Thinking about my oldest child on a significant birthday
March 6th is a significant birthday for my oldest child, Ginny. Her age this year ends in a zero, but that’s as far as I want to go in revealing the number of years she’s celebrating.
After all, age is only a number, and my daughter is indeed young in spirit. Her significant birthday this year, however, does cause me to pause and reflect.
The birth of the first child is always memorable for a parent, certainly for a mom but also for a dad. It engenders the startling realization that a beautiful baby has emerged from the love shared between two people and is now indelibly entrusted to that couple.
Over the years Susan and John Spevak were blessed to have three delightful children who grew into caring and responsible adults. Today, I am reflecting in particular on my oldest child, born in an Air Force hospital in Mississippi.
Susan and I named her Virginia Suzanne, believing that her formal first name would be useful when she became an adult and her nickname, Ginny, would have a pleasant sound as she grew up.
As it turned out Ginny liked her nickname so much she still uses it today in almost all circumstances. “Virginia” is primarily a word on her driver’s license. Ginny’s approach to her name reflects an independence of spirit that her parents have appreciated (most of the time).
As Susan would have said, “Girls can do anything,” and we tried to raise Ginny and later her sister Megan to believe and act on that principle. They both did.
Likewise, we taught our son Michael that boys can be anything, and Mike also has lived according to that principle.
Early on her parents knew Ginny was born to roam. She was just two weeks old when Susan and I drove from Biloxi, MS, to Mobile, AL, to stroll with her through Bellingrath Gardens.
A week later she was in the back seat as we drove a few thousand miles on leave — first to Chicago, showing her off to her grandparents and great-grandmother, and then on to Merced, near Castle Air Force Base, where I was newly assigned.
Ginny continued to roam, even before she could walk. When she was less than a year old, Ginny and I would go to a nearby high school parking lot, and while I shot hoops, she would propel herself, sitting in her rolling tot walker, as far as my eye could see.
As she grew older Ginny continued to enjoy roaming. While a student at Los Banos High School she traveled to England as part of a summer Rotary youth exchange. After her high school graduation, she headed for Santa Barbara, where she studied at the University of California.
Although she liked adventure, Ginny also understood the importance of responsibility. She studied diligently, worked at several part-time and full-time jobs, and earned her bachelor’s degree in four years. The combination of responsibility and adventure has always been part of her personality.
Immediately after graduation from UCSB, Ginny decided she had enough of Santa Barbara and set out for San Francisco, where she lived in an apartment while working as a retail buyer for I. Magnin’s department store. During one of her vacations, she visited Costa Rica.
Before long Ginny felt it was time to leave San Francisco and head out for a new destination, San Diego. It was there she met a wonderful young man from Brazil, who happened to be in the United States to advance his knowledge of English.
Before long Ginny and Eduardo were married in Brazil and then returned to the states, where Eduardo achieved U.S. citizenship while he and Ginny began a family that would include three wonderful boys. And they made it a point to return to Brazil to visit Eduardo’s engaging family.
Today, as Ginny celebrates a significant birthday, she and Eduardo are thinking about the next adventurous chapter in their lives, now that their oldest son is graduating from high school in June. They both feel it’s time for a new adventure as they seriously consider moving to Portugal in the near future.
Ginny and Eduardo are conscientious parents, who have told their sons they can pursue whatever they desire. Diego, Gio and Alec, like their mother and father, are eager and ready to roam, seeking new adventures.
As I look back on Ginny’s life, from the day she was born in the deep South to today in the far West, I thank the good Lord that He gave this remarkable person to her mom and me.
Ginny has brought us great joy as she grew from an independent young girl to a determined, responsible and caring woman.
On another note: March 6 (today in Enterprise’s printed edition) is Arbor Day in Los Banos. The Milliken Museum Society will be serving its annual breakfast at the Miller and Lux building (830 6th street) from 7 to 10 a.m.
And the City of Los Banos will be celebrating Arbor Day with a Party in the Park; at 4 p.m. in Skylark Park (700 block of Fairmont Drive). I encourage everyone who appreciates trees to come to these two joyful events.
John Spevak wrote this for the Los Banos Enterprise. His email is john.spevak@gmail.com.