The importance of family on a special day

As we prepared to welcome our oldest daughter, Alyson, into the world, my wife and I made a decision. We wanted to raise our children in the Valley.

While we love living in Palmer, there was a bigger reason. My parents and her parents were also in the Valley. We wanted our children to be close to all four of their grandparents. It was really important to us, and still is.

Both of us were youngish when Alyson was born. I was about 27, and in at least my third year as the Frontiersman sports editor. My wife was completing her Bachelor’s degree and on the verge of her own promising career in the human services field.

Before I learned that I was going to be a father, pursuing opportunities outside of Alaska was certainly a consideration. Actually it was probably the expectation. I am not sure if I ever would have thought at 26 or 27 that I’d be approaching two decades in this newsroom.

But that’s where I am today, and I remember when all of my priorities changed. On a late afternoon in 2004, I was on the couch in our apartment watching an episode of “The King of Queens” on television when my wife told me I was going to be a dad.

After a series of panic attacks over the next several months, it became obvious where we needed to be.

Around family.

We had the chance to raise our own children just minutes away from all four of their grandparents. And that is the choice we made. We wanted our children to have something that we didn’t have.

Two of my four grandparents I didn’t have the chance to know. My dad’s mom died before I was born, and my mom’s dad died when I was very young. My dad’s father lived in Florida, and didn’t get to see him as much as I would have liked. I was closest to my grandmother on my mom’s side. She lived in Colorado for much of her life, and I spent the bulk of my elementary and middle school years in Colorado. It was much easier to see her.

My wife has lived in the Valley since she was in elementary school, and her grandparents were all in the Lower 48.

We now have two children, Alyson, 16, and Abigayle, 12. My younger brother also has two children, and lives close by in Anchorage.

My dad turned 75 on May 24. It was a beautiful 70 degree Palmer day, and we celebrated with one of my dad’s favorites — beer battered halibut. But knowing my dad, it wasn’t just the food or the gifts. It was the chance for him to spend his 75th with all four of his grandchildren.

Days like that remind me that staying close to family is one of the most important decisions we’ve ever made.

Contact Frontiersman managing editor Jeremiah Bartz at editor@frontiersman.com.