Father becomes Grandfather

It's a strange feeling to lose milestones in life without knowing what else lies ahead. I mean, things that I looked forward to as a kid are now things that have either already happened, or are happening right now.

My dad is now a grandfather. My mom, a grandmother. I remember my dad talking about my grandpa Fashbaugh as his father. My dad, Earl Fashbaugh was the dad, and I was the son, and it seemed that it would always be that way. Now, the generations have shifted, as if some giant cog in time has turned a notch. I'm a bit disoriented.

Now it seems that the milestones ahead will be the same milestones that I had for my youth, but they will be those of my son's life as I look on as a father. The milestones ahead are less clear, but they consist of the markers of my dad's adult life.

None of this is bad, or depressing. Just disorienting, mainly because of the speed at which these changes took place. I know now that I'll be sixty sooner than I can fathom, and that my life is just a shimmer of sunshine on the surface of a huge lake. Okay, that was a little over the top, but my point is that I feel like life is so fleeting. Why don't we understand that as kids?