Then There Was One

A weekend full of all granddaughters experience is never a bad thing but this one ended with us down a granddaughter at our place for the first time in a week, so a net loss. Saturday morning we mounted up to return the BRS to her parental care. There was first the inevitable I-495 summer weekend traffic to pass through. I can’t complain because my Favorite Son did it twice the weekend before when he delivered the BRS to our care, but I’m still going to. There are way too many people around and they all seemed to be on I-495 on Saturday. We reached my son’s abode to find BR3 in high anticipation for her sister’s return.

All Three Together!

Trying to do my Morning Ab Workout With These Two

And They Act Tired!

Riggins, the family dog, was also a big winner as he immediately came under the FBR’s serial petting fixation. She’s all about dogs despite her parents’ feline inclinations. There were two very happy grandparents since we had all tree granddaughters in the same location. I made a serious tactical error when I showed the BRS and FBR I could push their electric car when the battery died. That was the most serious cardio workout I’ve had in a while. I would get up a head of steam and whomever was driving would choose that moment to make a radical turn with the steering wheel. I came very close to having to execute my very rusty parachute landing fall skills on several occasions.

Son, With Tiara In Place ,Bravely Making Brownies with 3 Assistants

Abuela Time

FBR and Riggins

The granddaughters also declared I was their go to source for swing pushing. I was dashing between all three trying to keep them all elevated to acceptable levels even though both the BRS and FBR know how to keep their swing going without my help. It became a point of personal honor that the swing had to come from Grandpa if one received a push from me, so I blame BR3, the only one who really needed my help. The two oldest granddaughters halved my effort when they figured out how to both mount the same swing. That wasn’t without issue though as I had to be really alert to avoid high speed feet coming at me. Being a grandfather is all about agility, apparently.

The 3 Granddaughter Swing Push

The Electric Car

Grandpa Powered

C'Mon Grandpa, You Should have Anticipated that Turn

After building some soon to be destroyed sand castles in the sand box, I was escorted inside where the granddaughters proceeded to paint both their abuela’s and my son’s nails. I demurred saying I was too tired. That excuse lasted until they grew insistent and I cannot deny them anything so I was soon having my nails painted for the first and hopefully only time in my life. My Favorite Panamanian opined that the contrast between the yellow, blue, and pink nails was a particularly fetching look for me.

BRS and FBR Swinging Together

Grandpa Dodging Feet

Grandpa Getting Nails Done

A True Fashion Explosion

It was very cool to see the FBR and BR3 striking up a close relationship. BR3 was extremely fascinated in this older gal who wanted to be her friend. The BRS wasn’t as big a fan since she had been the only game in the FBR’s world for the past week. They worked it out however and were all very cousinly by the time Sunday morning and we had to depart. We’d tried to give my son a break in the morning by allowing him to catch a couple hours sleep and a shower while we squired the granddaughters through their machinations. The ABFA was away for a well earned “Goddess Weekend” with one of her cousins. Cousins, the gift that just keeps giving, all life long.

FBR and BR3 Bonding

Riggins with his Fan Club

We returned home to a dramatically quieter house. One granddaughter, even the redoubtable FBR, cannot be expected to maintain the noise levels achieved earlier in the week with both she and the BRS present. We had a special birthday party to attend last night so Great Aunt nobly volunteered to come up and babysit. To say the FBR was psyched would be putting it mildly. She had visions of increased screen time (their special thing) dancing in her head. While awaiting that arrival she and I filled the pool once again. While we were waiting for the pool to fill, the FBR and I sat out on Deckzilla and talked. Out of the blue she asked me what a blog was. I told her I was chronicling our time together so she could read it when she was older and remember me. She then said, “That means I can read it to my kids”. I thought my heart would burst and I told her that  I hoped she would tell her kids about me and abuela. She assured me that she would. I was then beset with a lot of dust motes in both eyes.

FBR Re-Filling Pool

Great Aunt also brought along Remy, her lab, so the FBR was able to fully enjoy her canine fixation for another day. This along with the aforementioned screen time. She and Great Aunt participate in this online game where Great Aunt accumulates thousands of points and when she and the FBR get together the FBR spends them all. It’s all a bit symbiotic, but they both revel in the time together. The only phone call we received while Great Aunt was babysitting was to ask where we kept out charging devices since they had already burned through the battery life of Great Aunt’s iPad.

Mafia Table Last Night

Wife Finally Taking a Break from the Dance Floor

The birthday party was for a member of the Panamanian Mafia and was held at what is rapidly becoming our “go to” hang out, the Auburn VFW post. The usual gang assembled led by the Neighborhood Mafiosos so a good time and a lot of dancing were inevitable. Both my Favorite Panamanian and I realized our energy levels were not where they usually were since the infusion of granddaughter care responsibilities but we still managed to hold our own on the dance floor. We returned home to find the door to the FBR’s room wide open. She admitted this morning that she had tricked Great Aunt by saying that was how we did it each night.

FBR (face in screen) This Morning with Great Aunt and Remy

Being Chased by Remy Through the Kitchen

Since it wasn’t quite eleven o’clock yet and both Great Aunt and I are dedicated night owls, I offered to improve her pop culture education by showing her Deadpool (I know – incredible that she hadn’t seen it). That was a lot of fun as we laughed into the wee hours. We had a very nice time this morning before Great Aunt had to return home. We talked for a long time on Deckzilla while the FBR and Remy continued their bonding. The talk inevitably turned to Soxfather and how much we miss him. It was a good thing though as it gave us a chance to acknowledge how lucky we are to still have him permeating our thoughts.

Remy Tired First

A Girl and her Dog

One movie fell in my A-Z effort, a keeper, The A-Team (much better than the TV show ever was). Oh, and I guess we can count Deadpool (a top 100) as well, although out of order.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                         

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew – son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; 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; Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Soxfather - my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course