Traveling Show

Okay, I have it on good authority that it is now 2020 which seems highly improbable since that was a date that seemed impossibly far in the future just a little while ago. My Favorite Panamanian and I are back home after living up to what I think of as the family credo – “we will travel to party”. I got out of work at noon on New Year’s Eve and shortly thereafter we were following a snow storm north into the Maine woods. We’d been invited to a New Year’s Eve party by the Maine Musquetera and in accordance with the aforementioned credo – we hit the road.

My Wife(r) and New Year's Eve Gang

The nasty snow/ice/sleet/freezing rain storm stayed just far enough ahead of us that the roads were cleared until 30 miles south of the objective. We’d made good time up to that point – thank God for the 70 MPH speed limit in Maine – there are just so many miles of endless pine trees to marvel at before it becomes old. We crawled the last bit into Waterville and my wife promptly made her legendary (now) pizza dip for the guys whilst she disappeared upstairs to join the other ladies getting ready for the party.

Happy New Year Indeed

My Dazzling Wife 

With the Maine Musquetera 

Who's A Happy Guy?

The possessors of Y chromosomes didn’t need hardly as much time so we took the offered bait and didn’t complain about the wait time. It turned out to be more than worth that wait as attested to by the accompanying photos. Since we were entering the 20s the theme of the party was Roaring 20s attire. This was the first such party I’d ever attended by I emerged as a huge fan of the era – especially the female attire. All of the ladies looked fantastic.

The Near Midnight Meal

Our Table

I Told You I Admired the Fashion

The party was another twenty minute drive through the snow. A friend of the Maine Musquetera was hosting the party in her house, which was huge. The host’s husband wasn’t present because he was riding a horse in the Rose Parade, so there’s that. He’s a doctor who also runs a wedding reception site right next door to the house. The Maine Chapter of the Latin Mafia was out in force and the dancing started almost immediately and never petered out. The DJ was challenged to keep up with them. We gringos held on for our lives.

FBR Heading out for her Own Party

FBR & Her Mom at Jersey Party

Another Latin tradition is a huge meal just before midnight and the ladies once again did themselves very proud. I’m not sure how they do it. Midnight rolled around and we were able to connect with my daughter who had managed to stay awake despite an earlier lack of confidence. She’d gone done the street earlier in the evening with the FBR for a neighborhood kids party. My Favorite Son tried to stay awake but the day chasing the BRS around proved too taxing which was okay since we were stopping in to see them on our way home. The last member of the inner family, Wingman, wasn’t available since he was back on stage. His group kicked off a month long reunion tour with a New Year’s Eve show in the Chicago House of Blues which  was a rollicking success. Wingman appears to be in mid-thirties form.

Wingman Back in Action on New Years Eve

Rocking in Chicago

We were predictably the last guests to leave the party which meant I was helping with the cleanup. My designated driver forgot her glasses so she had to wear her sunglasses for the snowy trip back to Waterville. Some things sober you up faster than others. We were safely back by 2:30am and I went straight to bed since I knew the two musqueteras would engage in one of their late night talkfests. I learned later that went on until 4am. The house was deathly quiet when I got up despite the presence of three families (see 4am comment above) in residence. A fabulous brunch was eventually arranged just before we hit the road south. I’ve said before that our lives are blessed with superb friends and the bunch we welcomed the new year/decade in with certainly qualify as part of that bunch. The roads were totally clear (take notes Virginia) and the 70MPH speed limit back in play.

BRS at her New Drawing Board

Her Newest Game - Getting Daddy to Join her in a Box
Glad we Spent All that money on Toys

Helping her Dad Master the Slide

Beautiful Family

Riggins Wondering Why Everybody Doesn't Love Snow as Much as He Does

We arrived at my son’s New Hampshire house to find the BRS down for a nap which allowed us some adult time with my son and the ABFA – always welcome. I helped my son assemble the trampoline we’d gifted the BRS with for Christmas and then watched some college football between naps for ourselves. We were taking them out for dinner to celebrate the new year and the BRS awoke to her abuela which she always loves. The trampoline was also a huge hit and the BRS was frenetically jumping within seconds. My son hoped it would be a tool to tire her out prior to bedtime – he’s such a parent now.

BRS Washing Up

But This Isn't Nana's Mac & Cheese

Another Family Gene - Reading

Astronaut Garbed to Meet the Cold

Riggins Finally Has Company

Riggins Why is this Snow a Different Color?

And it Tastes Strange

ABFA to the Rescue

Dinner was an adventure since the BRS is now in a highly finicky phase. I’m not sure who to blame for that although my wife’s suspicions fall squarely on myself and my Favorite Son (we both take picky eating to a new level). While the BRS didn’t want to eat she was thoroughly entertaining. By the end of the meal she and her abuela were at the other end of the sports pub we were dining in. Every time the music changed the BRS would demonstrate some dance moves that had our entire table in hysterics and I’m sure made her abuela very proud. There is no uncertainty where the dance genes came from.

Her New Tramp

With Daddy at Dinner

And then With Abuela and Mom

I’ve included some pictures from last week’s FBR time with us. On the day my daughter was dropping Wingman off for his flight to the reunion tour my wife had a doctor’s appointment which meant the FBR was going to spend some time with me at the office. She arrived with some very definite ideas based on her earlier visits. We visited every bus still in the garage and verified that the horns on all still worked. I set her up in my conference room adjacent and she relished the opportunity. She would periodically summon me for direction before we had a joint lunch together in what was now firmly – her conference room. It was too fun and the ladies in offices on either side loved it.

In the FBR Conference Room

Testing Horns

We Also had Some Fire Engines to Inspect

We arrived home last night after dark to find the solar panels had deposited a snow bank across the driveway. It was late enough that it had frozen in place and I added it to this morning’s PT session. We spent the rest of the evening in the Man Cave watching another of the DVDs converted from old home movies. This included a mid-nineties visit to Panama without the kids to celebrate my wife’s parents’ 60^th wedding anniversary. We saw so many old friends and departed family members. It was a great trip down nostalgia lane as we recovered from the spirited welcome for the new decade. Roaring, indeed. Now I have to get back in shape after trying to set a new personal record in Christmas cookie consumption over the past couple weeks.

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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