Día de la Madre

It started off with the effects of rain and my boys chowing down on bacon and eggs at some local diner while I “slept in”. Maybe I dozed off briefly once more after 6:30, but nothing to speak of.

By eight o’clock, the gentlemen had returned with a chocolate long john in a paper sack and a bouquet of blooms in diverse colors and shapes.

“Not my idea!” Puck announced boldly as he pushed the bundle into my arms.

Eh, I’ll still take it.

After church, a family conference in the living room at the Big House. Disney World was in fifteen days, and Mom had written up extensive notes for all interested. But, in a family of eleven, wrapping up a pizza party with the game on mute, any conference of this nature will often resemble more of a circus than a business meeting.

“Yeah, this is the ride where they throw snow in your face.”

“Dang it, Wong!”

“We’re bringing ponchos to Disney World?”

“Reynolds, what were you thinking?”

“Francis, there’s an age restriction. You can’t hug the princesses while we’re there.”

Francis just grinned.

As the afternoon wore on, Dad encouraged us to speed up the process of watching the game so that we could visit Fritz’s frozen custard before the storm hit. But we had time. The boys were still tearing up the backyard on the three wheeler.

“There goes Joe without a helmet.”

“They better not be driving it through the grass,” Dad looked out the window.

“Yup, they just went tearing across the back yard.”

With gifts distributed to Mom (including an antique record of “So Dear to My Heart” and glass milk pitcher from “The Andy Griffith Show” set) and a game lost in Pittsburgh, we piled into the Joy Bus (sans Joe and Jaya, off to the in-laws). Puck and Carrie-Bri got into a discussion about how Puck was immune to tickling.

“Wow,” Carrie concluded after some effort, “I guess we’ll have to have the professional tickler give it a try when we get back: Grandpa.”

One hour and frozen custard later, as thunder tore through the neighborhood, Dad gave the tickle special a go. Puck’s eyes grew wide, but he stood his ground. Champion.