Exhale

The dust is finally beginning to settle after the action packed few days surrounding the celebration of my mother-in-law’s 90^th birthday. I am no longer contemplating divorce which was very much an issue as my Favorite Panamanian went way, way overboard in her preparation efforts. She put entirely too much stress on herself to insure everything was perfect and since she is an acclaimed donor of stress, I was the target number one. I was left muttering on a number of occasions after I walked away from yet another change/enlargement of the plan, usually in the wee hours of the morning. I may be overstating my victimhood but hell, this is my blog, enough said.

The Birthday Girl Saturday Night

All kidding aside, my wife put in a herculean effort to make the day special for her mom and I was just along for the ride when the situation called for brute force and ignorance. This included grinding corn for a Panamanian delicacy under the carful supervision of the birthday girl. The party also saw a reunion of the 3 Musqueteras for the first time in a very long stretch. I was called upon to retrieve the Virginia Musquetera when she flew in on Friday. She took a Logan Express bus to Framingham and luckily remembered to retrieve her luggage before the bus pulled away. It became a theme for the weekend (she also forgot the same bag at her hotel on Sunday). The Maine Musquetera drove down on Saturday with the birthday cake and the arrival of the two other Musqueteras relieved a significant amount of attention/focus on certain blog writers.

BR3 Helping Abuela Decorate

Meanwhile, Grinding Corn

I was not forgotten about though as I was sent out for birthday balloons which my Favorite Panamanian had arranged. I entered the party store blissfully unaware of the task ahead of me. I had to make six trips to the cars with the different sets of balloons. By the end of the trips, I was gently pressuring the back to be able to close the door, hoping against hope I didn’t hear any telltale pops. I also made enemies of the people behind me in line at the store as it took a full twenty minutes to distribute the order.  I was fortunate enough to carve out an enclosure around the driver’s seat for the high adventure drive home.

My Balloon Ride Home

Virginia and Massachusetts Musqueteras Together

Greeting Birthday Girl

Virginia Mafia Arrives!

The Virginia Chapter of the Panamanian/Latina Mafia had arrived to much acclaim as the birthday started to realize something was going on. This was followed by my daughter’s arrival with the FBR who immediately started launching into a check, every five minutes, about when her cousin, the BRS, would arrive. This went on for the next three hours. My son’s family arrived to take the pressure off my prediction ability which the FBR found wholly unbelievable. In my absence alienating people at the party store, my Favorite Panamanian had completed the transformation of Deckzilla and the new patio into party central. The serious amount of balloons I arrived with completed the picture.

Deckzilla Transformed

ABFA, BR3, and Daughter

BRS Claiming the Throne

Great Aunt Doing her Thing

My final task was picking up the food for the catered dinner which started with a near heart attack when the lady who greeted me at the restaurant said she had no record of our order. Luckily a more informed staff member was walking by, overheard my gasp and inquired. She knew all about the order and I was soon heading home overladen with a serious amount of Italian food. Upon completing this task I was finally able to acquire my first beer of the day, an event that was way overdue.

The Biggest Balloons

Three Generations

Then Four

Granddaughters with their Great-Grandmother!!

The party saw the unification of the Worcester and Northern Virginia Chapters of the Panamanian Mafia which hadn’t occurred since my son’s and the ABFA’s wedding. This meant a lot of laughter was inbound. This fun group was also laced with family and friends including Great Aunt, Keene Friend, Cantankerous Friend, as well as the Czech Friends with my Czech shadow.  All of this meant my mother-in-law’s birthday was properly recognized. The celebration was muted a bit due to the recent death of the Cousin with the Legendary Laugh. I kept thinking she would have truly enjoyed the gathering.

Son and His Family

BR3 & her Abuela

And Grandpa

Finally, Her Dad

Dinner Time

Pinata

The Mafias Combine

Bonecrusher Wielded

I was happy watching my wife’s mom basking in the love lathered upon the night for her. She even took a couple swats at a pinata before turning the bat over to her 4^th generation descendants. My wife delivered a heartfelt speech about her mom. My Favorite Panamanian had composed the speech into the early morning hours earlier in the week. She tasked me with translating it into English for the non-Spanish speaking guests. She promised me a look at it ahead of time but I guess I was busy picking up balloons or something because as she was uttering it was my first exposure. My translation was met with a bit of chirping from the Spanish speakers but I think I got the gist across (of course that could have been my beer induced pride talking).

The 3 Musqueteras

Party Scenes

New Patio All Gussied Up

We concluded the formal part of the celebration with the Maine Musquetera provided birthday cake. Bonecrusher was unsheathed and wielded with aplomb by the birthday girl. The Musquetera, in preparing the cake, did me a solid by creating a chocolate layer to go with the fruity portion. She knew from prior experience that I wouldn’t touch that part. I can attest the chocolate part was fully up to the Maine Musquetera’s lofty standards (more time on the bike this week for over-consumers). I gave my wife a hug at the end of the night and whispered in her ear that she had done it. The celebration of her mother was everything she could have hoped for and more. She rewarded me with a very tired smile and some glistening in those flashing eyes.

Birthday Cake

ABFA Mom and Great Aunt

Two movies fell in my A-Z effort, both keepers, Battleship (Great Action) and Baywatch (Rock displaying his comedy chops)

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                        

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd Musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew – son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; 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; Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Soxfather - my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course