My Village is Falling

As the old African Proverb says, it takes a village to raise a child.  I don’t know many other African Proverbs but I can surely tell you that this one hits it right on the head.  I was born in the hometown where President Rutherford B. Hayes called his home, Fremont, Ohio, where everyone either knew each other or was related to one another.  I had just about all of my aunts and uncles nearby as well as my grandparents, second cousins and so forth.  Approximately six years later, we moved to my father’s hometown, Toledo, which was about 30 minutes away and still close to family. Fast forward to today, the nearest blood relative is in New Jersey, my mother-in-law, who visits with us each weekend.  Yes, it was my decision to marry the love of my life who attended law school here in New York who then took a job in the city shortly after graduation.  While we had a great time as newlyweds in one of the greatest cities in the world, insert kids and the whole dynamic shifts.  Dramatically.