Reached

How do I FaceTime with Grandpa on This?

My first day back at work with a wife in residence and it made all the difference in the world. Well, that may be a bit of an exaggeration but it was awfully nice and decidedly less lonely, even with the suddenly supervised portion that is always attendant to her presence. She’s hard at work returning the house to acceptable (read pristine) condition which is bad news for a certain black lab and a retired Army colonel. We both have had to tread lightly and try not to shed too much.

Wife in Action 

We Facetimed with both sets of progeny and their significant others last night which was a blast, at least for us. The grandpuppy continues to be seriously spoiled and doesn’t want to leave the side of the ABFA (but who would?). He had his first taste of snow which was initially confusing but like most goldens he was soon frolicking. 

Riggins Sampling Snow for First Time

No such issues out in California where they were shaking off the effects of a rare rain storm the day prior. We caught the First Blog Reader in mid-slide at the neighborhood playground. She requested (actually it was her mother) that we reconvene when she was through dominating the playground. During the later call she was in constant motion from one side of the apartment to the other, only pausing to assess the likelihood of a quick thrust towards the cat. It was highly entertaining although I did commit a serious breach of etiquette (certainly not my first) when I mentioned she looked tired and asked her if she was ready for bed. My daughter indicated this always put her in a bad mood as she didn’t like going to bed. This was of course totally distinctive of my daughter herself who fought sleep like it was her worst enemy. She was immediately (and repeatedly any time there is a sleep issue) reminded of this history. Once of the coolest things about being a grandparent is seeing (from a distance) your children dealing with the same issues that were so vexing during their own toddlerhood.

Helping Her Dad 

I finally knocked off the latest Jack Reacher story by Lee Child, Night School. The fact that I used the word “finally” when talking about a Reacher novel should tell you something is amiss as I usually devour these books, reading late into the night if needed. This was the first of Child’s fantastic series that I didn’t love unconditionally (hey, I’m a book nerd). I think part of the problem was the setting as this is a prequel story with Reacher still in the Army before he started out on his legendary post-Army crisscrossing of the States. He’s called upon by the highest levels of the US government to investigate a mysterious terrorist deal which has Reacher breaking noses and following a thin thread in Hamburg, Germany. Reacher, of course, eventually solves the crime despite the interference by a neo-Nazi clan and meets a lady along the way (he is Reacher). The second half was remarkably better than the first but this wasn’t a total gas the way all of the earlier entries were. I hope it doesn’t mark the end of Reacher’s literary ascendency. If it does, I’m going to blame Tom Cruise for making him too main stream.