Skip to main content

I thought I was missing my Saturday morning work out,

but it seems a weekend at a hotel with three of the kids their spouses and children suffices.
Maria treated the family to weekend stay at a hotel with the usual family amenities; spacious rooms, swimming pool, hot tub, and food. It was kind of a Holiday gathering that we couldn't have because of the press of other family commitments
In the end, I think we all agreed that just jamming into Maria's and my room, with its spacious common area, and watching the little cousins get acquainted was worth the trip. Not that connecting with the adults wasn't important and rewarding, but kids just seem to trump every other concern you might have.
From holding my youngest grandson Felix to a water fight with my older grandson Brogan and his brother Tate, Poppa got a pretty good workout this weekend without having to record reps and sets.

We brought a curse to the weather this year. Let me explain it this way since Maria bought us a new snowblower, all the precipitation we've received is rain. Of course, that obliged us by freezing into a coating of ice, but that is another story. It's so disturbing to see the big red machine standing sentry in our garage. It's like the team in the locker room waiting for the big game. What does it get? It gets rain.  You can't remove rain puddles with a snowblower. Or can you? (Delusional Male thought.)

I've almost recovered from the tragedy in Atlanta. I managed to watch a soccer game yesterday afternoon. It was a friendly with the USA National team playing Serbia. I love that term Friendly. Basically, it means the teams are playing a game that doesn't really count for anything. It's like an exhibition football game or and spring league baseball game.
When the game is going on it hardly looks friendly. The players are still banging into each other with a barroom gusto.
Reaching for the ball with a foot and tripping the player trying to advance it is a typical collision point. Sometimes the player gets called for a foul sometimes they don't. I think it's like a "holding foul" in football. If they called all the time the game would last for a month rather than the stipulated 90 minutes.
Dinner preparation interrupted my watching the game, so I never did how it came out, but after all, it was only a friendly.

Hooray! Hooray! They have predicted snow for today.

From the frozen shores of Lake Maria, the future home of swarms of mosquitos, this is Poppa Jeff signing off after an incredible but exhausting weekend.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Once A Young Man

 My late friend Jack had a saying that's lost on young people; it sure was lost on me. With his version of a Finnish accent, he'd say, " We are too soon old and too late, smart." I've never heard anybody answer the question about returning and reliving their youth that didn't include the covariate that they would know what they know now. Maturation and accepting the onset of the later years of our life goes a long way to mellowing our passions. Chicago Bear fans are less intimidating, and the members of the opposite sex who are age appropriate are far more appealing than we might have thought in our youth. Yes, I will admit some men still try to relive their youth in ways that defy logic. This facet of two late smart prevents athletes from realizing when their best years are behind them. More men than women seem to delude themselves into believing that members of the opposite sex half their age are suitable mates.  I'm not going to deny that some of us old...

Which Doctor Do I Call?

 It started with weepy, crusty eyes. Then my left leg started acting like it had a swivel for a knee. Suddenly, I was experiencing a lack of energy. To top it off, I wasn't getting a good night's sleep. Who do ya call? In my case, I'm calling my primary. My eye problem might need a specialist. Since I have CMT, my leg problem could be neuropathy or orthopedic. My cancer treatments might lead to my lack of pep. And despite using my pillows to attain perfect comfort, my aching legs and lower back keep me awake. I'm going to be cutting back a bit since my health seems to be melting before my weepy, crusty eyes. I've quit my tutoring gig. This hurts me. My student, six-year-old Aydn Collins, is a joy to be with. I had hoped my contribution to his education would be good for him. The biggest problem with the job is getting in and out of the school. Featuring long walks from and back to the parking lot and the mountain of stairs. The older schools are wonderful in almost ...

Watching the Oldies

Note: Last week's post was late. There is a reason. Read on.  Classic Film: From Here To Eternity The film opens in Hawaii in 1941. The film stars Bur Lancaster, Mongomery Clift, Deborah Carr and Donna Reed. It is before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The only scene I remember is a scene many people who never watched the entire film have seen. It shows Bert Lancaster and Deborah Carr lying on a sandy beach, kissing as an incoming washed over them. Given the popularity of that scene, it was amazing to me that that iconic image is only seconds long in the film. The story is about the innocence of army personnel with no idea what's coming. Lancaster literally runs the squad while his Captain lets him take charge so he can campaign for his promotion and cheat on his wife.  To make up for the disrespect he has for his commanding officer, Lancaster beds his Captain's officer's wife only to fall in love with her.  Clift's character suffers the humiliation of an offic...