Family Remedy

Coming to terms with the loss of Soxfather is a process. I don’t mean to suggest that Great Aunt doesn’t have a much tougher road to hoe than I do but Soxfather touched so many lives that those of us within his closer orbits are having a difficult time. I’ve relearned a valuable lesson over the past few days – the importance of family to healing. I’ve crowed before about the fantastic family I inherited when I ran into my Favorite Panamanian all those years ago. They descended on our condo a few days ago to celebrate Carnivale days and provided exactly the kind of support I didn’t fully realize I needed. It offered me the chance to talk about Soxfather and what he meant. Most of the gathered family had met Soxfather and understood the magnitude of the loss.

Beer "Coozie" Picture with my Brother in Law

We followed up Saturday night’s bonfire with another on Sunday night. It was every bit as memorable as the night before. When I went down to the beach for my Monday morning workout, I found the pit still smoldering with several ends of the longer logs hanging on the edge. I tossed them into the middle and the pit smoldered for the rest of the day which came in handy later. My brother-in-law and his wife showed up for the day as we planned a beach side barbecue using the condo complex’ communal barbecue grill. It had been a long time since I used actual charcoal. My wife’s nephew borrowed a shovel and scooped several shovelfuls of still simmering ashes from the fire pit to start the charcoal, eliminating one of the enduring issues of using charcoal – getting it lit.

We Had One of Those Sunsets Again

Tia Loca

Favorite Panamanian and I

I brought out the coozies the Pittsburgh College Roommate had gifted for Christmas. I was so psyched about sharing their use that I posted something on Facebook about it. A couple hours later I noticed through some very funny remarks that the Facebook spell check had changed the coozies to cookies and everyone was wondering what beer cookies were. It was a fun afternoon of sitting in the shade on the beach with a nice breeze blowing through and laughing almost non-stop. We celebrated the birthday of my wife’s nephew’s girlfriend. I realized at a certain point that a whole hour had passed without thoughts on Soxfather. Instead of feeling guilty I thought this type gathering was exactly the kind Soxfather reveled in and that he would have been all in on it. In a strange way I felt closer to Soxfather than I had since he left.

Breakfast Time

Brother in Law Manning Grill With Tia Loca

Dead Animal Flesh!!!

Wife's Family Behind Birthday Girl

Beach This Morning

As I said earlier, the lesson I relearned was the importance of family and close friends (always count them as family) when it comes to healing. I also mentioned Great Aunt has it much tougher than I. I am therefore so grateful that she is currently surrounded by Soxfather’s equally great family. She’s close friends with Soxfather’s sister who lives down the street. While it hurts to be so far away, I know she has these great people as well as Namesake Nephew for support. I am doing my part as well as I have not once mentioned the difference in our respective weather. This is something that I am led to believe that Great Aunt finds especially irksome. In normal times this would lead me to writing even more about the glorious tropical beach weather I’m “surviving” in. Just doing my part.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RECURRING CHARACTERS                                           

BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3, 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; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course; 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; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; 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; 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; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn