’t look like me. The only negative was that hair

dye never really looks the color they promise.

My grey hair dyed brown started to look orange.

I finally gave up before my daughter reached first grade.Let’s skip ahead. My daughter is now in first grade. And as is the case for every child of a Geezer Dad she is selected to be student of the month. On the day of her award presentation my wife and I proudly assemble in the school cafeteria to watch the coronation. When it’s my daughter’s turn her teacher brings her up to the stage and as she presented the surprise award she says. “Look, there is your mother and grandfather in the audience.” My daughter makes a sour face… then turns to her teacher and says, “That’s not my grandfather! That’s my dad!”Some in the audience gasp. Others laugh nervously. I accept it proudly as another Geezer Dad Badge of Honor.Two weeks later while driving in the car and listening to talk radio I heard this same teacher describe the scene as her most embarrassing moment. At the end of the school year as my wife and I attended our daughters’ open house I was finally able to reacquaint my daughter’s teacher. I said, “Hello. I’m Sophie’s grandfather. You know… the one that sleeps

with Sophie’s mother.”My daughter is now 12 years old. I took her to the polling place in a recent election. The poll worker looked at Sophie and commented on how nice it was that she accompanied her grandfather to the polls.

My daughter and I just looked at each other and smiled.

(An essay written by Joel Swenson and submitted to GeezerDads.com in September, 2007