We stole a march on the eldest granddaughter this past weekend. We committed to go to her T-ball game and she thought we were coming early on Saturday morning. My Favorite Panamanian’s indistinct Cinco de Mayo plans for Friday fell through so we drove down Friday. Our daughter helped with the surprise by not telling the FBR we were inbound. We hid behind a tree as our daughter picked up the FBR from school. When they cam out the door the FBR spotted us and let out a delighted scream and made a bee line to deliver one of her patented hugs to her abuela. I was the lucky recipient of the follow-up hug and was immediately designated as her porter to carry her to the car.
We followed this up with a Family First
Friday call with the obligatory pizza and beer (well stocked with Coors Lite).
I was able to experience firsthand the FBR’s weekly desire to end the call so she
could get to her movie night. I cannot for the life of me remember the movie we
watched, but we were together which is all that mattered (at least to me). Wingman
showed up unexpectedly as his boss heard there was a family reunion and sent
him home early. 
Abuela is in the House!
Bearing Gifts Of Course
FBR Spotting us as She Leaves School with our Daughter 
A Quick Backpack Drop
Saturday brought the main event of the
weekend, the FBR’s baseball game. At least it resembled a baseball game, there
was a significant amount of endemic chaos, which was fun to watch. The FBR is a
really good athlete but the team concept is something she’s working on. When
she was in the field, she would have whomever fielded the ball throw it to her,
even when she wasn’t playing first base. Wingman is working with her on that.
The FBR chose to have her coach pitch to her instead of using the T and had a couple
really solid hits. 
And Run to Hug Abuela
FBR in the Field 
Spectating
After the game we walked through the park
to the nearby Maplewood village where we scored some ice cream. To the victors,
belong, etc., etc. On the walk back to the car the FBR insisted on showing us
her secret place, even though we’d been there with her last year. It’s a picturesque
confluence of two streams behind a row of bushes. She was a little miffed to
find an artist had set up an easel and was painting what she regarded as “her”
place. She reluctantly allowed the artist to continue her work before we set
off for the car, inspecting some turtles on the way.
FBR About to Launch One
Grandpa Gets a Hug After She Crosses Home Plate 
Maplewood Village for Ice Cream
Back at the house it was decided the
ladies would go shopping. My Favorite Panamanian finally has a partner, in the FBR,
that she’s always sought, someone as crazy about shopping as she is. Neither of
our kids were ever the big shoppers that she is but the FBR certainly is.
Needless to say, I did not accompany them, something they figured out without
any consultation with me. This gave me a couple hours to read. Something I’ve
noticed since my return from Panama is my opportunity to read has been
diminished. Granted there’s a lot more to do back here than lounge on the beach
and read for a few hours each day, but I genuinely have missed it. Besides, it
got me out of shopping.
FBR with her Two Grandmothers, Secret Place in Background
The big event of the evening was a visit
to the recently opened Italian restaurant where
Wingman is manager. He played a critical role in getting the restaurant open
and his bosses have heaped praise on the long hours and the initiative he
displayed in getting the place ready. It’s in South Orange, New Jersey, a quick
15-minute drive from Maplewood. We arrived a little early because my daughter had
a surprise of her own for my Favorite Panamanian. On the coincidental opportunity
to show her mom a favorite store, we walked down the street to a florist where
they had a fabulous floral arrangement prepared for her. My daughter organized
it as a Mother’s Day gift. I could tell how moved my wife was by her daughter’s
thoughtfulness.
Mother and Daughter Never Gets Old
Moher's Day Gift Surprise
We arrived at the restaurant next and
were treated like rock stars because we were related to Wingman. It was obvious
throughout our time there how well thought of he is. The chef kept sending out complementary
treats throughout the meal. Wingman was very busy, getting ready to coordinate
a Kentucky Derby event but took time to give us a tour of the restaurant. They
have an indoor bocce ball court which the FBR loves because it gives her a
chance to practice her cartwheels, at least when Wingman isn’t looking. 
Walking to Dinner
Earlier, at the T-ball game, one of my daughter’s
friends learned we were going to the restaurant
and warned us to not eat for the rest of the day until we got there, to save
room for the fabulous food we would receive. While I didn’t follow her advice,
I’ll admit I was impressed with the quality and the amount of food that just kept
coming, in the best of Italian traditions. I was poignantly reminded of the
many dinners we had at Soxfather’s mother’s house where fantastic, Italian
dishes came at you in waves. It was a very fun evening, even with the FBR’s decision
to spill her lemonade on the table and her mom. 
FBR at Restaurant
With my Daughter and Wingmom at Dinner
Upon our return home, one of the FBR’s
best buddies was walking down the street and soon there was a lively game of something
going on in the back yard. That is the incredibly fortunate environment my
daughter’s family finds itself in Maplewood. In a few more minutes another set
of friends and two parents had joined the raucous crew charging around the back
yard (okay most of the charging was handled by the kids). This is a true neighborhood
and I count my granddaughter so lucky to be growing up in this kind of environment.
It’s also a boon for her parents and Wingmom who have a legion of friends as
well. 
Never Far from Abuela
Impromptu Saturday Night Play Date
Sunday, as is standard operating
procedure whenever we are in the house with her, the FBR provided her lively
early morning wake up call. I’ve learned to protect my “sensitive” regions when
I hear the door ease open in preparation for her launching onto the bed. We
wanted to give our daughter and Wingman a rare chance to sleep in, so we snuck
out with the FBR to a local diner for breakfast and then church. The FBR was very
well behaved in both places. I remember it used to be a lot easier to lift her
up to see what was going on at the front of the church. She’s gotten bigger while
my ability to maintain that added weight at shoulder height has waned in equal
proportion. I held on as long as I could. 
Looking Down the Street from Back yard
The FBR disappeared for a play date Sunday
afternoon and I took the opportunity to help out with some back yard chores.
With his new job, Wingman only gets a couple days a week off and it has rained
each of those days for the past few weeks. I was only planning on a little but I
got into it and before I knew it, I’d been at it for a couple hours. The ole peasant
in me can’t help himself at times. I enjoyed the opportunity help out. Wingman
wandered down the street to find the FBR and reminded her that her grandparents
were here and were leaving soon. In a major surprise, she immediately told her
friends that she had to leave to spend time with us. 
FBR has Yet to Find a Rock She Won't Pose on
We spent some more time out in the
freshly manicured back yard on a fantastic spring evening. The FBR decided we
needed to play a game of charades and created the cards herself and then ran
the game with an iron fist. This was followed by batting practice (for the
FBR). She sent a bunch of balls over the fence. The kid has talent. It’s also interesting
that, like her grandfather, she throws right but bats left. Who knew that was hereditary?
While all this was going on my daughter had prepared a fantastic chicken dinner
which provided a great cap for the day. 
At the Diner
FBR Practicing Gymnastics at Home 
The Charades Gane
 |
| Their New Remodeled Living Room - Awesome! |
Two movies fell in my A-Z watch, both keepers,
The Descendants, Clooney as a bewildered, about to be widower, dealing with the
family from hell, Hawaii stars as a supporting player, lots of nostalgia from
our time living there and Desperado, oh my God, Salma, Salma, Salma.
Wife's Mother's Day Gift Made it Home
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; CRC - Connecticut
Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor
of the big river; Curbside Girls – close
friends of my daughter acquired during him 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 3rd 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; PCR - Pittsburgh College Roommate– high
school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; PCR+1 - Pittsburgh College Roommate’s wife; 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
No comments:
Post a Comment