It’s an exciting time here at the condo. Tomorrow, we journey up to David to link up with the inbound families of our “kids”. We talked to both tonight and the granddaughters are reported to be over the moon excited about their imminent international travels. I confided earlier in the week to my son and daughter that I was concerned about today because it marked the “day of cleaning” as my Favorite Panamanian attempts to reach surgical level cleanliness in the condo. I am usually the fall guy for shortcomings in this area leading to inevitable tension. I took a different tact this time, actually volunteered to help in a couple areas. Once my wife got over her initial shock, she was very pleased, apparently a man willing to clean is very sexy. I’m not a complete idiot though (despite widespread opinions to the contrary) and waited to mop the floors until she was safely out of the condo running an errand in the village. I thus avoided relentless supervision which leads to confrontations (my kids are both nodding their heads at reading this).
The
preparations are pretty much complete. I have to frost the cupcakes I made for
the granddaughters, including the sprinkles specifically requested by BR3. My Favorite
Panamanian is decisively engaged in her final prep for feeding the masses this
weekend. We’ll be joined by a significant percentage of her family who look
forward to these visits almost as much as we do (editor’s note – no one could
possibly get as excited as we are). We’ve been the sole occupants of the condo
complex for the past few days, something that was common a couple years ago but
we’ve been spoiled this and last year with the arrival of the upstairs neighbors.
They’re traveling in Peru for the next couple weeks which frees up their condo which
they generously volunteered to house our kids this week. I received n update
from the travelers today as they rode a train over the Andes. They saw a volcano
erupting right next to their train as they passed the 16,000-foot mark in
elevation. 
Sunset with New Friends
The
sunset ceremonies have therefore been fairly lonely with just the two of us. Last
night I was on my own as my wife disappeared after attending mass in the
village. I became a little concerned when the sun was long gone and she hadn’t
shown up. When I called her, she reported she was stuck in a “cattle jam”. This
was a previously unused excuse which I didn’t immediately believe. It turned
out to be true as a herd of cattle had escaped their enclosure and were on the
road to the beach. She eventually admitted to a gelato date with a fellow parishioner
and the usual socialization for which she is rightfully famous.
View from Their Train
 |
| Seems there was a Cattle Jam |
Her
social graces have landed us a couple new friends down the beach. We stopped by
their place a couple days ago and today they joined us for the sunset ceremony.
He’s Canadian and she’s a Panamanian lass who is extraordinarily glad to meet
my Favorite Panamanian at church. We had a great time with them today and I’m
looking forward to them meeting not only our visitors but the upstairs neighbors
upon their return. It would be very cool to have a neighborhood group to hang
with. 
Former Drab Entry Hall
Our
designated handy man was back in the condo complex yesterday but not for us (at
least initially). I’ve written before that my Favorite Panamanian had volunteered
at the last condo association meeting to be part of the beautification committee.
One of their big projects was to upgrade the entry hallway which was kind of
drab. That was certainly rectified yesterday with the materials my wife and the
Panamanian couple of the Seis Amigos purchased this past weekend. He finished it
all within the day and still had time to stop by and move the light over our
dining room table and paint a light switch. For some reason my wife likes to
move lights when they aren’t exactly centered over a table (she did it earlier
this year back in Worcester). I’m of the opinion it would be easier to move the
table but I only get 49% of the vote. No problem as the best First Friday of
the Year unfolds tomorrow with our arriving guests. I’ll have to brush the rust
off my early morning defensive moves to protect myself once the granddaughters launch
themselves at my sleeping form. A great problem to have.
Transformed
A Couple Sunsets
 |
| And a Pretty Cool Moon |
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; Seis Amigos
- two couples from our condo complex and my wife and I; 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