A Disturbing Reminder

Two of my kids are now back home. Patrick and Sarah made it safely back to Nashville yesterday, ending their time with us. Kaitlin and Jon will be here through Wednesday, then it will Pam and me for another week or so. Amazing how fast time passes up here. Today was supposed to be a complete washout but woke up to calm water and patchy sunshine, so I hopped in the kayak and paddled over to the next cove where I caught five beautiful bass in a matter of minutes. The mist was still roiling across the lake when I arrived back at the dock. By then it had started to rain, more like a soft, polite drizzle. Kaitlin and Pam decided that a trip into Camden for a clam chowder lunch at The Deli was essential to our happiness and well being. Mine came with a Reuben sandwich and one of those delightfully intense dill pickles. By the time we finished lunch, the rain had become real, coming down steadily while the high temperature hovered in the low 60’s.

While the rest of my family wandered off for pointless browsing in the many lovely shops on Elm street, I stepped into The Smiling Cow on a mission from God. Every year, I buy gifts for all of the ladies at the office, those poor souls who are forced to put up with my workplace harassment and high-jinks all year. I partially make it up to them by bringing them treats from Maine. They receive them with a very high level of entitlement, figuring that it’s the very least I could do.

Then there’s the matter of the sweet pups who live next door to us back home, the three Garland kids, Cash, Kennedy, and Sully. These wonderful kids have served as my grandparent-training guinea pigs, which means I get to spoil them with treats from Maine too. Their long-suffering parents go along with this spoiling for the most part, although I thought I detected an eye-roll from Jamie last year when I bought Cash a cool pirate knife with a disappearing blade and a collection of practical joke tricks he could use to terrorize his sisters. So, this year I scaled back the asshattery a bit, going with slightly more educational gifts. I hope they aren’t totally crushed.

Anyway, the point of this blog was to tell you about a disturbing message I received from my son this afternoon that actually sent a brief wave of nausea sweeping over me. He sent me this…

We might have two more weeks left up here but we are under no illusions about what awaits us back in Short Pump. This screenshot served as a disturbing reminder. Nevertheless, going home isn’t all bad. Take a look at my Grandpup, Frisco. Somebody missed his Mama!!