Paradisiacal Wait

FBR and Mom with New Tattoos

My Favorite Panamanian and I are now in a waiting game for the paperwork we completed earlier this week to make its way down the Isthmus to the capitol city where another legion of bureaucrats await to peruse it. We decided it would be entirely more enjoyable to play that waiting game down here in our beachfront condo in Las Lajas than in the sweltering heat of David with its spotty water and Wi-Fi supplies. We’d been paying attention to the ongoing confrontation with the teachers and government forces which closed the Inter-American highway for three hours earlier in the week (see earlier blog post about that).

BRS Making Friends at Day Care

The road blocks usually crank up early in the afternoon so I wanted to get moving as early as possible. It was for that reason I was making every effort to get my wife moving which all of us who know her will realize is nowhere nearly as easy as it sounds. She had three different appointments she wanted to help her mother with and we had a very short meeting planned with the guy we sold our land to. As she is wont to do while I settled things with the fine young man we sold to she became fast friends with the guy’s mother. It took almost an act of God to pry the two of them and their discussion of grandchildren apart so we could hit the grocery store and then head out.

Beach Lunch/Dinner with Favorite Panamanian

I kept one eye on the other side of the highway to insure traffic was still flowing as we approached the chosen site of the confrontation. I was comforted to see several bus stop shelters full of well-equipped riot police waiting for any attempt at blocking the road. We made almost record time down to the condo – less than an hour. One of the events sacrificed for our telescoped preparation timeline was lunch so after fully stocking the condo fridge we journeyed down the beach to my wife’s favorite restaurant for a very late lunch which coalesced into an early dinner.

FBR With Abuela Inspired Tea Party

Still, nothing can block the peace and contentment of the decompression offered by the time at the beach. This is the first time my wife and I have been alone since late July when her mother showed up. While that was a lot of fun I still treasured some truly alone time with my Favorite Panamanian. We had the entire condo complex to ourselves except for the caretaker who seemed very happy to see someone else around. We settled in for a Mad Men marathon as we’ve reached the final season on Netflix and my wife is truly addicted to the rise and fall of Don Draper who she claims I look a little like (talk about severely rose colored glasses).

Smiling BRS

Walls Going up Back Home

We had a lively talk with the New Jersey contingent where the FBR proudly showed off some facial tattoos she acquired during the day. She very pointedly told her abuela that she was too old for tattoos until Wingman spoke up form off camera demonstrating in no uncertain terms that adults can have tattoos as well. The BRS is now a confirmed crawler which will add some additional, unneeded adventure to my Favorite Son’s life.

Wife Took these Pictures of me Heading Out into Waves Today

And Reading Afterwards

My wife’s craziest sister and additional family members show up today to spend the weekend with us so the solitude will be interrupted in a most welcome fashion. I will spread the gospel of First Friday by escorting them across the road to the Show Pony Hotel bar at the appropriate time this afternoon. I was up this morning and had one of the best sessions ever riding the waves in. I’ve figured out its too dangerous to catch them as they’re breaking but just afterwards gave me a number of 100 yard rides to ankle depth water. After a short swim in the pool afterwards I settled in on the beach for some reading while I dried off. I could get severely used to this lifestyle.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS

BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter, ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete = my daughter in law, formerly known both as MEF – Most Excellent Fiancé & MEG – Most Excellent Girlfriend; Wingman – my son in law; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Soxfather - my brother in law; Great Aunt = my elder sister; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Pittsburgh College Roommate – high school friend, also a “minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got invole din planning; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rdmusquetera (musketeer); Buddy – AKA the Wonder Pooch – family dog, a black lab – hates squirrels, died in 2017; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog, surrogate grandchild while awaiting arrival of the BRS; PanaGals – female relatives/friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latin friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member, Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Excellent Boss – my former direct boss at work; Voices of Inappropriate Worth - members of public who come to every Worcester public meeting to complain, all are on public assistance along with demeanor issues