It has begun. The annual summer granddaughter
invasion of our house commenced today when we arrived back from New Jersey with
the FBR in tow. The coolest thing; she’s every bit as excited about this as we
are. I think it may have something to do with the list of Grandparents House
rules posted in the kitchen. I think she may also like us a little bit. This is
an event my Favorite Panamanian aims for each year and tries to outdo herself
with each visit which is a pretty high mark to achieve. Both she and I remember
fondly summer weeks spent at our own grandparents’ houses so we’re bound and determined
to make these times as special as possible for our own grandchildren.
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| Breakfast This Morning |
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| The Posted Rules |
We up the ante even more tomorrow when
my son will deliver the BRS for a week. Today’s trip was fraught with danger. I
tried to wargame the trip to New Jersey facing off against my steadfast and
ancient foe, the State of Connecticut highway system. I timed Thursday’s drive
to miss the Hartford rush hour and barely dodged Connecticut’s latest effort as
they were in the process of closing down two lanes of I-84 as we snuck by. We
even made great time on the Merritt Parkway which is almost unheard of in the
summer. We arrived in time to pick up the FBR from her last day of summer camp.
You could tell she had made her mark with the counselors as they all wanted to
get a goodbye hug from her. The lady has personality.
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| Abuela with her Favorite Cat |
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| 3 Generations Heading for Ice Cream |
After dinner we all walked to the center
of Maplewood to patronize a new ice cream place. While the ice cream was welcome
the best part was spending time with my daughter, Wingman and Wingmom. My
daughter and Wingman are gearing up for an epic trip to Scandinavia to
celebrate my daughter’s upcoming 40
th birthday. (My God am I really
going to have a 40-year-old child!!!). I had a really fun time watching a movie
with my daughter after the FBR retired for the night. This morning we were up
early (hard to avoid with the FBR). She is the exact opposite of her mother who
is the least morning person I have ever met. We had a fun breakfast at our favorite
Maplewood diner before loading the car for the trip north. The FBR bestowed a heartfelt
“family hug” for her parents which told them how much she was going to miss
them despite reveling in running her grandparents into the ground over the next
two weeks.
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| Departure Family Hug |
I got on the road as early as I wanted,
to shoot the gap between the NYC morning rush hour and the summer vacation
traffic heading to New England. I apparently caught Connecticut sleeping and charged
through the state without an issue, not getting held up once, a new record. The
Mass Pike was a different story but the holdup was only about ten minutes which
is nothing compared to a usual summer Friday. I pity the folks out there now.
As we pulled off the Pike there was a three mile long line of cars waiting to
get on. Oh well, I’ve got a granddaughter to squire around – couldn’t be
happier!
Two movies fell in my A-Z watch, both keepers,
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, a classic, stands up well although you want to punch
him sometimes, whatever happened to Mia Sara?; Fever Pitch – not the greatest
movie but anything associated with the 2004 Red Sox gets a pass, tears forming
during the climatic montage
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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; CRC - Connecticut
Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor
of the big river; Curbside Girls – close
friends of my daughter acquired during him 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 3rd 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; PCR - Pittsburgh College Roommate– high
school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; PCR+1 - Pittsburgh College Roommate’s wife; 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
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