3rd Generation Spookiness

My Favorite Panamanian discovered the photo below during her stay in David. It depicts my wife’s family including ours. It was taken at a family gathering in 1991 if I had to guess. It’s memorable not only for the dashing moustaches the guys are sporting and the unfortunate “tall hair” for the ladies (that was a thing) but for how the FBR and BR3 got into the photo decades before they were born. Of course, it is not them, but both my wife and I were struck by how much my daughter resembles the FBR at a similar age to what the FBR is now and likewise for my son and his daughter, BR3.

That's me in the Middle Back with my Wife on my Right

This is what grandchildren do to grandparents. They evoke the long held and cherished memories of their parents at the same age for the grandparents. I struggled through the most recent photos of the FBR and BR3(especially) to find similar expressions and this was the closest I found. The BRS clearly resembles the ABFA side of the family but BR3 definitely got her dad’s side of the gene pool. I see similar faces throughout the photographic family history going back more than a hundred years. The FBR inherited a lot from Wingman as well but there’s no denying she got her mom’s good looks as well. Spooky to see those faces staring out at me after more than thirty years, but then immediately linking them to the granddaughters.

FBR(l) and her Mom from the Photo

BR3 and her Dad from the Photo

In more current news, my Favorite Panamanian also sent me this picture of her mom, taken yesterday. She looks fantastic considering she’s coming off a scary fall that resulted in two hospital stays. My wife remains back in David serving as her personal care attendant until I relieve her tomorrow so we can get started on packing the condo up. It’s hard to believe tomorrow will mark my last Saturday in residence here at Las Lajas, at least until December. Leaving will be difficult but the waves have been so frustratingly weak that it makes it easier to cut ties. Looking forward to sleeping without AC (once we get back to New England of course).

Mother-in-Law on the Mend

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------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; Upstairs Neighbors – American couple and great friends who live in condo above us in Panama; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course