Tuesday, September 1, 2009



I have mentioned Zach in several of my posts...it's obvious that we have a special relationship so I thought I would pass along a couple of photos.

It is amazing how they change as the grow! The first photo was taken in 1988. I was outside washing the car...Karen had dressed him up like "Dad" and he proudly came out to show me. The pose was serendipitous...he happened to put his hand on his face as I took the photo. The second was taken on a weekend visit home from college. Zach has gone through all the phases...from Goth, to long hair to shaved head and all in between.

He is still in college majoring in Radio and Television. He wants to be behind the scenes with a hand held video out on assignment (chip off the old block!). He is presently working part time at local TV station as cameraman and running the teleprompter while he is in school.

Just as there is with any of our kids...there has been a lot of water under the bridge with our relationship over the years but now that the hormones have leveled out...we are back on track with a special connection. ..........Finally!

Dan

20 comments:

A Scattering said...

The words are as special as the photos - how beautiful to be able to share it.

Dan Felstead said...

Thank you Scattering...it's been a long road but we finally got here together!

Dan

aurbie said...

Zach is going to be a heart-breaker.

Great photos, Dan. That blah sentence does not live up to your work. I need lots of adjectives to describe the photos but I am on the run again.

Dan Felstead said...

Patty ... Patty ... Patty.....no sentence is blah! I fully understand about being on the run..I have been very busy of late as well.

Any comment left is a great and appreciated comment!

Dan

septembermom said...

What a handsome young man! Love the photos, especially the cute one when he was little. He sounds like he has a great passion for radio and television. I wish him much success. Referring to your note to me about The Pink Panther, did Zach find the Kato attacks on the Inspector funny too? My father would laugh constantly about those scenes. Really classic stuff.

Dan Felstead said...

Septembermom...actually for years when he was growing up....I was scared to walk into a room because HE THOUGHT HE WAS KATO! He would hide in closets, under the bed or on the other side of a door just waiting for me to come in and then begin attacking me! It would drive my wife nuts!

Dan

Anonymous said...

How precious is this. His picture could easily be on the cover of Parenting magazine! And older Zach is very handsome too :)

DawnTreader said...

Wonderful portraits!
Do I detect a certain father-son likeness in the later pictures or am I just imagining it?

Heather said...

Dan, that first photo melts my heart with the innocence and the purity of childhood in his eyes. Adorable and huggable.

The other shot is wonderful too, it shares the character of the man he has grown to become....or is continuing to become.

You've shared these well - now quit scaring me with the changes that I have so much to look forward to (not). hahaha

Very blessed to hear that your relationship has settled into a comfortable place where you can become the friends of father and son.

Love to you, Dan.

Dan Felstead said...

Pura...thanks...his interests are a chip off the old block but I can't claim anything to do with his looks! He is adopted...we adopted him at 2 months...so I can happily talk about how handsome he is without sounding arrogant!

Dan

Dan Felstead said...

Dawn Treader....
OK...I am sitting with my fingers poised on the keyboard...struggling with my conscience!

On one shoulder I have a bad angel telling me..."Go ahead, she is in Sweden and you are in Indiana...you are online and she will never know the difference, so tell her that you look exactly like Zach...tall dark and handsome". On the other shoulder, I have a good angel telling me..."Ah..Ah..Ah...don't fall into that online personality temptation! Tell her the truth, you will feel much better afterward".

The good angel won the battle! I would love to say I look like Zach but he is adopted! So while I am short (5'6"), white hair (before turning it was blond), light Irish complexion and blue eyes...Zach is 5'9", dark brown almost black hair, brown eyes and an olive complexion! Actually, he does resemble my wife in many ways...I have always wondered about that..ROFLOL!!!

Now you know the truth...even if you do live thousands of miles from me!

Dan

Dan Felstead said...

Heather...very insightful...as you say...continuing to become. He is in that space now where he makes his own decisions but still a bit unsure of them without a lot of experience to fall back on...but so far he is right on track. This is quite a change from 2006...long story but the short version...in a relationship, a baby...pondered abortion but chose adoption...spending the last 2 years getting back on track and he has succeeded well!

Dan

Sabrina said...

Man...the parenting journey is a crazy one, is it not? Looks like you guys have ended up in a good place though.
Be sure to communicate approval verbally and non-verbally to your awesome son. Not enough of that going around in this world. I'm sure you already do that.

DawnTreader said...

Dan, sorry about that - I didn't mean to put you on the spot! I just thought (imagined) that maybe I saw a certain resemblance in facial features around the nose and eyebrows. So much for my detective skills! ;) (I'll go bury that ambition of mine somewhere deep.) Still - all the more reason for you to feel proud then if your son takes after you in other ways (I mean like wanting to be behind the camera). Really glad you didn't try to convince me you were tall and dark by the way, because you already revealed your height and hair colour in connection with other posts. I don't think lying is quite your thing. Keep listening to the good angel... ;)

You asked me recently in some comment about language. I already gave you a short answer but I decided to write a bit more about it in my blog. You might perhaps like to read the post I put in today. More will follow.

Dan Felstead said...

Sabrina...great advice. Zach of course went through that phase where any type of hug or even verbal re assurance was not acceptable...Lord forbid doing anything like that in public! He has passed from that stage now though and we are a very verbal and tactile family!

Dan

Dan Felstead said...

Dawn Treader...you didn't put me on the spot at all...I was just having some fun with you! And I am heading over now to read your blog.

Thanks,

Dan

Cynthia L. H. said...

Dan, what a beautiful post. The photos are priceless. I read all of the comments and learned more about you. What an amazing story. Life. Isn't it incredible?
;^)
Thank you for opening your heart and life to us.
;^)
You have much to be proud of.

Dan Felstead said...

Cynthia...thank you for the kind comment. I am sure you can identify with the pride I expressed...your daughters still seem to be a big part of your life as well. It was just tough getting through the "hormone" period!

Dan

HaQeeM said...

the little one was so cute...love to see the picture...this cute pic was so special that cant be describe by word....well done!!
~ HaQeeM ~

Dan Felstead said...

HaQueem...

Thanks for the comment and stopping by! Have a great weekend.

Dan