So, we are down to one granddaughter in residence
since the BRS and BR3 had to start school this past Monday. The FBR was a
little emotional on the first night without her co-conspirators but enjoying
moving into the big bedroom. We had to return to my son’s home the next day,
Monday, since we had a meeting at the Exeter church which is running the Marian
Pilgrimage we’re going to in October. We discovered this trip when we attended
mass there while visiting my son’s family earlier this year. The meeting was
supposed to be a barbecue but was moved inside with some rain showers. The FBR
remained at my son’s home, reuniting with her cousins who were jazzed from a
very successful first day of school. After dinner our group of 45 sat in a
circle to introduce ourselves. My Favorite Panamanian, never at a disadvantage
when it comes to talking, declared that I had to be the one to speak. I was a little
nervous because I know I was the least devout Catholic in that entire room, but
we got through it.
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| The One that Remained |
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| Son Escorting BRS and BR3 to 1st Day of School |
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| BRS 2d Grade Day 1 |
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| Son and ABFA with the School Girls |
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| BR3 1st Day of Kindergarten |
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| ABFA Gets in One Last Hug |
On Tuesday I was back on I-495 for a
return trip to Canobie Lake Park. We gave the FBR an option of Southwick Animal
Farm or a return to Canobie. This was also tied to certain behavioral norms she
was expected to meet. There was no hesitation as she is madly in love with the
amusement park. My Favorite Panamanian thought I could handle this assignment
by myself so she could get some rest (she didn’t and spent the entire day cleaning
the house). I knew this meant repeated trips on the roller coaster for me. Her
absence would prevent me from joining the FBR on the water park side’s tidal
river but knowing the layout from last week’s trip with all three granddaughters
made it easier. We arrived and immediately checked out the side of the park we didn’t
hit last week. We found a horror themed ride that the FBR loved. During the
ride I heard a loud bang and thought I had dropped my phone. It turned out to
be the FBR’s water bottle but that caused me to look for the phone which wasn’t
in its usual pocket. This led to a fairly comical dismounting procedure as I searched
the moving car after we got out and it moved along the track. The search
required more physical flexibility than I am currently capable of, but I felt
fairly certain the phone wasn’t there. I figured I left it back in our car
where I had attached it to use the navigation app. I was nervous for the rest
of the day until I confirmed that .
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| FBR Helping at Breakfast |
That issue means I didn’t take any photos
of our daylong adventures but if you saw the last post you know what was
involved. We rode the godforsaken 90 degree roller coaster four times and found
three new rides that involved a lot of twisting and turning at high speed. The
FBR was, predictably in her element. By the end of the day, I had to beg off
riding on a couple because my neck was admonishing me for thinking it would
endure this level of abuse without protesting. I also decided against the
Boston Tea Party ride which involved the soaking as the ride descends into a
lake with a huge splash. The FBR was equipped this time, with her crocs and a
bathing suit and hit the ride four times by herself. We were heading for the
supposedly final ride when I noticed a ride we hadn’t seen before called
Psychodrome. Foolishly, I asked her if she wanted to try it. She hilariously replied,
“Of course, a ride with psycho in its name!”. Getting out of the park was
equally daunting as we walked by a series of rides along the way which she
professed she just had to ride. We would have gotten out of the park much
earlier if I was capable of saying no to her. It was great day.
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| After Canobie with her Spoils |
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| The One Photo I took of Canobie |
Yesterday called for a trip into Boston to
see the New England Aquarium for the professed future marine biologist. Since I’m
familiar with just how delightful it is driving into the benighted Boston street
network; not to mention the small loan needed to be floated to afford parking, I
looked for other options. Since the MBTA runs a commuter train from Worcester
into Boston’s South Station, I checked that out. I was trying to figure out
what subways were needed to get to the aquarium until I noticed it was only a ten-minute
walk, problem solved (although my wife is allegedly allergic to walking more
than five minutes unless shopping is involved). We boarded the train and paid
only $6 for each of us as seniors while the FBR was free. She didn’t appreciate
all the intervening stops but got through it through the viewing of funny cat
videos on my phone.
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| On the Train |
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| FBR with her Penguins |
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| FBR Teaching her Abuela about Sea Lions |
My Favorite Panamanian survived the
death march to the aquarium and the FBR seemed enthralled upon entering as she
saw the herd of penguins (a personal favorite of hers) cavorting in the huge
main level pool. She bounced around the exhibits, loving the different specimens
on display. She was especially enthralled with the huge central tank although
she bemoaned the lack of large sharks. She’s a shark aficionado (I blame Shark
Week) and this definitely set a mood with her. The aquarium is a lot more research
oriented than tourist focused and after we finished our first walk around, she commented,
“Is that it?”. Her abused feelings were rescued with a visit to the gift shop
on the way out where she procured a penguin themed cap equipped with attached
mittens.
Since the aquarium took less time than anticipated,
we had some extra time to spend. I mistakenly mentioned to my Favorite Panamanian
that we were perilously close to the Quincy Market. A millisecond later, we
were headed in that direction. We shed my Favorite Panamanian upon approach when
she spotted a shoe store. That left the FBR and I to enter the market where she
immediately set about searching. Her search ended up with the purchase of a
Japanese soft drink. She’s a lot more cosmopolitan in her outlook as her parents
have exposed her to more exotic fare. After we finished that off, we attacked the
Ben And Jerry’s counter which drew my wife out of her shoe induced trance. We
sat on the steps of the market where the FBR started feeding parts of her cone
to a pigeon and she was soon surrounded by a flock of sparrows and pigeons.
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| Water Dodging Fountain on the Greenway |
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| Japanese Soda |
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| Ice Cream Time |
We caught the train back to Worcester
with additional funny cat video time. Today is the FBR’s last full day with us.
She and my Favorite Panamanian decided shopping was needed. They made a bee
line to a local mall to search out first day of school clothes. This freed me
up for the first time in a couple weeks which is why I’m writing in the actual daytime
versus my late night ponderings on the last couple weeks while granddaughters
have been in residence. My wife is so delighted that she finally has shopping
buddies in the form of her granddaughters. It seems the shopping gene skips a generation.
My daughter arrived a few minutes ago to effect tomorrow’s redeployment of the FBR.
While both my Favorite Panamanian and I are exhausted, (child care is definitely
a young person’s game) we’re going to miss the “excitement” afforded by their presence. They are just so
cool.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------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
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; 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
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