Wochenende

First Friday with my Most Excellent Former Boss

Whatever German language ability I once possessed has been thoroughly subjugated with the influx of Spanish. My brain can function in only two idioms it seems. The word above means weekend and I have no fabulous parties to reminisce about as we are in full prep for the arrival of my mother in law. That doesn’t mean the wochenende passed without a proper, less than respectful, celebration of the First Friday of the Week. Since the political boss who fired him has departed the realm my former Most Excellent Boss made his triumphant return to Worcester on Friday.

FBR and Buddy on Friday

Zoo Time

He showed up to re-connect with all the people that used to work for him and we then adjourned to Brew City for the above mentioned ceremony. Well not so much ceremony as celebration. He’s lost noting off his fastball when it comes to rum & cokes. It was a really fun afternoon and something I expressly needed; more so than most weeks for a number of reasons. My Favorite Panamanian joined the fun as I seemed to have convinced her of the medicinal qualities inherent in a proper veneration of the First Friday of the Week.

Mere Rain Will Not Slow her Down

A similar, if less beer soaked, tradition has arisen in New Jersey as Fridays mark Daddy-Daughter Day where Wingman and the FBR spend the day with each other. Last Friday saw a visit to the zoo where the FBR once again ran into sleeping lions, cruising penguins, and yawning gators. They spent the day with one of the FBR’s best buddies. Wingman is also in the process of finishing off his basement now they’re confident the flooding issues they discovered shortly after they bought the house have been solved. He recently completed carpeting the floor and spent some of this rain soaked weekend with the able but less than focused assistance of the FBR at getting his paraphilia organized.

Castle Creation

Another Fun Daddy-Daughter Day

Reaching for her Airborne Roots

Helping Wingman get Organized

Since Saturday was my daughter’s turn and inundated with a daylong rain storm she and the FBR spent a fair bit of time at the library. It always warms my heart to see the family tradition of library worship being passed on to the next generation. Unfortunately my daughter sprung a fever at some point over the weekend which is always fun when squiring an energetic two year old around. We caught up with them as the FBR was dashing around the new basement after properly lining up a large number of Wingman’s memorabilia collection.

Mommy's Turn

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Library Time

Reports out of New Hampshire were similarly welcome. Having dealt with a malfunctioning tear duct the BRS was intent on keeping her parents up for most of the night on Friday. She was trying to devour a pacifier when we caught up with them, properly Bosoxian themed I might add. She’s becoming more mobile each time we see her. It always amazing me how fast they develop during their first year. My Favorite Son thinks she’s cutting her first tooth which could explain the nocturnal restlessness.

BRS Stylin

I'm Sure her Father Chose this outfit

Undeniable Cuteness

Speaking of the Bosox – which we were kind of doing, my curse on them did not last. This was about as pleasant, thrilling, and downright inspiring a wochenende at Fenway (at least in the regular season) as can be imagined. Especially for those of us who remember 1978 and the Boston Massacre. The perpetrators (at least their descendants) were in town for a four game series in which the Red Sox pummeled them into submission. To see the Yankees being handled in the way they were was poetic. After winning the first three games I resigned myself to a final game loss as they were trailing 4-1 going into the ninth inning. I didn’t want to dilute any of the pleasure I’d see over the past few days by seeing them celebrate at Fenway and it was already approaching midnight of a day before work. I found a message from Wingman when I awoke talking about what a great game it was. I winced and immediately checked the news to find out about an epic rally and extra innings Sox win. As I said – about as good as it gets.

The rest of my weekend was decidedly more mundane. With the arrival of her mother this week I was finally able to impress upon my Favorite Panamanian the importance of making a couple decisions on the upcoming home renovation. A couple thousand dollars later I had succeeded but putting it that way seems less inspiring. We’re putting in a new master suite and Saturday saw us back at the cabinet store where she and the same guy who designed our kitchen island designed a new double vanity for the bathroom. Sunday involved a trip to Lowe’s where a final decision was reached on the closet set up. This was all nowhere near as fascinating as it sounds.

New pole

Driveway Semi-repair

Since we weren’t traveling (or drinking beer – okay that’s mostly me) I was able to knock out a couple projects around the house. I jury rigged a new pole from the basement rafters to accommodate my wife’s seasonal change of outerwear closets. The heavy winter coats have defeated all the portable racks she’d erected heretofore. I also dug up a part of the driveway and installed a patch. My attempts to pack the asphalt down using my car and a very unlucky tray were a bit on the comical side.

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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