Wedded And Flown

Saying their Goodbyes

Okay so the WiFi here at the Embassy Suites actually works pretty spectacularly once you wander through all the wickets they set up to insure you’re a hotel guest. I’m loving the hotel room which is a suite with a sitting area, small kitchen and king sized bed. I’ll send some photos tomorrow but I’m on a short leash since I only have a few minutes before the conference begins.

Son Helping His Abuela With the Corn Grinding

Cleans Up Nicely

Yesterday was spent traveling to Rhode Island with my Favorite Panamanian, the Favored Son and the ABFA to attend the wedding of a long time friend’s son. Before we left my son had a nice moment with Buddy as the two old antagonists said goodbye to each other for probably the last time. Buddy and my son established a routine early in Buddy’s tenure with us where they would chase each other around the Charlton house while my wife yelled at them to stop. Buddy would get frustrated because he could never catch my track star son after easily tracking down yours truly in similar situations. Buddy may not understand why he’s getting all the extra attention but he’s earned it.

The wedding ceremony was very long involving a number of priests which is appropriate since the groom was almost a priest and continues to do good work for the church. We snuck out for a quick meal after the ceremony since the reception dinner wasn’t scheduled for a couple hours and we were operating on fumes from breakfast. It was a good time just hanging out with my son and the ABFA.

The reception was low key but very homey which, again, very appropriate. We got to speak with our old next door neighbors, the groom’s parents, for a while and refurbished contact with their far flung family most of whom we hadn’t seen in many years. I think that’s one of the coolest, yet cruelest, aspects to weddings. You end up seeing family and friends after years apart.

In this case there was a young lady I remember as a pre-teen that was now sheparding a pair of daughters that were older than she was the last time I saw her. Our former neighbors, a Japanese man married to a Portuguese lady, always made for an eclectic but superb family experience. Since this was a Sunday wedding followed by a school night this was the first wedding I’ve ever attended where I didn’t have a single beer. There was a small dancing effort as the speaker system wasn’t up to having the music drown out the constant chatter of conversation. It was still a wonderful day spent with some of the nicest people on earth.

My Date

We rushed back to Worcester since I hadn’t even started to pack yet and this was a cardinal sin in my wife’s eyes. She believes packing should be an Olympic sport. She finally threw her hands up and demanded I just pile what I was taking on the bed and she would pack it. This was kind of cool since it allowed me to spend some more time with a certain black lab in the Man Cave.

Meanwhile in New Jersey:

Helping mom Cook

Making a Mess

And Loving It