‘Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans’

I’ll admit it. I am not a spontaneous person. I like to plan my days, make my “to do lists” and cross out tasks accomplished.

I had a column all planned for this week – a rant about…well, I’ll save that for another time.

As John Lennon once said, though, “life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”

My middle son, Dave, and his wife, Stephanie, were expecting their first child next week — the due date was April 14. They told my wife, Carla, and I that the doctor said she would be induced April 16. So, I made my plans.

Then, on Tuesday Stephanie called to say that her doctor had decided to induce her labor Wednesday morning and that the baby would probably be born Wednesday afternoon. So, I made my plans. I would come to work Wednesday morning and leave around noon to join my wife and other assorted family members at the hospital in Warrenton.

At 5 a.m. Wednesday morning, however, we got a call from Dave saying Stephanie was in labor and could we come up to Warrenton as soon as possible.

Carla and I quickly made some new plans and headed up to Warrenton where our grandson, Adam George Finefrock, was born … at 6:15 Wednesday evening. So much for plans.

Sitting in a hospital waiting room for nearly 12 hours gives you plenty of time to think. There’s something about your son having a son that makes you consider your life. Now, I don’t want to get into the whole Lion King “Circle of Life” thing, but still…

This is not my first grandchild. My oldest son and his wife have two daughters. And, on Jan. 15, 1997, Carla and I lost a grandson who only lived 16 days after birth due to a heart defect.

Still, a newborn gets you thinking about the passage of time. Even if the eventual winner of the 2008 presidential election serves two full terms, they will be just a name in a book when Adam studies American history in high school. The now-controversial Beijing Olympics will have come and gone years before he starts school. His teen years will be lived in the third decade of the 21st century.

The technological innovations of 2008 — iPod’s, iPhones and HDTV — will be totally “old school” when Adam graduates from high school. When he is my age, people not yet born, just being born or now in elementary school will hold most of the major corporate and political power positions in our country.

There is only one constant in the flux of events. When Adam is old enough to be interested in sports, I’ll make a Red Sox fan out of him. Some things are just too important to change.

Ray Finefrock is a proud grandpa, and he has some really cute baby photos he’ll show you. He can be reached at or 825-0771, ext. 111.