This was the last picture I took with my mother.
After living and attending university in N.Y for 5 years I got a job with a computer contracting firm they transfered me to Illinois. So I relocated to the midwest.... .
On June 28th, 1980 is when I married an attractive 22 yr old Jamaican Caribbean born young woman who I met in Northbrook Illinois at Allstate head quarters. her initials were F. M. M. We were together from 1978-2005. we started dating in 1978. I felt that at the age of 25, in 1980 that I was mature enough to get married. So we got married in june of that year, she wanted a summer wedding sl she got her wish.
We lived together first in a 2 bedroom apt. that I had rented in Wheeling Illinios. The biggest problem was it was very close by a private airport... named Palwaukee, it was very noisy at times as private planes took off and landed regularly.
My mother and my closest family members came to the wedding except my dad who up to that time had never traveled outside of the Caribbean. And did not like traveling. And also his eye sight was no longer very good.What I did not realize was that was that my dad might go blind before seeing any of his grand kids, my 6th sense had put an image in my head that as an only son, I needed a family, because my mother would be dead in 3 months after we got married. Which was devastating to me. So after shopping in .few towns in Illinois for a house to purchase we could not afford the prices in the towns we liked, so we decided to move to a warmer climate. We picked Miami FL. (Lower taxes) We drove from Illinois to Florida in a Uhaul truck with all our belongings, towing our car behind it. Mainly because my new wife had 2 aunts, an uncle and a few cousins there. We built our first home a 4 bedroom ranch style home for way) less than any place we saw in Illinois, with a big enough back yard for our kids to play in.
Our son playing in the back yard as his mother watched him.
Our son riding with a neighbor infront of our first home.
It was less than a mile away from her aunts house. The house was large enough for my wifes family to come and visit during holidays which became a tradition. 4 years after living in the new home, we were blessed with having our first child. My dad came to FL for cataract surgery. Thankfully my dad had the eye surgery and he was able to enjoy seeing his first grandson.
our first born son T.B.Daniel came home to us, after spending his first few weeks in the hospital. He was a premature baby. (HE is now almost 6feet tall and over 200lbs) We were very happy but I wanted a 2nd child, so that our first born son would have a sibling, but my wife was a bit scared, because she had complications during her first pregnancy. So we waited 5 years and 11 months(almost 6 years) for our 2nd son, T.A. Daniel, to come into the world and join our little family. which made it 4 of us.
The Daniel family of 4 in Fl.at our friends wedding.my son was the ring bearer and I was one of the groomsmen.
We built our 2nd home in Miramar Fl. and were happy , I thought!
But in 2002 all of it changed, as I was now almost 50 years old, both my parents were now dead, and all I had was my family of 4. My now ex- wife was not happy any longer so she filed for divorce, in 2005, using the dreaded legal term "Inreconcilible differences." We ended the marriage. it's now 2024 and we would have been married for 44 yrs had we not gotten divorced. ( but even though she divorced me she still kept my last name til this day, I guess she wants to have her sons and her last name be the same, maybe to not have anyone question if she was married when they were born) I never asked her to give up my last name so I had no problem with her remaining F.M. Daniel. I had no plans to get married to any other woman so she can keep it. I only planned to get married, Once was enough!
A family picture, in our Miramar Fl. home, taken during a Christmas holidays with all of mainly her family members present at that time. Two of thesenior citizen ladies down in front ,standing next to eachother have passed away not too long ago. My mother in-law and my aunt in-law. I now miss them more than I thought I would, they were the ones who kept the families together.
my son and his bride on their wedding day.
My fist born son is now married ,to a lovely lady C. Alvarez-Daniel ( my bonus daughter) and they are the proud parents of their first born son O. I. Daniel (our first, and so far our only grand son) he is our pride and joy.
I now live in the house in SXM that my dad built for my mom and him, but neither of them ever got to lived in it. It's old now and has had more than a few hurricanes and Earthquakes beat on it,while it was rented to other couples. But I still feel the love of my parents that built it, inside its walls when I am home.
P.S. I did have a younger women who has two daughters live with me for a couple of years but that ended when she tried too hard to tell me what to do in my own home, being very bossy. She assumed incorrectly that I would give her the house when I die She moved out when I told her that I had given up control of the houses I built in the USA, and I was not going to giveup control of my parents home to anyone other than one of my sons who my father wanted his first born grandson to have it.
My family of 4 grew by (3) as my sons adding their (2) ladies and our grandson to it.
Maybe my eldest son (T.B.Daniel) light blue jacket, will give the old house to my grandson ,his first born son, in the future. That will be up to him.
Our only grandson enjoyed his second birthday. Sliding down the slide, while playing with his parents.
I assume it must be great to have two loving sets of grandparents in his life he is so blessed.I did not have my two sets of grandparents at the same time in my life growing up. My dad's parents died before I was born and my Moms parents only lived for a few years as I was growing up.
My sons had one grand parent on each side, when they were growing up.
Final thoughts
WHEN I see other couples, around our age. Holding hands, these days, who are celebrating many many years of marriage,and are still married, I get a bit jealous. Because I thought and hoped that our marriage would also have lasted for many many years instead of just 25yrs.
You never know what will change between two people over the years. I have learned that men do not benefit from marriage and neither from divorce.
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