One Day More

That song from Les Mis (see video below) has been circulating in my head for the past couple days for all the pertinent reasons. Twenty-four hours from now, my Favorite Panamanian and I will be in the air heading home after our annual tropical sojourn on the best beach in the world, Playa Las Lajas. This year’s departure was a little more concise as my aforementioned wife finally acquiesced to having someone else clean the condo after we left. This meant all we had to do was pack suitcases and put everything into the dozens of storage devices they will reside in during our eight-month absence. I remember leaving last year, absolutely exhausted after following her cleaning directives for days on end. This year was much more sedate although she did get stressed a couple times; packing suitcases does that to her and knowing she’s leaving her family behind doesn’t help. We even had some time to spend a very nice sojourn hanging out in the condo pool one last time in the afternoon.

Last Sunset Sad Face

Fuzzy Resort Dinner

Predictably, the Upstairs Neighbors were absolute heroes over the past couple days. I was feeling nostalgic and a little sad when I walked out on the beach yesterday morning for my final boogie boarding session of the year. A little while later, the Upstairs Neighbor joined me, having gotten up early to make sure I had some company on the waves. I was touched by his kindness. They joined us or we joined them for the last sunset ceremony of our stay and Las Lajas responded with a nice sunset (not always guaranteed as we wander into the rainy season).  Following that, they treated us to a very fun last dinner at the Las Lajas Beach Resort. It was fun, but sad, as this was our last activity together. Having them as our neighbors has truly transformed our experience at the condo each year. It would not be half as fun without these good friends just one flight up. We already miss them.

Las Lajas had one more experience to share with me yesterday. As I was doing my ab workout, I noticed the sand in the nearby fire pit seemed to be in motion. I knew it wasn’t an earthquake because the pools were calm. I wandered over and saw that the pit was liberally populated with the black and orange “Halloween Crabs”. They must have emerged overnight and couldn’t figure out how to climb out of the pit. The neighborhood birds were extremely pleased and as I watched, a large hawk descended and had his breakfast.

Halloween Crab Attack

Breakfast is Served!

We’re back in David today as we await our flight tomorrow. This will allow us to hang out one last time with my wife’s excellent family. While I’m a bit inundated with the aforementioned nostalgia, I’m sneakily getting very excited about getting home tomorrow. I’ll have to mask that excitement as my Favorite Panamanian deals with her sadness today. If it all works out, tomorrow night my daughter and the FBR will also be arriving at our house, so, very excited would be an adequate description. One day more!!!!!

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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 her single days in Brooklyn; Czech Connection – Czech couple who’ve become good friends along with their daughter (the Czech Shadow); 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; 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; Seis Amigos - two couples from our condo complex and my wife and I; Soxfather – my brother-in-law (whom I miss more than I can ever explain); Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course