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Wife and Her Mom on Deckzilla Party

Yep, been away from Frail Deeds for a while, you are most welcome. Some negotiations at work consumed virtually all of my attention/energy for most of last week and my Favorite Panamanian picked up the slack over the weekend to keep me fully engaged and away from the internets. The biggest and certainly most noteworthy of events that took place in the interim was the birthday of my Favorite Son. He had a busy day at work and squiring the BRS around. He was looking forward to nothing more than a restful evening but the ABFA surprised him with a dinner and movie. The BRS dismissed both her parents with hardly a look back as she seems to like having babysitters to charm.

Son and I Recently with the BRS

I annually rave about both of my kids on their birthdays and this will be no different. I am singularly blessed with a son who has exceeded my wildest expectations, not only as a son, but as a man and more importantly as a person. I’ve loved watching him form the inevitable father-daughter bond with the BRS. Fatherhood is something he’s destined to excel at despite having grown up around me. He’s expertly handled the stress of a challenging new job without sacrificing the time with the BRS. I stand in awe of the example he sets each and every day. I nicknamed him “Big Guy” when he was young and he has more than grown into that appellation on so many levels.

My Big Guy - Continues to Soar

I was hoping to sneak up to my hometown on Saturday for a dinner with high school classmates honoring the visit of the gal who was my first ever girlfriend – not that she ever knew about it. I worshipped her from afar in the 4^th grade. My Favorite Panamanian had other plans however as she had scheduled a Saturday happy hour on Deckzilla with the Latin Mafia. This meant early Saturday was devoted to party prep which is not a task lightly engaged in with my wife.

The Mafia Gathers

We dodged thunderstorms which flowed around our hill during the party which was a lot of fun, as usual when this group of friends gathers. We also had the Czech couple we met a couple weeks ago attend. They showed up on time which is unheard of from the rest of the party attendees and brought their nine year old daughter who for some reason adopted me as her personal charge for the entire party. This precocious young lady had a million questions and I definitely had to watch my language which was a first for me at one of these type parties. I think this was a result of what I call the “grandfather effect”.

My Czech Shadow

Bring on the Dancing Girl

Cup Stacking Games

Mother in Law Dancing

My wife planned a series of party games, most of them involving stacking large red plastic cups. It sounded silly when she first explained it to me but it turned into a lot of fun as everyone got into competition mode. Since we’re talking about the mafia, there was dancing involved, to include my mother in law who despite her accumulation of years was a steady participant.

FBR was Also Partying

In Princess Mode

And then Swimming

Decided she Wants to Learn Spanish

The granddaughters were also busy this past weekend. The FBR was garbed up for a princess themed birthday party early on Saturday which allowed her to don what she calls her Rapunzel dress. This was followed up with a swimming escape with some of her neighborhood buddies. My Czech party shadow met the FBR a couple weeks ago and insisted we contact her via FaceTime but the FBR was hosting the aforementioned buddies and had scant attention to spare us. Seems like everybody was busy this weekend.

BRS and the ABFA

Son Provided a Treasure Trove of BRS Photos

She's Mastered the Day Care Slide

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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; 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; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog, surrogate grandchild while awaiting arrival of the BRS; PanaGals – female relatives/friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino 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; Deckzilla Dude – senior citizen carpenter/contractor; 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