Ennui

FBR Ice Cream eating Technique
Very Similar to her Mother's

I’m at a point in my life I don’t have to work but I usually enjoy it immensely, mainly for the contact with the great group of people I’m blessed to work with. It’s the same type of camaraderie which made my career in the military so enjoyable. For some reason though I can’t shake a feeling of restlessness as the months march by; a feeling I should be moving on. I do not use that in the literal sense, only that I find the time I spend dealing with the 3% of bad employees may finally be overcoming the pleasure of working with the other 97%. I know a lot of managers would choose to look the other way and just tolerate but I’m not built that way. I blame the Army which taught me in no uncertain terms that standards are important if an organization is not going to rot from within.

Happy Birthday - US Army

Luckily I get to combat these emerging feelings with a trip north to hang out with my Favorite Son and his family for the Father’s Day weekend – his first as a bona fide dad. There is always a price to pay and in this case it will be leaving my Favorite Panamanian there for the week. It’s her turn in the draw for grandmother day care operations relieving the ABFA’s mom. We’ll be driving up tonight after a proper recognition of the First Friday of the Week.

I also have had fleeting glimpses of the FBR over the past couple nights as she buzzed by the computer screen during our nightly talks with my daughter. She specifically refuses to talk with us until she hears her mother, who’s a little under the weather, starting to say goodbye and then rushes over to say hi. A couple nights ago she stole the IPad from her mother and hid us somewhere. I’m not sure what kind of message she was trying to send. As the photos attest she’s still a delightful bundle of energy. She’s getting to hang out with her other grandpa this week as Wingman’s dad is in town for a few days; color me jealous of his opportunity.

With Grandpa Dan and Wingman

Grandpa Discussions

I continued my plodding through RW Peake’s excellent series on life in the Roman legions by finishing Marching with Caesar: A New Era.  The series picks up with the now grown grandson of the original hero who has inherited his grandfather’s size and battle rage. As a young recruit he joins a legion filled with his father’s friends and heads into Germany with Augustus’ favored son, Drusus. This is the part of the series I enjoy most because it offers not only a fascinating look into the lives to the Roman legionnaires but also explores some of the lesser known military campaigns of Rome. Growing up I was an avid reader of history, especially the Roman era and I’ve become a huge fan of this series.