Four Moms

I think I achieved what I set out to do yesterday, which was to properly honor the moms in my life, starting with, of course, my Favorite Panamanian. We had four moms to celebrate yesterday. We hoped for a couple more, but New Jersey hockey practice prevented that. My wife’s celebratory week started earlier with the unexpected arrival of a friend from Panama. The Neighborhood Mafioso invited my Favorite Panamanian over for a surprise one evening which turned out to be the visiting friend. Needless to say, the Worcester Chapter of the Panamanian Mafia was activated and the ladies enjoyed a very lively lunch in one of the tallest buildings in Worcester the next day.

The 4 moms, the ABFA, my Wife, Great Aunt and ABFA's Mom

The Mafia Lunch

Saturday was a complete washout with almost constant rain although I accomplished a daring deception campaign to spoof the wife. I told her I had to go out for an errand and when she asked me for what, I replied, “don’t worry”. This was said to exacerbate her suspicions. My goal was to buy her a raised planting bed she had admired during our earlier flower shopping foray. I stopped off along the way to replenish the Man Cave cache of Coors Lite which hadn’t been renewed since Christmas. When I returned, I was met by my wife at the door as I innocently carried in the beer. “Oh”, she said, “that’s what’s so important” (very judgy). Obviously, it was, but, it also shielded the true intent. I knew she wouldn’t venture out into the rain so I just left the gift in the back of the car. Mission accomplished and she was genuinely stunned Sunday morning when it was revealed.

The BRS Showing her Mom how to Make Hojaldras

My son and his gang arrived late Saturday afternoon and the predictable rise in decibel level was achieved. My wife had prepped one of her signature dishes that her son loves and just when I was savoring the prospect of having a bunch of left over spaghetti for the rest of the week, she offered the leftovers to him. He quickly accepted, dashing my hopes (it’s really good). We adjourned to the Man Cave where my son employed some arcane screen sharing technology to show us the photos from their recent Disney adventure. It was hilarious, especially when viewing the BRS’ reaction to fast rides with that of BR3. BR3 is definitely not a fan of being scared (she is more of a donor in that category which my wife learned soon after).

Deckzilla Shaking off the Winter Blues

Wife's New Planter

The granddaughters were fighting sleep when my Favorite Panamanian stopped by the darkened kitchen, only to jump out of her socks when the supposedly sleeping BR3 emerged from darkness. She was having trouble falling asleep and sought out adult intervention. My wife escorted her back upstairs and, along with the BRS, performed some bedtime yoga to get them to sleep. Meanwhile, back in the Man Cave, my son and the ABFA joined me in more mundane pursuits. They have finally discovered the magic contained in the Ted Lasso show and I happily watched the next episode in their watch with them. When the ABFA left for the upper floors my son and I watched a semi-scary movie, Cold Storage, about an evil space fungus with Liam Neeson and that guy from Stranger Things. It was a great dramedy. That guy from Stranger Things (Joe Keery) is going to do big things, really talented.

Great Aunt Arrives to "Rescue" Riggins

I was an unintended benefit of Mother’s Day Sunday morning. Usually, the granddaughters invade our bedroom shortly after they awake (read that to mean oh dark thirty). My son had corralled them downstairs, forbidding them to waken either the ABFA or their abuela, being that it was Mother’s Day. Since I was safely ensconced next to said abuela, I slept blissfully on. The granddaughters were very confused when I hadn’t appeared because even when they don’t invade, I always make it a point to join them in the early morning hours to start rustling up breakfast. This breakfast marked the passing of the torch. Whenever granddaughters are in residence, hojaldras are required for breakfast. My son and I have tried on past Mothers Days (when the moms aren’t allowed to work) to create this delicacy but were always met with abject failure and judgmental stares from the audience. The BRS, known within the family as the “Hojaldra Queen”, for her ability to consume them, rose to the occasion. She showed the expert light touch her abuela taught her and made the hojaldras for the entire family.

ABFA and BRS

Joined by BR3 and Riggins

ABFA, Her Mom, and Great Aunt on Deckzilla

After church, my son and I went about setting Deckzilla up for her first performance of the year. It was so good to see this old friend emerging from her winter slumber with the addition of the flowers my wife had kept in the garage through the recent cold weather along with the chairs and tables. My wife had hoped we would have our dinner out there but, while the weather was nice, as soon as clouds passed in front of the son, the temps dropped about ten degrees. This meant we knew certain moms (like my wife) wound not appreciate that. I manned the kitchen while my son took on grilling responsibilities and Riggins whined. The whining was addressed with the arrival of Great Aunt, the family dog whisperer. As soon as Riggins heard her voice, he set up shop next to her to receive the requisite scratching behind the ears. The group was finally completed with the arrival of the ABFA’s fantastic parents. My counterpart, the ABFA’s dad, was soon abducted and placed in the customary servitude by his granddaughters. The dinner was a huge success and the ladies were left to themselves to converse at the table while my son and I cleaned up and the granddaughters were entertained by the other granddad.

Mother's Day Dinner

3 Gens of ABFA Family

Granddaughters Invading Mom Photo Shoot

This was followed by what was, for me, the highlight of the day. We set up in the chairs on Deckzilla and socialized for a long while, digesting the meal in order to address the more than generous desserts guests had contributed. It is so affirming when you get to sit around with people you love and just enjoy each other’s company. The granddaughters wouldn’t be tied down in such a mundane activity but they did release the other grandpa from bondage so her could join us. Unfortunately, left unsupervised, they decided to amuse themselves by raiding the contents of the garage. I learned this when they walked by enroute to scale my wife’s vast backyard garden complex and I noticed a couple mallets and a telltale box from my tool chest. I was a little nervous they were perusing that location because of some of the sharp implements within. That box though had contained the spools for the weed eater that I ordered online.  When I asked about the box, they assured me it was empty. It hadn’t been before their predation. The BRS turned out to be a hero before she left to find where they had dropped the spools.

That Special Social Time on Deckzilla

Meanwhile, in New Jersey - the FBR

Those Desserts

Rain started to fall which cut off this truly special interlude on Deckzilla. It only released us though, to turn our attentions to those desserts. A Death by Chocolate cake, a Chocolate pie, Chocolate Chip cookies (yes, there’s a theme here), and a fruit bowl (don’t know how that snuck in) were shortly under sustained attack. After this delicious engagement, the guests started making their way home. The rain turned serious, but only for the ten minutes everybody was loading their cars. In a very funny moment, my son, soaked to the skin, gave his mom (who hates to get wet) with a sustained hug. It was part joking but I know he truly treasures his mom. So, we had a great Mothers’ Day, absent only the presence of the New Jersey bunch (who were missed). As I’ve said so many times before here on Frail Deeds, there is a beneficial quality approaching medicinal levels when you get to spend time with some of the most important and loved people in your life. That was my weekend.

The A-Z watch continued with four movies, all keepers: The Waterboy – yeah, it’s sophomoric but damn, it’s still funny; Waterworld – this has aged better from its time as a box office bomb, very watchable sci fi action; Wedding Crashers – one of my favorite movies, great story about the bonds of friendship; and We Own the Night – at times pretentious but a well-acted crime tale in 1980s NYC, Eva Mendes was smoking hot (still is, now that I think about it).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------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