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| Saturday Night Dinner |
I started to write yesterday but I quickly
figured out my spell check wasn’t up to the task of a writer operating on one hour’s
sleep and abandoned my efforts. You are welcome. I’ll get to the reason for the
unrecognized night later. I’d put a lot of miles on since the last time I wrote
here. My daughter and Wingman had a wedding to attend on Sunday in Pennsylvania
which triggered the grandparent response button for babysitting duty. We set out on Saturday morning for the
usual fun and games transitioning through Connecticut. (side note – when they completely
close down I-95 – bad news for everybody, even if you’re not within twenty
miles of it) My Favorite Panamanian would be staying down in New Jersey while I
returned Sunday for that pesky requirement to work on Monday. We fully stocked
Saturday upon our arrival with the fun that always seems to follow when we get
together with the New Jersey bunch. The FBR was fully engaged with her wading
pool but she did take a few moments to greet us before returning to cast her “dragon”
(looked like a plastic stegosaurus to me) into the pool for retrieval.
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| Meanwhile Back in the NH the BRS was in Full Flirt mode |
Wingman had to go into work but we
followed him a couple hours later to have dinner at his restaurant. The FBR was
treated like a well-known celebrity when we walked in. The gal does make a
lasting impression. One of my daughter’s best friend (and fellow curbsider)
walked in with her family just after we arrived. It was a great dinner with
Wingman sneaking away from his duties several times to hang with us. Back home
while the FBR prepared for bed my wife and I started out on the great
reconnaissance tour. My wife does not trust GPS systems and has a “sense of direction”
that rivals Great Aunt for its feebleness. Since she had several trips to take
unaided over the next couple days I had to take her to the various places so
she would be familiar with them. This is not a task for someone with limited
patience (such as myself). A couple trips to the church, the dentist office,
and the local YMCA later we returned home to my daughter who had become
concerned about the time we had been gone.
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| Basketball - FBR in Lime Green |
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| Proving Coachable |
We now get to Sunday night. Everything
had gone swimmingly so far. My Favorite Panamanian had found all of the
locations we had reconned and the FBR had been supremely well behaved. She even
showed some latent basketball skills (have no idea where she inherited that from).
The birthday party she attended at the YMCA was for the same Curbside family we’d
run into the night before. The birthday boy was five years old so the FBR at
three was one of the youngest guests for the basketball activity. She didn’t
let this daunt her and the first time she tried her hand at basketball she was
a natural. As seen in the video she’ll need to work on her dribbling but even
the coach was shocked when she sank her first ever shot.
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| Wife's Hands Sunday Night |
Frustration immediately set in because
I was 3+ hours away and she was in a strange place with the additional
responsibility of the FBR. We talked it over and I gave her a couple
suggestions and told her I could get in the car and be there in three hours.
She said that was the last thing she wanted because it would cause her to worry
more. She called back a half hour later to say the reaction was getting worse
with her hands and feet swelling. We got on FaceTime and I could see how bad the
reaction was. We finally got Wingman on the phone and he related the location of
the nearest hospital.
He also texted the address of that
curbside family, the only people my wife really knew in the town, who could
take the FBR in. I stayed on the phone while she drove over there but after
five minutes knocking on the door no one answered. Since my no one from daughter’s
generation owns a house phone we were on the horns of a dilemma. The FBR was
very chipper through the exotic experience of being up at 3am. She told my wife
it was too late to be visiting people. My wife was at the end of her tether
as her condition worsened with her face now visibly swelling as well. They
returned to the house to get some additional clothes for the FBR. As they were
getting ready the neighbor from across the street came out and asked if everything
was okay. Once my wife explained the situation the neighbor transitioned into
superhero mode.
She drove my wife and the FBR to the hospital
and took in the FBR, who insisted first to accompany her abuela to the
hospital. I was following this whole ordeal over the phone and felt an immense relief
and limitless gratitude to the superhero neighbor when I heard my Favorite Panamanian
was finally getting to the emergency room. A couple hours later the doctor had confirmed
an allergic reaction to a new medication she was taking for a sore back. They were
able to treat her for that and she was on her way home around 530am. I could
finally go back to bed at this point which meant I got the other half an hour
of sleep I was going to achieve.
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| Rare Morning Snooze for the FBR |
My Favorite Panamanian has shown many
times over the years of our marriage a deep well of courage. Sunday night was a
sterling example of this. She was in a strange town with a serious health situation
and a three year old in tow. Instead of dissolving she rose to the occasion. I am
so thankful that my daughter moved into a neighborhood populated by at least
one superhero as well. My wife and the FBR used the rest of Monday morning to
catch up on some sleep. So that’s why my spell check was so challenged yesterday,
today we’re back to the usual treatable levels.
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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 involved in planning; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two
close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3rd musquetera
(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 Latino 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; Deckzilla
Dude – senior citizen carpenter/contractor; 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
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