My maternal grandmother had the gift of second sight, much to my grandfather's annoyance. My mother says that she would wake up and say, "George, the cows are on the train tracks." He would groan and tell her that she was crazy, that he had latched the gate and that she couldn't really expect him to go wandering around in the middle of the night. Nonetheless, the whole time he was complaining, he would be putting his pants and boots on and then he would head out to go move the cows before the next train came. He had to go because he knew that she had never been wrong about it.
The strange thing was that my grandmother always wished for ten strong sons. Instead, she had one son who had some very physically trying times in this life. It has seemed odd to me, that someone who could see so much, would have this desire for something that wasn't in her cards.
I also thought I would have many children. It has been a great surprise in my life that I was only blessed to bear one child. However, I quickly learned that if your only child is a son, your house will be filled with boys. They run in packs. Happily, my son has always chosen his friends wisely and they have filled my home with joy.
As he has grown into a fine man, his circle of brothers becomes larger and larger. He is very close to the men he was raised with, he is very close to his father's sons who were born to his dear step mother, and he has a fraternity of brothers in Long Beach who are in our home daily.
The real test of a good son is not how much you care for him, but who he cares for as an adult. In my times of need, my sons many brothers have stood by me as true sons.
Perhaps my grandmother saw my/our ten strong sons as they came together around my mother's death bed and recited Kaddish for her to elevate her soul, before her body was ever taken from this house. It's a powerful sight to see ten strong men coming together in the service of one of their mothers. Perhaps it was my grandmother's strong wish that brought them to me.
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