A week of cousin fun!

We have had the pleasure of having Cade and Macy come to spend the night several times this summer.  It is always jam-packed crazy fun, and we all sleep really well after our fun days!  The week of July 4th, they came Monday morning.  I decided to take them to the Japanese Gardens.  At first I thought, they are going to be bored.  But then I remembered that when my brother and I were kids, my grandparents used to take us there.  It was a magical place to us, with its bridges, waterfalls, stepping stones and giant koi.  Why shouldn't these kids feel the same way?  

Well, I was right.  Gabriel had been several times with our neighborhood Moms group, but the for the other three it was there first visit.    We walked every inch of the place, sometimes doubling back and seeing things again.  They loved it.  We saw a raccoon right off the bat, had to convince Macy that those bugs were non-stinging dragonflies, not huge stinging wasps, and had one, "oops I dropped Joel's feet in a pond" moment while trying to walk the stepping stones.  We all had a good laugh about that.  But I crowned myself "Mom of the Day" when I found dry socks in the backpack.  Go me!  

Oh, and the only thing I had been worried about was the heat.  Well, we have had some freakish good luck with weather in Texas this summer, and a dry cool front had moved through the day before.  The high was only supposed to be 92 that day, and it was so nice the whole time we were there.

I love every picture we took there, but this one above is my favorite.  I think I may need to get that one enlarged and framed.

We spent two hours there, then it was lunchtime.  I had planned to take them to Kincaid's on Camp Bowie a little before lunch hour rush, but we ended up getting there at exactly noon.  So much for good planning.  But these kids are all really well behaved when I take them places.  I never imagined I would be trying to handle four of them on my own, but it is a piece of cake.  Joel and I stood in line and the three older kids just sat and talked.  For a LONG time.  But man, did the conversation stop when the food came.  We were all famished after our morning trek.

And of course, I had to get everyone dessert.  It's the law!  Macy tried her first fried pie, Cade and I had banana pudding, and G & J enjoyed some vanilla ice cream.  We were pretty much the only group in there with kids, and everyone kept walking by our table and smiling.  A few had a look of pity, like, "wow you have your hands full", but those people just don't get it.  I have true FUN with these kids.  I think it's a day we'll all remember for a long time.

 On to the 4th of July!  I had considered going to the Arlington parade because several folks had told me how awesome it was.  Real floats, bands, and such.  But I knew I would feel guilty if I missed the neighborhood one, and of course they were at the same time.  We weren't disappointed, though, especially since the fire truck finally made an appearance.  It's very down-home.  At one point a man in a convertible was adjusting the Uncle Sam hat on his bloodhound.  I love my friend LaWayne's El Camino (lowest parade picture), that I truly think she bought just to decorate and ride in the parade!

We bought Fort Worth Cats tickets, along with Philip and April and the kids.  Your ticket included a prime Fort Worth Fourth fireworks watching seat after the game.  We thought this might be better than hanging out on the banks of the Trinity, where people had been soaking up the sun and drinking since 2 pm.  A little more family-friendly!  The Cats won, the kids had a blast during the game, and our front row seat of downtown FW and fireworks was wonderful!

And if that weren't enough for one week, we had a late Father's Day celebration at our house on Sunday.  Along with Mom and Dad and my brother's family we had my cousin's family and her dad.  I must brag about the food.  My brother and I came up with the menu, when we realized we were both thinking about pulled pork sandwiches.  I cooked the pork in the slow cooker all night long the night before.  It came out really, really well.  My sister-in-law brought cole slaw to top off the sandwiches, and some of the best homemade potato salad I've ever eaten.  My cousin's husband Vinney brought beans that were out of this world.  My mom made brownies and I made banana pudding.  This crew loves to cook and eat!

Uncle Dave, April, Uncle Dennis, Jav and Joel (Mom, I'm sorry you were cut out!)

Cade, Dad, Gabriel, Macy and Philip

My first cousin Kristen's husband Vinney and their oldest daughter, Rianna.  Rianna is expecting and is due in October.  And his 38 year old sister just had her first baby, so he gets to be an uncle for the first time, and then a grandpa right around the corner! 

Me and my sweet dad.

News, Schmooze

The time in my life before I met Jav and started having kids, I became a news junkie.  NPR was my link to all news in the world.  I listened before work, in the car on commutes, and sometimes curled up before going to sleep with my portable radio, listening to the BBC late into the night.  I felt very well-informed, and like I could have intelligent conversation and debate about pretty much any current event.  After I had Gabriel, I noticed a drop in my tuning-in ability, of course.  But I still kept up with foreign affairs and big news events.  After Joel, though, not so much.  Even though he's 3-1/2 now, I will go still weeks without tuning in.  I signed up for NPR emails for Breaking News, just after the big Tsunami hit Japan, because I had no idea what people were talking about at work and felt kind of silly.

Because I only listen to a National/World type news report, I rarely know that much about what's happening in my state or city.  I think local TV news is a joke.  They spend more time talking about celebrities than important things happening in the world.  When did Justin Bieber's hairstyle change become NEWS?  And the local newspaper is not much better, changing their look to more USA Today-style than a traditional newspaper.  You have to dig deep within those pages to find what I consider to be actual news.

My lack of time spent learning what's happening in the world weighs on me at times.  I now could not speak very wisely about many things happening out there in the big bad world.  My lack of community/social involvement gets to me, too.  I have many issues that are important to me, the biggest of which is the environment of this beautiful planet we live on.  To me if this issue doesn't start getting more attention, all the bickering we do about the other stuff is not going to seem very important.  When you start not having enough water for crops to feed people or fresh water for people to drink, I doubt many folks are going to be too concerned about the petty things humans can find themselves arguing about.  But this is an issue that gets largely ignored in the news cycle.  When an issue is that big, and seems unsolvable, what is there to report on?

I also get frustrated because there seems to be so many issues that people are just on TOTALLY opposite sides, not willing to budge an inch or even listen to intelligent debate from the other side.  Gun rights, immigration, abortion, racial issues, equal marriage rights, the list goes on and on and ON.  When you have two factions who feel so passionately about something, but are on totally different sides, how do you figure out an issue?  How do you figure out any issues anymore?  Instead of working through it with intelligent and reflective conversation, people say they are taking their stand to the death and NOTHING ever gets done that makes anyone happy.  I can't decide if our representatives have become big spoiled babies, or total namby-pambies, answering to their special interest groups and coffers instead of addressing their constituents' needs.  Neither type of person is who I want my kids to turn out to be.  It's hard to believe these are people that have been elected into office and are representing me.

So lately I find myself not so concerned about missing the news.  In fact, I think I am actually avoiding it these days.  It's all really enough to just make me throw up my hands and concentrate on my own little world, giving little regard to the bigger things happening outside of it.  I know that this may bite me in the long run, but until things either change dramatically in the way news is reported, or local, state and national government members figure out ways to compromise and get things done, then so be it.  Maybe I'll win the lottery and have more time to explore issues and figure out how to change things I don't like.

A Family Wedding

My sister-in-law and her longtime boyfriend, Michael, got married almost a month ago on Thursday night, the last day of swim lessons.  I made sure the boys both got a nap in, because swim lessons made them so tired the rest of the day.  Gabriel was the official Ring Bearer, and JoJo Ring Bearer Junior.  Here they are trying on their wedding finery, one picture right after I started taking them, and one picture when they were FED UP with pictures!

The ceremony was at 6 pm at Weston Gardens, a beautiful place that touts itself as, "English Gardens, Texas-Style". They had picked the smallest garden which was almost like a grotto with trees growing over. There was a harpist playing. There were butterflies flitting about. It would have been idyllic, indeed, if not for the 100 degree humid-like-a-rain-forest heat.  

But the ceremony went off without any major hitches.  The boys did great, at least from my point of view from the seats.  Jav said that Joel was refusing to hold Gabriel's hand, but some coaxing by the Matron of Honor, Suzanne, and his brother finally did the trick.  Gabriel was a bit thrown off when the photographer, whom no one warned him about, kept jumping in front of them snapping away and he didn't know whether to stop or keep going.  Gabriel oldest buddy, Lenah, was chief Flower Girl and did a beautiful job.  Her little sister, Mila, walked behind barefoot, picking up the flower petals and putting them back in the basket.  So stinkin' cute!  Sandra looked radiant, and walked down the aisle on Jav's arm to Etta James's, "At Last", which was very different but so cool.  The non-denominational minister was from South Africa, and was very personable and witty.  Michael's oldest sister, Dianne, read the 1st Corinthians passage about Love, and Jav read a beautiful poem in Spanish.  Gabriel walked up to deposit the rings after some confusion when the minister changed the order of the ceremony.  Michael and Sandra and Michael's two daughters, Lizzie and Grace, did a Sand Ceremony, which I had never seen before, mixing their separate sand (and families) into one big bowl.  It all would have seemed to breeze by if not for Joel yelling out every 20 seconds or so, "I'm hot, and I want some more water!".  

Even though it was a joyful event, there were a few sad things to mention.  Jav was walking his sister down the aisle because, sadly, their dad just couldn't do it.  He has been in poor health and recently was moved from the physical therapy wing to the nursing care area in a facility in Hurst.  The family had to get permission to bring him to the wedding, and poor Jav was in charge of getting him dressed and getting him there, along with getting him back and making sure he had some dinner.  Along with everything else going on!  Their dad has Alzheimer's, and it was impossible to tell if he really understood what was going on.  He knew it was something big, with all of us dressed up and seeing family from Monterrey that he hadn't seen in a long time.  But he didn't really talk through the whole thing.  The only time you KNOW he is cognizant of what's going on, is when he sees Gabriel.    His whole face changes and lights up, and he looks like his old self.  

And we were also upset that their dad's sister, Tina, and their mom's brother and sister, Arturo and Licha, all from Monterrey, could not make the wedding.  Tia Tina and Tio Arturo are in poor health, and poor Tia Licha's visa application had a glitch and she was not able to come.  That last part really took a toll on my mother-in-law.  But we had four people that did come up, their cousin David and his wife, Erica, and their two cousins, Lupana and Maque, who are unmarried sisters in their 60's and two of the hippest women I've ever met.  We spent the entire five days with them, taking them to Grapevine Mills Mall to shop, having them over for Sunday brunch (along with the Bride and Groom), and taking them to downtown Cowtown to see the sights and eat dinner their last night here.  

So this picture has a back story.  I was determined for the professional photographer to get a pic of just our family since we do not dress up often (ok - ever).  We started pictures, with the Best Man handing out paper towels to everyone to dry off in between shots.  But then Gabriel had what we'll call a "Bathroom Incident", that kept us away from the picture taking for about 20 minutes.  I guess they finally gave up on us and were done by the time we came out.  So as we were walking to the car, I asked our friend Christine if she'd take a shot of us and just see if it came out.  We walked out into a field, and had sweat through our clothes about 10 times by now.  It came out so great!  I love, love, love it.  Look how Joel has his little hands clasped in front of him, Gabriel looks so grown up, and how dashing Jav looks in his all-black tux.

As Jav was driving his dad home, I drove us back to our house to drop Joel off so my mom could watch him as we went onto the dinner. It was on the roof of Reata restaurant downtown.  Gabriel was so excited I thought his head would explode.  It was a fantastically romantic setting, with two long tables and the backdrop of Fort Worth buildings all around.  Everyone ate first since it was 8:30 or so.  The food and service were wonderful, I have to say.  Jav got there pretty late when they were cutting and serving the cake, poor guy.  But at least he didn't miss the wedding toasts, including giving one that may have been the sweetest toast I've ever heard.  I was so proud of him that night with all he had to do.  He really rose above and beyond the call of duty as brother, son, cousin, father and husband.  

All of the toasts were wonderful, funny mixed in with sweet and poignant.  Michael's mom read an Irish Wedding blessing in Spanish, which she had been practicing for months.  Sandra's best friend, Gilbert, stepped in for her dad and gave the old, "You better be good to her because she is the best person in the whole world", as part of his toast.  We have all waited for a long, long, time for this very sweet and special person to find the right person who would make her this happy.  There were many tears of joy being shed everywhere you looked.

And finally a few more photo opportunities.  Lenah and Gabriel, in 2007 and 2013.  Wow is all I can say!!!!  

I am hoping to have more pictures, from this night and from the BBQ reception that happened a few nights later, once the professional ones are shared with everyone.  But this is one of my favorites, taken just before heading home.  What a happy, happy evening!  And how good it felt to finally take a cold shower at 12:30 am!!!

Swimming!

Here he is, the fantastic Mr. Bryan!  We SO missed him last summer.  It really wasn't the same without him.  

His wife was battling brain cancer all summer.  He was commuting back and forth between MD Anderson on weekends, and when we heard this was happening we decided to sign up Gabriel at Emler in case Mr. Bryan just couldn't keep teaching.  The weekend before Gabriel's session in August, Mr. Bryan called Jav to tell us he had to cancel, they had just placed his wife in hospice care.  We were sad on so many levels.  Mr. Bryan is one of the nicest people on earth, and knowing he was losing his 50-year-old wife was just heartbreaking.  But since I am a mom, my heart also broke for Gabriel, who looks forward to his two weeks there probably more than anything else the whole summer.  

Gabriel had lackluster teachers at Emler last year.  He stayed at the same level, or maybe even a little behind where he had ended up the summer before.  They didn't seem to want to push him to do anything, and he was afraid to even jump in the water from the side without help.  

The FIRST day back at Mr. Bryan's, Gabriel jumped off the diving board and swam halfway across the pool.  Wowsa!  Mr. Bryan just inspires his students to have confidence like no other person can.  All Gabriel had to do was know he was back in that backyard and it came back.  But I was concerned when we arrived that first day, because there was a FOR SALE sign in Mr. Bryan's yard.  We found out the second week that he is looking for something, with a pool, in Central Arlington (even closer to us - yay!), and will be teaching next year.  

Gabriel's classmate for this year was Brady, who is almost a year younger, a strong swimmer already, but totally lacked confidence in himself.  He had a hard time the entire first week, but then finally started to enjoy himself towards the end of the session.  Gabriel did well all the way through.  He's going across the pool by himself, but having trouble with doing big enough circles with him arms (they aren't propelling him forward), and needs to work on form.  But I am so proud of him for jumping off that diving board and trying so hard.  

This was Joel's first time at Mr. Bryan's, and I knew it would go well.  He did great last year at Emler, and was being pulled under the water for 10 seconds each time.  He still talks about his teacher from last year.  This year, Joel was never scared, he put his face in easily and discovered the joy of floating in water.  His classmate was Callie, who turned out to be the sister of Gabriel's classmate from summer before last, Nathan.  So it turns out Callie and Joel spent two weeks together waiting for their brothers to finish swim lessons summer before last.    Callie cried the first week, then something kicked in and she started having fun.  Which helped Joel have even more fun.  

It was hard for Joel to wait his turn for his lesson.  He wanted to be in the pool!!!  Mr. Bryan told me that Joel was doing so well it was going to be hard for me to keep him above the water.  And to be sure a wear a t-shirt because he expects to grab onto me when he runs out of breath every time.  

My little fishies!

Two weeks of bliss went by so quickly.  And I promised myself to keep them swimming the rest of the summer, at least once a week.  But we couldn't think about that too much on the last day of class.  Because that night, we had a wedding to go to!!!

(To be continued)

Last day of Kindergarten

The absolutely WONDERFUL Mrs. Barrientos, a.k.a. Mrs. B. I am going to miss her more than I can say.  Hopefully she'll still be there when Joel hits Kindergarten in two years.

Gabriel had his last day of Kindergarten today.  The year started with daily meltdowns over the long school day, and had a few bumps during the year (talking back to the teacher, more meltdowns if he didn't understand directions).  But then he started a library reading program, and his teacher started him on a reading program called SRE cards.  She was great enough to realize he was bored when the other kids were working on reading and took care of his boredom.  He made 100 on every library reading test and SRE test.

We told him in March if he could go the remainder of the school year with no negative comments from his teacher about ANYTHING, he would get a BIG reward when school was over.  He did it.  Not one problem came up, and he came home happy every day.

I forgot to look in his folder last Friday when he got home.  Normally Mrs. B just writes, "Have a good weekend!"  But thank goodness I finally looked at it yesterday afternoon, because she had written this:  "Please try to come to the Wednesday Mass because Gabriel will be receiving a special award.  Secret."  I called work right away to tell them I would be late.  Jav sadly just couldn't get off work, but my mom agreed to come with me.  The only problem I have with his school is the lack of warning we have for things, sometimes big things!  We had no idea that the Award Ceremony would be following the Mass on Wednesday, and didn't know about the Mass until Tuesday when I picked him up.  Poor communication.

But we couldn't help but get a little excited.  We told him that Mamaw and I were coming to Mass since it was the last one of the year.  It was wonderful.  Father Paul told them to do three things for the remainder of the day:  Thank God, thank your parents, and thank your teachers before going home.  All for their school.  We sat through Honor Roll certificates and Music Department recognition.  Then they got to Citizenship, which I still don't really understand the meaning of.  They said one girl and one boy from each grade.  Kindergarten was first, and Kalilah, his best friend, was announced as the girl.  He was so excited for her and surprised.  Then they announced his name as the boy.  He was flabbergasted.  But he went up there after an encouraging nod from me and a yank from Mrs. B.  Kalilah's parents and I ran to get a picture of all of them:  (Some of them still getting certificates and medals).  Gabriel is on the far right, Kalilah on the left.

When he got back to his seat, he showed me the award.  It said it was for "Outstanding Student".  He leaned over and whispered, "Is this for Student of the Month?", something he had really wanted but that had eluded him all year.  I said "No, it's sort of for Student of the Year.  Which is even better, isn't it?"  He beamed so brightly.  We went outside and got to take a picture of both of them.  Mrs. B had the whole class give them a big, "Hip, hip, hooray!!!"  and clap.  He wondered aloud in the car driving home if maybe he and Kalilah won the awards because they are such good friends and good for each other's learning.  I was thinking that and pretty proud of him to realize it on his own.  In fact, I'm so darn proud of him I can't think straight today!  Wow, did he ever come a long way.  I must give most of the credit to Mrs. B, who knows how to find their gifts and show the students they have them, giving them confidence.  Gabriel gets credit for working so hard to follow the guidelines we set.  The last credit is up for debate.  His parents, or Kalilah?  Maybe both.

First grade, here we come!!

Birds and bees

I love Springtime in our yard.  It has been an especially cool one (until now, at least).  We've had rain about once a week, which has caused things to grow like crazy.  The season brought some friends back to our house that we've seen for a couple of years now.  The hummingbird couple showed up on Easter Sunday.  I had been hanging the feeders for two weeks, and Gabriel was the one who spotted them.  We added a third tiny feeder in our Chinese pistachio, and they LOVE it because it's farther away from the hubbub of the house.  I know it's the same couple not only because of their markings, but because within a week of arriving they didn't pay much attention to any of us, and now just feed whether we're out there or not.  Along with the nectar from the feeders, they enjoy salvia and honeysuckle during this time of year.  I know their tiny chirps and can usually find them sitting in the trees.  I have lots of questions about this couple, though.  Are they the same species?  Do differing species ever mate if they can't find one of their own?  I looked up nesting patterns of hummingbirds, and the female is the one who does all the work making the nest, even testing it by flying into it and jumping on it to make sure it is strong enough.  One upsetting thing I read was that the inside of the nest cannot reach a temperature of more that 96 degrees F or the eggs will not hatch.  That is why many hummingbirds nest farther north than Texas.  It's been cooler, but we've also had some pretty hot days.  I hope they can have some babies this year.  

We also had a return visit for about the fourth year in a row from our crow couple.  We weren't sure if it's the same couple coming back year after year, or their offspring.  We always call the large one Charlie and the slightly smaller one Charlie's wife.  Charlie is at least two feet tall.  He's the crow that scared away a hawk from their coveted bird bath earlier in the Spring.  We have heard the babies through the years.  They "caw", but the sound is more high-pitched than the adult calls.  But this is the first year that we've actually witnessed the offspring.  They have two "babies" that are now almost as big as their parents, following them around and doing their little mini-caws.  The parents offer them worms and other tidbits still, and they still have their little beaks open waiting for a treat most of the time.  Both kids were drinking from the bird bath one night last week, with either Momma or Daddy watching from the nearby tree.  In all these years we didn't realize that the babies get that big so quickly.  The picture on the left is one of the offspring at the prized birdbath.  The other is the Mama, the Daddy (Charlie, the big guy on the far side of the street) and other baby.  These were taken at the same time, and that is the farthest away I have seen one of the babies get away from their parents  

Then I looked up how long crow fledgelings stay with their parents and learned a fascinating thing:  Crow chicks stay with their parents for an entire year or sometimes longer, and actually help raise the next year's fledgelings!  Fascinating.  At least to this bird nerd.  I used to think they were a nuisance, always hogging the bird bath and dunking all kinds of disgusting stuff in it that I have to dump out.   But now I think their presence has become part of our life cycle as much as theirs.  They tolerated Jav and I spending several Sundays out putting in a new flower bed (a post on that later), and would just patiently wait in one of the trees until we went to the garage or inside for a few minutes.  We could barely walk away before one of them was standing on the bird bath again, dunking something or getting a drink.

We also have had a fun time watching a Screech Owl couple named Hoot N Annie by the people whose yard they reside in.  The couple decided to build an owl box, and when they realized a couple had found it and laid eggs inside, before the next Spring they installed a camera inside the box, and one outside to watch the door.  Since then Hoot N Annie have successfully hatched and raised 25 owlets!  Pretty good parents, if you ask me.  They had four this year, and I cannot begin to explain how nice it has been to watch this event unfold, especially during the tragedies of the Boston bombings, the West, Texas explosion, and the recent horrible tornado destruction.  Watching these babies hatch, get bigger, and finally fly the nest has been a breath of fresh, happy air.  Above is a picture of two of the new hatchlings.  Look how CUTE they are.  Here is the link to see video of them leaving the nest for the first time.

We were also proud to have more bees, this time on the honeysuckle and our giant photinia that's outside our master bedroom windows.  One evening when I was putting off cooking dinner, the boys and I just planted ourselves on some chairs and watched them feeding for about 20 minutes.  They loved being able to get that close to them with no fear of a bee sting.  Even though I tell them all the time that the bees are too busy doing their pollination thang to be too worried about them walking by.

But the coolest thing that happened this Spring had to be our caterpillars.  We were invaded by these black, burgandy and blue spiky caterpillars.  Jav and I don't remember ever seeing them before.  They were all over our front porch, hanging from the eaves and attic vents, when I guessed that they might be preparing to make a chrysalis around themselves.  We started checking daily, and sure enough suddenly counted six.  There were other caterpillars still hanging around, but something ate them or happened to them before they had a chance to make a chrysalis.

I didn't check on them every day, because I read that the chrysalis period could take anywhere from one week up to two years!  Then one day Joel and I got home from preschool, and noticed something on the garage floor.  It was a butterfly!  And it was so beautiful.  It must have fallen off the garage door when I opened it up.  I found a big leaf and led it to (hopefully) safety under a bush in the yard.  The others hung next to their chrysalis for 24 or so hours, I'm assuming to dry their wings out?  Or work their courage up?  There was one left and Joel and I checked it one morning, and the chrysalis had turned black.  I KNEW it was about to come out, but we had a lunch date with my cousin and couldn't stay and watch.  Sure enough, when we returned there was the butterfly hanging there, proud as a peacock.  

I finally looked it up a few nights ago and found out it's called a Mourning Cloak.  It's a brush-footed butterfly, which means their front two legs are characteristically shorter than their 4 remaining legs, and therefore impossible to aid in walking.  The article says they overwinter as adults, which I guess means they are supposed to live all the way to the following Spring?  That would be a long time.  I have since seen one flitting around our driveway and realized what it must feel like when a child returns from college for that first weekend back at home - giddy parental joy.  Even though I had nothing to do with these beauties being born, I feel somehow responsible for them, and I'm afraid there is no way they're going to make it until next Spring.  Maybe that is why we've never seen them before in the 8-1/2 years we've been here.  

It was just so cool to actually witness something I've only read about or seen on TV.  It really, really happens!  Makes me want to break into the chorus of, "The Circle of Life" from the Lion King.  Thank goodness this blog has no sound!

George and Billie, and aging gracefully

I speak often of our wonderful neighbors and friends, George and Billie.  We invite them over for the boys' birthday parties.  Gabriel used to go to their house and "play" every other week, before he started full-time school.  They bring presents for the boys on Valentine's Day, Easter, and Christmas.  We bake quick breads, banana pudding, and cookies for their birthdays, and Mother's and Father's Day.  If I don't see Billie out walking Annie, her pomeranian, during the week, I call her on Fridays and we talk for at least a half hour, just catching up. One day, when I was suffering from sinus problems, I ran over to ask Billie to smell some chicken I was trying to use for dinner, to make sure it still smelled okay.  She didn't find this strange at all and was happy to do it.  That's how close we have become.  I feel like they are surrogate great-grandparents to Gabriel and Joel.

Every Saturday morning for the past 20 years or so, they have breakfast at the Swiss Pastry Shop.  We tried joining them a couple of years ago when Joel was just starting to sit in a high chair, and all we remember is trying to keep the boys from making a mess and being too loud.  We vowed that one day we would go back, just Jav and I, to enjoy a more relaxing breakfast with these two special people.




















We had our opportunity last Saturday, since each boy spent the night with a different set of grandparents for our Friday night anniversary date  (more about that later).  George drove us.  Yes, I said George.  I was a little nervous, since I have ridden with much younger people that have scared me to death.  But no problem with George.  Smooth sailing.  Everyone in the restaurant knows them, of course, and were pleased and surprised to see they had guests.  It was a lovely breakfast.  Great stories, from both sides of the table, and delicious food with two people that we have grown to love in the eight years we've lived in our house.  George even took the trouble of driving us home the long way, so that we could say we were with them the last time we drove over the 7th Street Bridge going over the Trinity.  It's coming down over the next few weeks so that a new one can go up.

Their house was the third one built in this neighborhood, the first one on our block.  George was born in Clovis, New Mexico.  He retired from Texas Electric many years ago.  He has outlived all of the other retirees from his class, so now plays poker once a month with some younger retirees.  At 90, he still does all of his own yard work.  My mother claims this is part of the reason he is still up and going strong.  When he finishes the yard, he sits in their breezeway porch swing and has a beer.  Jav claims this is another reason.  George loves the Rangers and never misses a second of a ball game.  He is no-nonsense, plain spoken and has a dry sense of humor and is just as wise as he can be.  We can't see that he has anything physically or mentally different about him, except that in the past year or so he is moving a tiny bit slower than when we first met him.

I don't know as much about Billie's past.  (Shame on me, I need to ask some questions!)  I know that at one point she worked outside the home, I believe in an office setting.  Her parents were very close to George and helped them out many times when they first were married.  They have one daughter, Georgeanne, and were mature parents, just like us.  Billie is in great shape mentally, but has vision and hearing problems that keep her from living the life she used to.  George is having to do most of the cooking now that her eyesight has gone downhill.  But she loves our boys, gives me WONDERFUL parenting advice, and has one of the sharpest senses of humor of anyone I know.

Allison, their only grandchild, is a sophomore in high school.  They attend all of her plays, piano recitals, musicals, band concerts, soccer games, and awards ceremonies.  And then some.  They keep her dog when she goes away to camp three times each summer.  They are doting grandparents to her, and she is there about twice a week to have dinner with them.

Jav and I talk more now about aging and how it gets a little daunting and depressing as you get older.  Losing people you love is hard to think about, and so is realizing your own mortality getting closer and closer.  But it just doesn't seem to bother these two.  They just get up and live the life they love every day.  It's as if they don't expect it to change or go away, and don't seem to pine for the way things were.  Maybe in private it's different, but to all of us in the outside world, they just live simply, do things that make them happy, and quietly and gracefully accept this life as it moves along on down the road.  Maybe that is the best reason of all for their longevity.