Moving On

It’s a transition week for the granddaughter corps. Today saw the BRS’ last day as a first grader. The ABFA provided these photos and the BRS looks more like a teenager than a second grader. I’m excited to see that whole gang this weekend for Father’s Day up in New Hampshire. Meanwhile, in New Jersey, both my daughter and the FBR had a big week as well. The FBR starred in her after school drama school play, Newsies. My daughter sent a video and the FBR once again dominated while on stage. She finished up the week with a presentation of her school project – about cats. I blame my Favorite Panamanian for that as she and the FBR always seem to end up watching funny cat videos whenever they’re together.

The New Second Grader with BR3

Seeing These Guys Tomorrow - Psyched!!

A crazy day back in the 508. The aforementioned Favorite Panamanian was in one of her cleaning frenzies, which is always dangerous country for certain retired Army officers who cohabitate with her. The problem lies with me sitting down at any point while she’s bouncing off the walls cleaning everything within reach. This is where I come in handy because I can reach a lot of things she can’t (the one-foot difference in height coming into play). I successfully negotiated that difficult terrain until late afternoon when I had the excuse of taking on the heating element painting that I wrote about in my last post. My wife directed I delay until today because it was supposed to be a rainy day.

Newsie Star

Showing her Mom the School Project

It turned out to be the best day of the week outside. That turned out to be a good thing as my Favorite Panamanian ultra-sensitive olfactory senses came into play once I started wielding the spray paint. I used an interesting mix of carboard which Amazon kindly donated by overpacking a small delivery this week. I sanded down the rust spots and then came the spray paint. I didn’t think much of it until my Favorite Panamanian started complaining about the smell. I then made the same mistake I’ve made countless times in our marriage and still haven’t learned; I reminded her that this whole project was her idea. Once I recovered from her return fire, I helped her move her paraphernalia (IPad) onto Deckzilla for the rest of the afternoon. She watched her Russian soap operas dubbed into Spanish (don’t ask) while the house aired out.

Before

After

It was a fantastic day with a gentle summer breeze cooling off Deckzilla. I joined her out there after the painting (the paint smell was profound). We stayed out there until it was time for the First Friday Family Facetime call. After a long day, it was so good seeing all those faces. Great Aunt reported her weekly new grandmother contentment report. Wingman couldn’t join us as he was touring with his band in D.C. for the weekend. I was under the impression, since the FBR was out with friends, that my daughter was distinctly enjoying having the house to herself. We’ve got an early morning tomorrow to drive up to New Hampshire where we’ll celebrate Father’s Day weekend with not one but two dance recitals. Be still my heart. At least I get to spend the non-recital time with some of my favorite people in the world.

Three movies fell in the A-Z watch, all keepers: Please Don’t Eat the Daisies – Old Doris Day classic, hasn’t aged well; Point Break (1991) – surprised me at how well this was done, James Cameron with his wife directing, amazing cinematography; Point Break (2015) – pale attempt at an update, none of the charisma of the original, amazing stunts and extra points for Teresa Palmer.

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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