Post-Father's Day

If a picture's worth a 1000 words, here are 6000!  We had a great afternoon at the pond at Grandpa Wendell's.  The weather was perfect, Bailee was with us, Papa took the golf cart up and we had a sumptuous chicken Bar BQ.  We were missing some of the crew but it's pretty tough to get everybody together in the same spot anymore. This kicks off the summer with lots of events on tap.  Allison's birthday always welcomes us to summer on the 21st (Kay's too) and then we head right into graduations, reunions, camping, birthdays and before you know it, weddings and we're "back to school!"
This week is also Kindergarten Graduation...oh, I'm sorry "it's not a graduation Grandma it's a celebration" and Gabby and Emily "move up" to Middle School.  How the heck did that happen?
It sounds like we're going to usher in summer in fine fashion with a 3 day, 90+ heat wave.  I could probably survive without that but so many enjoy it that I'll just take one for the team and sit under a fan!
Jess and I visited Grandma this morning. She was in rare form. She was doing exercises and was looking forward to a visit from her Dad who was "coming down the hall."  Maybe this nasty disease isn't so bad if you can conjure up past memories and enjoy them over and over.  She didn't, on the other hand, know Jess or me but our names sounded "familiar!"  She was looking forward to making lemonade and as the saying goes, if life hands you lemons.......................................:-)

A Day for Dads

This week-end we celebrate Dad's.  For the most part, Dad's get the short end of the recognition stick.  Often times, no matter what they do...it's wrong.  They either work too much or work too little, don't pitch in at home , golf too much, "babysit" (that term always irked me..babysit.. they're your damn kids too) too little or complained too much. Whatever they did, it just wasn't enough.  To me, fatherhood is generational.  Expectations were different when we were kids and the generations preceding were even stranger... Take the Hatfields and McCoys, I doubt anyone recently sat on a riverbank contemplating shooting their son... OK I take that back..it might have flashed across their mind!  Lee swears (brags) he never changed a diaper. Believe me, he did... his subconscious just erased unpleasant events...amazing how the male brain functions....or doesn't!  Emotion was nothing in prior generations like it is today. "I love you's" didn't run freely.  Today it's as common as hello....at least with our crew.  I wish I'd said it more.  It seemed that maybe our growing up years were more respectful than touchy-feely. Not a bad thing really but our relationships with our kids just feel a lot better. 

Nonetheless, celebrating Father's Day began over 100 years ago.  Mothers got their day first and that's OK. In fact Father's Day wasn't given National Holiday status until 1972........by none other than Richard Nixon........and we all know what an upfront, teddy bear he was!  Other countries celebrate Dads on different days for different reasons.

*In traditionally Catholic countries such as Spain and Portugal, Father’s Day is observed on March 19, the Feast of St. Joseph. (sounds like a chicken Bar B Q to me)

*Taiwanese celebrate Father’s Day on August 8, the eighth day of the eighth month, because the Mandarin Chinese word for eight sounds like the word for “Papa.” (Another day to celebrate Bailee's Papa)

*In Thailand, Father’s Day occurs on the king’s birthday, which for current King Bhumibol Adulyadej is December 5. ( This hits home.... On my Dad's birthday, he would always give us gifts. He was a firm believer in it being more fun to give than to receive.)

So this Father's Day... I salute my Dad... who I miss more than I can say♥

                                  I salute Lee... who I never dreamed would be such

                                  a remarkable Dad and Grandpa♥

                                   I salute Jeff...who I know will one day be an awesome Dad

      AND                     I salute Bailee's Dad.... but.... with an entirely different 

                                   finger and for entirely different reasons:-/          

                                  

HAIR

After 2 weeks of Christian and Ana Grey, I was lying in bed last night thinking about....wax!  I do my best thinking at night...in bed!  That's all I do the best there anymore... it's actually ALL I do there anymore..except sleep of course. Anyway...wax....waxing??? WHY?  If I were supposed to be hairless...anywhere, I just naturally would be.. You know like those disgustingly ugly hairless cats.  Nobody waxes them! Or handsome, bald men like my hubs.  Nobody waxes him! I know that being vain often brings out the masochist in all of us but really?  I haven't even had the guts to wax my eyebrows or my mustache.  I'm a wimp... I do know there isn't a man alive..or dead who is or was worth that. Take me or leave me as I am... What you see is what you get in all my hairy glory!!! In my book, WAX should:

Be used to shine your car, your boat, your motorcycle or your floors

Be used to make red, fake lips to be worn at Halloween and then chewed vigorously and spit out before bed

Be used to fill long tapered, wick filled molds and then scattered about the house to invoke romance and/or alleviate fart odors.

NOT be used to slowly and methodically pull out pubic hair follicles while scalding that precious area that NO ONE, with the exception of your under paid OB/GYN, will ever see again.

As we sang in the 70's...

He asks me why, why I'm just a hairy gal.


I'm hairy noon and nighty night night, my hair is a fright.


I'm hairy high and low, but don't ask me why, cause she don't know.


It's not for lack of bread, like the Grateful Death.


Darlin'


Give me a head with hair, long beautiful hair.


Shining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxen.


Give me down to there hair, shoulder length or longer hair


Here baby, there, momma, ev'rywhere, daddy, daddy.

Goin' West

Tonight I'm off to Dallas.  At 9 p.m. I'll be reclining in my seat ready to depart.  It's been 21 years since I've been there but I think I'll be right at home.  You guessed it....The new Dallas premiers tonight at 9 p.m.  I was an avid fan.  My Friday nights weren't terribly exciting for those 357 episodes with the exception of that one hour.  Tonight, Bobby, Sue Ellen and J.R in all their splendid "Grayness" (hair, not 50 shades) will join me in my gray haired splendor to see what their next generation has in store.  We've been treated to a few interviews that tell us that John Ross hasn't fallen from the J.R. tree and Christopher..handsome, handsome Christopher, is pursuing an alternative energy source and will undoubtedly be the mild-mannered, sensitive cousin. I see some feudin' in the future....

The cast was on "The Talk" this afternoon and when the curtain rose, JR, Bobby and Sue Ellen appeared and the theme song began...I had goosebumps.  Sad but true.

There are ten episodes filmed and hopefully it will be grand... after all "Everything is bigger in Texas!"

Readkiddoread

I love to read. Bailee loves to read. Jeff and Jess do not love to read.  That makes me sad.  I tried to empower them both with a love of reading but I failed. I vowed to succeed with Bailee and I'm thrilled to report....I have!  Seldom is there a day that she doesn't come to me with a book. Sometimes she wants me to read, sometimes she reads but most often we share... Page one for me, page two for her!  She came home from her last book fair armed with reading material for the summer..............or maybe just the week.

One of my favorite authors is James Patterson. I have read every book he has written, with the exception of the two books he has written for "middle schoolers."  I will read those too!  Recently, his son Jack interviewed him about his love of reading and his latest tween novel.  Here's the link.... http://jamespatterson.com/books_middleSchoolTwo-webcast.php 

  Well worth listening to. James explains the value of reading and it's relationship to almost everything...  He is an accomplished suspense author and has now written a novel geared to teens......Confessions.  His two middle school books have been "best sellers" in the tween genre of literature.

I am so pleased that reading is still a priority in school.... Book Fairs, book challenges, integrating books with history, art and music, local book readers and even free books at our local thrift store.  I love my "library" of hard copy books and I will admit I'm having a tough time adjusting to not adding to my collections.  My Kindles are amazing though and I always have something at my fingertips to read.... Lately, I'm liking the anonymity that my Kindle provides.. I probably don't need to flash about all my 50 Shades.......of red!  I can also get newspapers, (Wall Street Journal) and magazines and even word documents directly from my K.  Reading anywhere, anytime and anything.  Yep, I gave Bailee a Nook for her 5th birthday.... spoiling her?  Some may say absolutely...but at 5 she can fluently read "absolutely" and spell it too!!  So you girl...and  Readkiddoread!!!!  You're making James Patterson and Grandma very happy!!!♥

It's the Principal of the thing:-)

Back to my favorite day of the week.  I had just finished opening the mail, folding the laundry and tending to Monday chores when the phone rang.  Just prior to that, I was  mentally going over a short list of topics for this morning's epistle.  Ding Ding Ding.... here you go.

Just to preface my story, almost every day, someone inquires about my Mom.  Thankfully, I can answer that in the grand scheme of things, she's great.  She's 90, has Alzheimer's and lives as if each minute is her own personal Groundhog's Day but she's "good!"  She sings, she smiles and she laughs....Life is good! (there are so many disconcerting affects of Alzheimer's that she's in fact stellar)  The phone rings and the caller ID flashes Groton Nursing Home. Always a little catch in my chest when I see it but so far no calls have been bad or sad.  This morning it's Julie (head nurse manager and old neighbor and friend) who is her usual cheery self. "Just thought I'd call and fill you in on Mom's activities yesterday." (so far, so good)   "She pulled the fire alarm............TWICE!" Being the twisted sister , or daughter as the case may be, laughter erupted...the snorting kind!  It seems the second time was at 8:50 last night and of course, there's protocol.... fire trucks, evacuating residents etc...It was also reported that the second time was accompanied by giggles.....from Mom. Julie did say that in her defense, it did say "Pull here!" After composing myself and apologizing, I did say that maybe they should put the alarms in plastic boxes or little wire cages so those that wander the halls aimlessly for hours, days and weeks aren't tempted.  Who would think I'd be defending my Mom for pranks.... I hope Dad's chuckling up there, the Groton Fire Dept. will forgive her and the Nursing Home Buildings and Grounds staff can rectify the temptation.  After all, what am I to do....send her to the Principal?

Empty Nest

Once again, we're suffering through empty nest syndrome.  This time our four fledgling robins have flown the coop... two yesterday and two this morning.  I have surmised that they went in pairs so Mom and Dad could each have a visual on one for their first flight and night on the town.  This morning the last one was perched on the transom window trying to deal with his fear of flying.  I had walked on to the porch to photograph # 3 working on his take offs and landings.  Mom and Dad were not happy with my proximity to # 4.  Dad randomly dive bombed me while Mom loudly ran her beak.  Finally the last flyer got up the courage and flew right over my head... thankfully it didn't scare the shit out of him or I'd have been the recipient. 

It's sad to see them go.  Another clue in our case of old age.  A year ago Lee would have shot most anything dressed in fur or feather.....Yesterday he wanted me to lay a perfectly good blanket on our concrete porch floor in case one of them fell out of the nest or was unsuccessful on his first flight..... REALLY?  At least I can now remove the nest and wash the windows.... my very last excuse has flown away.  My only hope is they get this flying thing down fast so I don't run over them with the lawn mower.  My eyesight isn't what it used to be and I've been known to run over a rock (or whatever) in lieu of climbing off and moving it.  We did get word today of a nest of turkey eggs that was in need of nurturing.....I'm hoping I don't see Lee drive in with an incubator...I'm afraid the attachment would be more than this  birdbrained Grandma could handle.