3 Generation Dance

The Two Newest Moms in the Family

As Frail Deeds readers will understand there is a truly inverse relationship between the time I spend writing here and the presence of a granddaughter in the house. When you add the attendant requirements of insuring some of the best moms ever are properly honored on Mothers’ Day my silence over the past few days is understandable. Oh, and you are very welcome not having to bear more of my incessant prattling. The vacation is, however, over and I’m ready to wax philosophic and ecstatic about the past weekend in Worcester.

One Very Happy Abuela

Saturday was supposed to be the debut event of the summer for Deckzilla; hence all my work on that beast during the week leading up. Mother Nature (bitch) had other ideas on the subject and provided a day long, soaking rain that kept us inside for the entire day. Nothing however could dim the warmth of the biggest family gathering since Christmas. My daughter and the FBR slogged their way up from New Jersey through mom day weekend traffic. The ABFA and Favorite Son ushered the BRS on the longest trip of her life so far and her first ever visit to our house.

With my Sister and Her Great Husband

We gathered on Saturday to celebrate Mother’s Day, the ABFA’s first! One of the true highlights of the event was the presence of my younger sister, a great mom in her own right, and her husband. Great Aunt could not attend due to work but Soxfather made the effort to come up from Rhode Island and spent a lot of time discussing sports with my younger sister’s awesome husband. That is when he wasn’t summoned to the FBR’s side to read about Llama, Llama’s adventures.

The BRS and my Son

Taking it in Stride

Soxfather Sighting

Keene Friend, an intrinsic part of the family, also joined us and was peppered with questions about his boss from hell. He also brought his signature brownie dish which combined with my sister’s peanut butter and chocolate cookies insured diets were in full retreat for the day. It was one of those times that you didn’t have to worry about a schedule of events and can just wallow in the pleasure of being around close family for the entire day.

New Shoes with Abuela!

Slinky Cellar Stairs Time with Riggins and uncle

Soxfather and Llama, Llama

The FBR was put on firm notice that she’s no longer the only game in town with the arrival of the BRS on the scene. I’m not sure she was entirely pleased with all the attention showered on the BRS since this used to be her sole provenance but she handled the adjustment with class. My daughter made a bee line to hold the BRS when she arrived and shortly thereafter the FBR was demanding equal time in mommy’s arms. It helped to have the FBR’s legion of worshippers present. Keene Friend heard she was a big fan of slinkys and so each of us was tasked with supporting her efforts to get her new slinky to descend all of the cellar stairs. I think the base requirement was for fifty attempts for each adult male.

Auntie and Niece

A Demand to be Held from the FBR as Well

Cousins!

Semi-Forced Kiss

Promise to Get Along

Riggins was on station and enjoying the swirl of activity but I noticed he also kept an eye on wherever the BRS was. It’s obvious he’s adopted her as one of his own. My wife prepared a fabulous chicken dish and I dodged the rain drops long enough to burn some burgers on Deckzilla’s grill for a really good feed. Since this is New England we had the Red Sox game playing in the background for the latter part of the party and since my Favorite Panamanian was involved, so was dancing. At a certain point she had both of her granddaughters twirling around the dance floor, a dance of three generations. If my mother in law had been present it would have been four.

Abuela Dancing

It all added up to a lot of noise and activity and I didn’t get to spend the time I wanted with any of the attendees but the time us because this is the type of gathering they both enjoy so much. Great Aunt insured everyone that attended was showered with gifts. She is one of the few people that can give my wife a run for her (my) money in the granddaughter shopping department.

Sunday Morning Goofiness

Entirely too soon most of the attendees had to head back into the gathering darkness to return home. We were lucky enough to have my daughter and the FBR staying with us overnight. Mother’s Day started precisely at 7:30AM Sunday when the FBR’s alarm clock lit up. Soon I had the two moms and the FBR snuggling under the covers while I started the process of making breakfast of the ladies. The FBR demanded to help and proved fairly adept in the egg scrambling department. I gave the hojaldre prep my best effort but I was subject to intense coaching from my Favorite Panamanian, apparently gringos are very limited in this area.

Flower for Mom From Church

To give our daughter a small break before her anticipated drive home to New Jersey my wife and I took the FBR with us to church services. She did magnificently and one time even cautioned me about making too much noise. By the end of the service she had befriended everyone at the service who would wave back to her. As we were leaving the ushers were distributing flowers in honor of Mother’s Day and the FBR demanded one to give to her mom.

Planting her Tomato Plant

In the short time we had left together the FBR and my wife adjourned to the garage where they planted a tomato plant for the FBR to return to New Jersey with. Over the weekend I noticed the trend of the FBR adopting some of her abuela’s habits. We already knew she loved the dance as she is a dedicated spinner but she also showed a real penchant for shoe purchases and now gardening.

Catch up Photos - Last Week in NJ with Grandpa Dan

My daughter got to spend a large slug of her third mother’s day on the road back home. I know the best gift she gave her mother was making those two traffic challenged drives in order to be with us. She was back in time to pick up Wingman from work as the family was together for that point in the day onwards.

Wingman, His Dad, and the FBR

FBR with Neighborhood buddy at the Zoo

After a brief respite to recover from the physical challenges of attending to the ball of energy that is the FBR, my wife and I took off on a beautiful spring afternoon for a drive through the back roads of central Massachusetts. I was on my best behavior due to the strictures of Mother’s Day and did not complain about the extended time we spent looking at virtually every plant and flower at three different garden centers. We ended the evening with dinner out which apparently is a big deal on this date, who knew!?

Happy Aunt