Possibilities

Some Tavern Bonding with the BRS

I find it hard to countenance that we are bearing down on August already and not just because my wife’s car inspection expires at the end of the month. It’s probably because I’ve been having more fun than is potentially legal. First though, a programming note. It was brought to my attention by the ABFA that some of her friends occasionally read the blog and are confused by the acronyms I use to describe the important people in my life. I do this to provide a semblance of privacy to these people in today’s all too interconnected world. When I responded that the recurring characters are all listed on the blog she rightly pointed out that, as with all good millennials, they only surf the internet on mobile devices which do not provide that feature. I pledged to correct my ways and from now will post the list of recurring characters at the bottom of each post. I was just surprised someone else was reading the blog.

Happy Abuela

Now to the fun part. It became something of a family tradition for my son’s birthday that there would be multiple celebrations. That evolved because with a birthday in July he would inevitably be caught up in our usual summer move while I was in the military. He would therefore have a birthday at the place we were leaving, another at the one we were moving to and in between celebrations at both my New Hampshire home and Panama since we routinely hit each of those places during our move.

BRS Mirror Games with Dad

It was only fitting then that we once again returned to Stratham yesterday to continue the week long marking of my Favorite Son’s birthday. We ran into the default traffic jam on I-495 north on Saturday morning but finally took an alternative I’ve been contemplating for years. I jumped off on Route 3 and rode up through Nashua, town of so many memories, then broke right for the coast and Stratham via 101 east. It turned out to be only about 12 miles further and without a single traffic slow down.

My Son and I in Front of Building he is Putting Up

It was important to arrive in timely fashion since the stated purpose of the trip was to accompany my son to a showing of the latest Mission Impossible film and we figured they wouldn’t hold the show time until we arrived. Unfortunately the ABFA and BRS were absent when we arrived so we just absconded with our son for the cinema which was every bit as fun as it always is. After the movie he took us down to his job site where he showed us the building he’s spent the better part of the past year supervising the erection of. I couldn’t help but think back to the little boy with a mop of blonde hair so excited about opening birthdays presents that predictably included another set of Lego building blocks which was where this whole engineering career started.

Happy Girl Enroute to Tavern

Decorating Dad's Shirt

My Favorite Panamanian was not having her best day. First she left her glasses in the theater but luckily remembered before we were out of the building. Then on the ride into Portsmouth she dropped her lipstick on the car seat. By the time she noticed a very large red blotch was resident on both the seat and her favorite white pants. Her cries of anguish from the back seat when she discovered this had both my son and I thinking some sort of major health crisis had occurred. In my wife’s eyes this was even more serious.

At the Tavern with the ABFA

Upon our return to Stratham we were reunited with the returned ABFA and BRS. We got a chance to hang out with them while a certain set of white pants underwent emergency cleansing efforts. My son and I tried to remove the stain from the car seat with a modicum of success – I don‘t know why it comes off so easily on guilty husbands’ collars but seems to permanently bond with leather seats.

The Latest Cake

After an appropriate nap and semi-successful laundry we took the birthday boy and his significant others out for a tavern dinner. It was the first time I’d been to this establishment, just a couple minutes from their house, but I really enjoyed the time there. I wasn’t the only one – the BRS seems to thrive in these type environments; testament to her genetic makeup I guess. She apparently thought her father’s shirt was too drab as she decided to add some feces based color to the bottom of it. My fastidious son was not overly pleased with the addition but the BRS is impossible to stay perturbed at. I mean look at that smile.

Riggins Finally Getting Some Alone Time with his Favorite Human

And Making the Most of It

My Favorite Panamanian has been suffering from a sore back and I admonished her not to spend too much time picking up the BRS but she ignored me of course, confessing she could not resist holding her granddaughter. I can actually understand this. After an all too short time at the tavern and the requisite birthday cake demolition we headed home with a day well spent in out kit bag.

FBR is on the Loose

Refusing to Smile for Grandpa

Already a Very Confident Climber

We tried to connect with the FBR but she was her usual highly mobile target. She was coming off an epic daddy-daughter day on Friday with Wingman. He sent the accompanying pictures to chronicle a day spent with friends chasing around the playground, park, and neighbor’s pool. We talked with them that evening and for the first time ever I could see the day’s expenditure of effort had taken its toll. She actually seemed a little tired which boggles the imagination of anybody who’s spent any time with her. She’s turning brown as a nut with all the time she spends outside despite the abundant sun screen she’s usually lathered with. That’s what a childhood should consist of instead of being cooped up inside glued to an electronic device.

FBR (m) Heading out for a Walk with Friends

Wonder Woman in Pool

Tom Cruise’s latest IMF mission actually does accomplish the impossible. It injects new life into a sixth sequel and I rarely use the word epic for this type genre but it certainly fits. The story is completely implausible but that is, of course, why the IMF team is needed. This time they’re chasing plutonium around the world and causing no end of traffic mishaps in Paris which must have sent insurance rates skyrocketing. Superman is along in a rare villainous turn which he handles adroitly. The movie also brings back some of the most beloved characters from earlier movies to either complete, or continue, their arcs. This was most notable in Rebecca Ferguson the only woman capable of keeping up with Ethan Hunt. I loved the movie with relentless action, characters you can invest in, and climatic scenes that will cause acrophobic fainting spells.

RECURRING CHARACTERS

BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter, ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete = my daughter in law, formerly known both as MEF – Most Excellent Fiancé & MEG – Most Excellent Girlfriend; Wingman – my son in law; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Soxfather - my brother in law; Great Aunt = my elder sister; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Pittsburgh College Roommate – high school friend, also a “minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rdmusquetera (musketeer); Buddy – AKA the Wonder Pooch – family dog, a black lab – hates squirrels, died in 2017; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog, surrogate grandchild while awaiting arrivcal of the BRS; PanaGals – female relatives/friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latin friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member, Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Excellent Boss – my former direct boss at work; Voices of Inappropriate Worth - members of public who come to every Worcester public meeting to complain, all are on public assistance along with demeanor issues