Dia Padre's

I was particularly quiet getting out of bed early Sunday morning. The last thing I wanted to do was wake Rocky and/or Landon. It was just before 7am but I woke feeling completely refreshed, and better than I had in quite some time. That initial dose of Zithro seemed to make all the difference. In no time at all, I had the coffee brewing and my exercise regiment underway. By 7:15am Ykraps and I were out walking the neighborhood. We took our time and went a little further than usual. It was a lovely morning with temperatures near 60 degrees under clear blue skies. A lovely Father’s Day indeed. Like most other days, I sipped some coffee in front of the PC then spent a little time assessing work. We were looking good. I spent the next hour fooling around on the deck, in the yard, and on one of my PC’s. Both children remained asleep. Mindy got up before I left on a run. She was equally surprised that the kids remained sleeping. We expected both to be up multiple times through the night. Not a peep! I was back from my run by 9:15am. It was a good run – just three miles. I believe that Lil’ Rocky was awake when I got back, but Landon remained sleeping. He went to bed around 8pm and it was now 9:30am. He’d been asleep for over 13 hours! Rocky slept for 12 hours. We surmised that they don’t have such a peaceful environment to sleep in at home. We also doubt they get the nutrition they need. Mindy got the kids ready while I showered. We were meeting the family for Father’s Day breakfast at the Hilliard Bob Evans. Both kids were very well behaved. We were scheduled to meet at Bob Evans for breakfast at 10am. Everyone was already there save for brother Tommy. He was on his way. Mindy called him while I was running to make sure that he was up. The place was packed, but we expected it. Plus, we had a party of 12 so we knew there’d be a lengthy wait. This was our longest ever. We must’ve waited for 30 minutes. The time moved swiftly, however. I didn’t mind at all. It was really beautiful outside. Eventually we were seated at a long row of tables at the far end of the restaurant. We’ve sat there before. The conversation was lively and the food excellent. The service left a little to be desired. Yvonne was our waitress. She was a little snotty, but probably didn’t even realize it. We chose to overlook her less than stellar disposition. We were there until 11am. Both kids ate extremely well, especially Landon. Where had the morning gone? We briefly discussed our afternoon on the drive back home. I wanted to cut the lawn, and Mindy wanted to finish the bathroom. Before cutting grass, I needed to fetch gas for both the Trooper & the mowers. Before going to get gas I went outside to push Lil’ Rocky on the tree swing. I had to force myself to stop what seemed important and spend a little time with him. I doubt very seriously that either of them get much fun time at home. I asked Rocky if he wanted to ride with me to get gas. He did not. I was gone only ten minutes. $90 dollars later I was back. Ouch! For the next 2+ hours I worked on the lawn, wacking, edging, and mowing. Afterwards, I mixed up a batch of Weed-B-Gone in my sprayer and gave the lawn weeds their first spraying of the growing season. I delayed doing any weed control to allow my spring grass seed to take shape. It’s the price you pay for spring seeding. Thankfully, we didn’t have too many dandelions this year. However, we do have lots of other undesirables growing amongst the lawn. It took two batches to spray all of the weeds, front and back. I should really mix up a batch of poison ivy control, too. I spotted some thriving out by the tree swings. After I finished up with weed control I got the hedge trimmers out again. Only this time I worked on the backyard. I trimmed all the honeysuckle growing along the water as well as the shrubs in our back beds and against the house & deck. Ashley & Olivia stopped over around 2:00-2:30pm for a Father’s Day visit. Ashley brought me a nice card. Thanks Ash! I was all the way out back when they arrived. Olivia ran out once she spotted me. That did my heart some good! She loves me! All the kids helped me pick up the hedge trimmings. It was quite comical. Olivia loves chasing the geese and ducks and tries to make her own quack sound. Yet another thing I’ve taught her! J She must’ve had two or three popsicles while visiting. We want to spoil her a little when she’s over. Ashley left around 3:30pm, just about the time I finished up my yard chores. I felt good with all I had accomplished, but the list is still long. I tend to be the type that stresses over my to-do list, but as I reflect on the matter now I realize how blessed I am just to have one. After my yard work I headed up for a much deserved shower. I returned downstairs clean and refreshed. It was time to head to Sunday dinner at Gloria’s. Given my druthers we would have stayed home. After all, it was Father’s Day. But I chose to choose my battles wisely. I talked with Big Rocky just before we left the house. He was irrate that I wasn’t going to deliver the kids or allow him to come pick them up. Nope! My grandkids, and I was entrusted with their care. He doesn’t help put a roof over their heads, doesn’t work, & doesn’t have a car. I told him that he’s nothing more than a sperm donor. He was furious! Five minutes didn’t go by before I got another call only this time from his brother who pleaded his case. I listened and did my utmost best not to go off on him or simply hang up. He made some good points, but in the end, I repeated my earlier mantra. I was asked to take care of the kids and handing them over to him was not showing good judgment. I did tell him that I’d talk it over with Mindy and call him back. He understood. There weren’t many family members at Sunday dinner. Most of the guys were planned no-shows. The two firemen were actually on duty. Still, it was a pleasant time. We had ham, green beans and potatoes, salad and rolls. I’m thinking this was the first time that we’ve taken Rocky & Landon to Sunday dinner. They were very good. We left for home around 7pm. Once at home, Rocky, Landon, Mindy & I took Ykraps on a walk. We were expecting the kids to arrive home anytime. Mindy was much looking forward to their return. She received a call from Jimaken a few hours earlier alerting her that they had run out of gas some where in the mountains of Appalachia. Ewh! Keeping my word to Rocky’s brother, I returned his call. I shared that I had talked it over with Mindy and that we weren’t willing to hand the kids off. He said he didn’t agree but understood my position. Frankly, I was surprised. Still with plenty of daylight, I decided to scrub the boat canopy top that Tommy brought over. He’s had it in his garage attic for several years. He’s never used it. It had lots of mold/mildew growing on it. I decided to try cleaning it with Clorox cleaner. It couldn’t hurt. While I was busy cleaning the top I spotted Jacob in the house hugging his mommy. Must’ve been just after 8pm. Soon the kids came out to give me a big hug. They seemed happy to be home. And Bella, my oh my, was she dark! By the way, the boat top cleaned up real nice. It looked like new by the time I was done. I used it sparingly, too. It’s probably been in place twice. It’s a low profile top which leaves you no standing room. That’s why I really want a Bimini top. We spent the next hour or so playing with all four of the kids. It was quite exhilarating. A little rowdy, too. Once again, Mindy got the kids bathed. She put Landon to bed around 8:30pm. He might’ve fussed for two or three minutes, but no more. While she gave Bella and Lil’ Rocky a bath, I got Jacob going in our shower. Soon we had all the kids in bed. It must’ve been after 930pm. Mindy and I retreated to the deck where we sat under the natural umbrella created by one of our deckside red sunset maples with a citronella candle burning underneath. We talked about our kids, and the grand kids. What to do? Mindy was being attacked by mosquitoes. We went in after only ten or fifteen minutes. By 10pm we were heading up to bed.