Hill Growth

Yesterday was supposed to be a lot of fun and it certainly was. It also brought home a serious lesson on aging for me that wasn’t as welcome. I took the day off from work yesterday to hang out with the FBR since my Favorite Panamanian had several errands to run and the Geek Squad was also coming in to install the new television in the Man Cave.  We finally got a beautiful late fall day so the FBR and I headed outside as she’d wanted to get out on Deckzilla since she arrived over a week ago. I put her to work which she loved. She wielded the leaf blower with aplomb and some of the leaves actually ended up off the deck. I think she had more fun just blowing them from side to side.

Picnic at the Bottom

It was at this point I made my big mistake. Since it was such a gorgeous day I said we should have an adventure and walk down the hill to the neighborhood store and buy some snacks. The FBR, in tribute to her burgeoning shopping acumen, was all for this and knew I could not deny her anything once we arrived. We set out and were about halfway down the hill when she told me she was too tired and asked that I let her ride on my shoulders. Again, in no denial mode, she rode the rest of the way to the store. She was an immediate hit at the store, saying hi to everyone and struggling to decide what she wanted from the 12 different selections she’d made in the first thirty seconds. The best part of the trip was at the check-out where the FBR loudly introduced me to the cashier, “This is my grandpa. I love my grandpa.” Misty eyes ensued.

My Little Leaf Blower

A Hard Worker - Just Not a Walker

We stopped by a children’s ball field at the bottom of the hill for a picnic with our recently acquired snacks. I’ve driven by it literally thousands of times but never walked through it. It’s dedicated to four young men who died in a tragic cabin fire in 1968 before any houses were built on the hill where the fire occurred. I’d always wondered where the pesky ghosts came from and had thought them to be Native American (it’s called Indian Hill). After some exploration we were headed back up the hill. The FBR professed to still be too tired to walk and required a shoulder ride. At this point I relearned an old infantry lesson – hills are much tougher to climb then to descend. I swear that damned thing grew dozens of feet in the short time we were at the bottom. This was the kind of thing that wasn’t a problem just a few years ago so I hadn’t given it another thought. I should have. I asked the FBR if I could put her down a couple times but she wasn’t having any of that. She finally allowed me to when I was at the top of the hill at the house literally next door to ours. I was breathing really heavily and felt more confused than anything else because that short hill climb should not have been a problem – getting old kind of sucks at times.

The television installation went well as I was prepared with the seeming library of passwords modern life now requires. The new TV is awesome – spectacularly clear. I can now access Disney+ which the FBR immediately christened with a watching of Inside Out. I’m going to love this because it includes some fascinating National Geographic content as well. That will probably wait for the departure of a certain four year old. I saw the first couple episodes of the Mandalorian from the Star Wars universe and had my geek fully on. So a long climb up the hill on a number of levels but worth it for the time with the FBR and what she said to the cashier. Life and it’s small moments, it’s what it is ALL about.

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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; 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 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); 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; 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