A wondrous bond

Did you ever want to just get away from the normal routines in your life just for a brief time to experience what is most important to you? I believe they call this time vacation with the family. If it wasn't for vacations we would feel a longing and a sadness that working simply can not satisfy. If you were to determine the span of your working life and the time you spend with your family you would realize how much we are missing out on spending quality time establishing healthy relationships with our children. Raising a child in difficult economic times is very challenging and we feel that our commitment  to our employer and our work is top priority because of our need to provide for our family.

Equally important is establishing a healthy and wondrous bond with our child that allows us to connect and have enjoyable times together. What would the value of our life be if all we did and cared about was our career and our work? We would feel as if we lost a very important time in our life and that time can never be captured again. Once it passes it is gone for good. However if we shared many times with our children and maintained a healthy balance between work and family then we would have the many wonderful memories to go along with the many happy times spent together.  

I have always felt the joy when I share happy times together with my son. We both enjoy seeing movies together or going bowling or swimming at the local pool. These are simple things but to my son these are great outings and it makes me so very happy when I see my son happy and enjoying himself. It is my sincere hope that my time spent with my son will help him in learning about life and establishing relationships. My son is a wonderful child and we are so very proud of him because of his happy disposition and his kindness and compassion. Although he is autistic and has his share of difficulties socially he really does have quite a personality and is  a very caring child who wishes to solve all the problems in the world.

I share a love of music with my son and I have taught him about some of the great groups I listened to as a kid and he has developed an interest in those groups as well and we love to watch some of them in amazing and treasured video portrayals on youtube. We have become great fans of youtube because of the ease in finding artists of the past and sharing in experiencing their performances. A great example of this is watching Elvis Presley singing Blue Suede Shoes back in the 1970's or Peter, Paul and Mary singing Puff the Magic Dragon or Three Dog Night singing Joy to the World. There were so many wonderful groups that we like to listen to from back then and their music still lives on WCBS FM and Youtube.

Two artists that we both enjoy listening to who both have songs that really grab a hold of you and shake your world with their message of father and son relationships are the late Harry Chapin and the late Jim Croce. I always loved their songs "Cat's in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin and "Time in the Bottle" by Jim Croce. Both songs are enough to make a grown man shed a tear after listening to them. I have grown to understand the importance of both those songs as a father of a special needs son. My son has taught me so much and for that I am very grateful because he is very special to both my wife and I.

If I could relate and convey to someone what is most important to me in my life I would have to say the relationship I have with my son as he has such a way and is such a great kid. He certainly makes me realize what is most important in my life and I am very appreciative to both my wife and son who make my life complete.

A traditional concert that we plan to go to again at Christmastime is Transiberian Orchestra and we are just so excited and delighted to go. It will be our 3rd year in a row and each time is an experience that leaves us feeling inspired and very happy and in the moment. It was their music I was listening to the day my son was born at Mercy Hospital as I was driving back and forth to visit my wife and new born son and everytime I play or hear Christmas Eve in Sarajevo 12/24 I get pretty emotional as I hold my son's hands in the concert and think back to the miraculous moment of his birth.

I will always make sure I spend as much time with my son as I possibly can because that is what makes me truly happy.

Edward D. Iannielli III