The Hammerhead Shark and Cormac

This is my Dad in 1971 when he caught a 6 1/2 foot hammerhead shark.  

My Dad only went on a plane once in his life and this was the trip. They went to Florida My Mom was pregnant for me at the time.

I can't even type this without crying because I just miss him so much. My heart breaks that I will never see him again or talk to him. It breaks even more knowing my children will never remembe him or hear him laugh or never hear him say "hey, you want a punch in the nose?" while teasing them.

You might be wondering why I posted this picture today. Cormac has a different theme each week at school and Friday is show and tell. This week they were working on the ocean and all things related. What lives in the ocean, what the water is like, what animals have fins, or legs. The were learning about different types of sharks as well. I thought, what a great show and tell it would be for him to bring in the picture of my father with the hammerhead shark. My Mom was able to find it and scan it and I printed it out. I showed it to Cormac and we talked about it. I was curious what he would say when it was his turn at show and tell. I went in today to ask his teacher. She said he told the class "this is my Pop Pop when he caught a hammerhead shark fishing". She asked him "how did he catch it, with his hands?" and he said "no, with a fishing pole". He made the connection between the shark being caught and needing a fishing pole.

SHe also shared that he is an incredible user of his implants. She still cannot get over the things he hears and the situtations where he doesn't have problems with noise. Out on the playground the other day she had her back to him and was talking with him across the playground while all the other kids were running around. He was able to have an entire converstion like that. Today she said they were talking in the classroom and he was in the bathroom going potty. Well, whatever they were talking about he wanted in because he came running out of the bathroom with his pants around his ankles to join in the conversation. Obviously, in these situation he is relying purely on his implants and no other cues. I have always said he doesn't seem to miss a trick. I guess I was correct. He is so in tune to his surroundings.

We are heading into the city on the 29th for a map and his two year speech evaluation. He was supposed to go a month ago but Calleigh decided she wanted to make her arrival the same morning :) I remember being wheeled into the c-section and saying to Frank "don't forget to remind me to cancel Cormac's appts at NYU tomorrow". (It was about 1am)

Here's another funny story I forgot to include in my last post. Once a week on the way home from school I get the boys milkshakes (ok, I get on too). I always ask "what flavor do you want? Chocolate or Vanilla? Well, it varies by day and kid what flavor they want. What does Colin say? "He wants a beer shake!" Mind you, Frank and I don't even have beer in the house for the most part. Trust me, we have had our share of cocktails and TOTALLY still enjoy some cold frosty beers BUT it's usually when we go out or have company. On top of that I have been pregnant and they were only 2 1/2 when I got pregnant so they haven't seen me near a drink. Frank didn't drink the entire time I was pregnant. However, every time i have a can of soda they will say it's a beer. Strange. I don't now where it comes from. I can tell you this I could use about a case of those cold frosty ones right about now!