The Weekend that Was

Happy Grampa Yesterday

I find it exceptionally hard to credit that October is upon us. I know I’ve been overly consumed with life over the past couple months but it seems like just yesterday I was turning the heat off in the house and now my Favorite Panamanian is starting her subtle psychological campaign to get it turned back on again. This past weekend is a perfect microcosm on why life is flowing by with such alacrity over the past few months. First Friday was rudely interrupted after a few beers with the need to escort my wife to the Home Depot to meet up with Deckzilla Dude to discuss interior doors and cabinetry, thrilling stuff.

Daughter and FBR in Action Celebrating Mom's Birthday

The home renovation is becoming an all-consuming process, especially for my Favorite Panamanian who was up until after mid-night sketching out the plan for what will officially be known as “our” closet but we all know it will not be a 50/50 split between us. I spent a couple nights last week on line with her as we ordered a number of the bathroom appliances which are starting to descend on the house with enough frequency that I’m on a first name basis with the FedEx guy.

A Very Happy Abuela!

Saturday morning had us in a neighboring town ordering the countertop for the bathroom vanity and sinks. I’m excited to be giving my wife the master bedroom/bath of her dreams but it is an excruciating process given my anathematic feelings towards shopping in general. I will admit to feeling a little joy when I see how excited she gets about the whole thing. My Saturday mood was tempered to a certain degree because I had one of those “command performances” that evening. The union invited me to their formal dinner and dance to celebrate their 125^th anniversary.

The Latin Ladies Saturday Night

I knew there were people there who would be absolutely “thrilled” to spend time with me but the decision was made once my wife heard there would be dancing. We walked into the hall and immediately felt the vibe that we were from a different species. That was quickly dissipated as more and more of the union members came by to welcome us and allay any concerns we had. I felt like a bit of an exotic animal who most wouldn’t think of approaching outside of this type setting.

Wife and I Right off Dance Floor

FBR Birthday Shopping for her mom

There were the great employees who made a real effort to make us feel welcome. The critical moment came when the Hispanic employees figured out I could speak Spanish and that my wife was one of them. I found myself shortly thereafter sitting at a table surrounded by Latina women talking a mile a minute and quickly becoming fast friends with my wife. It’s what she does. It turned out to be a great evening with a lot of dancing and my wife acquiring at least five new friends as they were busily exchanging What’s Up information as we departed. I also acquired some cool points as the only guy at a table filled with beautiful women

BRS on the Move 

Cutest Brick in the Pile

The highlight of the weekend was Sunday traveling up to see my Favorite Son, the ABFA, and of course, the one and only BRS. My Favorite Panamanian had been in serious granddaughter need for more than a month. I also wanted to help out my son with the furthering of his front yard wall building effort. So there was an automatic division of labor upon arrival. My wife assumed firm control of the BRS who smiled widely when hearing the Panamanian accent again. She displayed her increased mobility whenever my wife would deign to let her out of her arms.

The Work Site - Note TV Strategically Placed to NFL Gaze

She Stood up at the Wheelbarrow and tried to push

Very Determined young lady

And Apple of Dad's Eye

My son had completed the massive first wall over the summer and our job yesterday was to tackle the wall closest to the front door. It turned out to be a lot easier to work with since the soil involved was almost uniformly sandy instead of the rock laced clay the lower wall rests upon. The best part of the day was just hanging out on a spectacular fall day with my son. We knocked out a good portion of the wall and exhausted his existing pallet and a half of stones. We even trained the ABFA on brick laying as she was very anxious to help out. We did make one concession to the fact that we were dealing with an NFL Sunday afternoon as my son jury rigged a television out onto the front lawn so we could keep track of the Patriots’ game.

Some Much Needed Abuela Time

It was just about a perfect afternoon. Riggins demanded to be a part of the work force although my son spent more time prying rocks out of his jaws and Riggins never got the memo about restricting hole digging to the wall area and not the center of the lawn. My wife had the BRS outside for most of the afternoon and she was soon crawling around for all she was worth. Unlike the FBR she had no qualms whatsoever about crawling onto the grass and emerged from the afternoon with a grass stained onesie.

FBR on the Slide

Monkey Time!

Speaking of that august first granddaughter we connected with her and my daughter late in the day. The BRS smiles almost non-stop and the FBR immediately concluded she was smiling because she saw the face of her only first cousin, we didn’t try to dissuade her from that. She was fresh off scoring her Halloween costume and made sure that we knew it was a monkey costume and very serious business.

Riggins Supervising Me

Son Working on Last Stone

Being immersed again in family time is exactly what I needed and as the day waned I did not want to leave but there was a baby needing a bath and my son had a major presentation to prepare for today so I swallowed my spirits and we headed home. I should probably mention that all the hauling of bricks, digging, and gravel moving was pretty tiring. My wife was surprised when I asked her to make the drive home when we stopped for gas. This was fairly unprecedented but my arms were approaching muscle failure and the thought of holding them up the entire length of I-495 was kind of daunting.

Son and I With Our Two Walls Behind

I had been excited because today was supposed to be my first day back in the pool which had been closed for repairs for a couple months. I did it to myself again though. I was so focused on getting up earlier that I spent most of the night in the insomnia zone. I was bone tired and we ended up staying up well after midnight closet plan sketching. Despite all of this sleep refused to come and I remember hearing all of the Roomba’s 2am trip around the first floor. I ended up with about an hour and an half of sleep. I think I’d had such a good day with my son and his family that I didn’t want to let go of it. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Birthday Celebration - Got to Figure out a Way to See these two

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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