Richard's 3? Birthday!

Family brunch at Shelleen's to celebrate Richard.  We were missing Amy and Michael, but the rest of the crew was there.  (Michael had to work and Amy was getting ready to leave for a business trip.)

We've pretty much stopped birthday presents - just getting everyone together is a gift.  Sounds corny... but it's soooo true.  I love to just sit and watch them all. 

I tried to take some pictures this time, but i didn't do a very good job.  I'm too busy watching!

The birthday... ahem... boy and his wonderful wife.

And Kate (who was not happy to have her picture taken. Can you tell?) and Brynn. 

Greg was there with Alex...

..Matthew... who needed to be wrestled to get his picture taken...

And Gregory... who gets more handsome every day...

I was lucky enough to sit between Kate...

... and Alex...

I'd like to figure out how to sit in the middle of all of them.  Maybe we need a kids' table and I could sit there!

Greg is the Pied Piper of nieces and nephews...

Crystal was too far away from me to get a good picture, but Julie got this one and I LOVE it...

On of Brynn's favorite things to do these days is pull hair.  She got a handful of Matthew's and yanked, but he didn't seem to mind. 

Ouch!

More...

Bryce wanted me to take a picture of him kissing his dad.  What a great idea!  Buddies... for sure!

Gregory worked hard to NOT get his picture taken...

Matthew worked hard on the puzzles on his menu...

Happy  Birthday, Richard!

Happy Birthday, Richard!

Today is Richard's 39th birthday!  Wow! 

Richard was born at 5:27 in the morning, so by the time the sun came up, he was here and beautiful and in my arms (but it was a very long night)!

I went into labor early in the morning on the 18th and spent the most of the day being stared at by my mother.  Hubby was in Viet Nam and I was missing him terribly - my mother was sad and uncharacteristically emotional about Rich not being there when Richard was born.  Every time she looked at me, her eyes filled with tears. 

I couldn't afford to "go there" as we say these days.  I did not want Richard to enter this world to a sad mother - no way.  I was delighted to be pregnant with him - overjoyed that he was about to be born.  Frightened and sad would have to wait for another day.  I was going to have my baby!!!!!

My mother's best friend, Avis, came to share in "the watch" but not a lot was happening very fast - or at least not fast enough.  Thankfully, she was painfully aware of the surrounding gloom and invited me back to her house to help her get dinner and to play pinochle. 

When I look back, I'm amazed at her graciousness - to invite me for dinner and to play cards for the evening with the friends she and her husband had invited.  She was like a second mother to me in many ways. 

SO... we had dinner and played pinochle until about 2:00 in the morning - and then she walked me home - contractions and laughter doubling me over more than once on the way home. 

I got home - took a shower - fixed my hair (I wanted to look as good as I could for Richard's first look at his mother) and finally off we went to the hospital.  By about 4:00 am, things were moving fast and we arrived too late for the kind of birth I had planned.  By the time we did all of the "pre-birth" things, Richard was on his way.

Richard was GREAT, but I was a little worse for wear and we spent the next 4 days in the hospital - which, actually, was kind of nice. 

The American Red Cross notified Rich at the U.S. Army mortuary in Saigon, where he was stationed while in Viet Nam.  He said it took an extra day for him to find out he had a son because the person with the message wouldn't go near the mortuary at night. 

When I finally got home from the hospital, I had a dozen red roses from Rich - so pretty. 

Rich was released early, before his year of duty was up.  He came home when Richard was just about 6 weeks old.

SUCH a commotion about picking Rich up at Fort Dix.  My father wanted to go.  He was afraid I'd be so glad to see Rich that I'd just drop Richard on the ground.  Really????  My mother wanted to go - just because.  And I didn't want anyone to go but Richard - and me.  

As it turned out, it was late when Rich finally got in, and so I ended up leaving Richard home to sleep (if I had it to over again, I would have taken him - middle of the night or not).  When Rich got home and looked in the bassinet, he picked Richard up... held him close... and just cried.  (and so did the rest of us)

Rich told me later that he was afraid many times that he would never see his son.  But after that first night, he never mentioned it again. 

It was not something I ever allowed myself to think - maybe because of the situation I was in, living with my parents - maybe because I wanted peace and calm and welcoming vibes for Richard.  I just couldn't afford to allow myself those kinds of thoughts.

I can't imagine, though, what it must have been like for Rich - so far from home - sleeping in the mortuary, hearing gunfire, knowing how far away your soon-to-be-born baby was - and that he couldn't be there when the baby was born.

It took us about 6 weeks to get moved out and back to Delaware to our own apartment.  I don't know how much time Richard spent in "bed" for those 6 weeks.  We were SO glad to have him - and SO glad to be all together - it seemed like we just passed him back and forth for those 6 weeks, smiling and laughing at every move he made.  We thought he was amazing!  (I still do)

Anyway... 39 years ago.  It seems so hard to believe that it's been that long. 

And he just keeps getting better and better! 

Adventures With Molly

We had such a great time with Molly, I thought it would be a shame to not share some of our adventures.

Our first trip was to WaWa to get some subs for dinner.  You can see Molly waiting patiently by the door for Michael to come out.

The next night Michael and I decided to go to Rita's for a Gelati - our first of the season.  Of course we took Molly, who was as good as gold - waiting at the window to bring our Gelati's to us.  What a great dog!

Saturday was a little rough.  I think Molly missed her family, so she and I went for a ride - just for a change of pace.  Molly loved the air in her face!

Sunday we decided to go down to Fox Point Park to watch the ships on the river.  Molly never gets tired of sitting by the fence, watching the ships - and the critters in the grass (squirrels, spiders, and such).

By Sunday night we were both exhausted and ready to collapse on the couch and watch some TV. Oh! How Molly loves the pillows!  (but only when a human isn't available)

Monday was THE day Molly and I were going to the airport to pick up Richard, Julie, Kate and Brynn.  We were both SO excited!!!

When we got to the airport Molly saw the plane and headed right for the tarmac to meet them.  She looked so little down there, but there was no stopping her!  She was right there to greet them when they got off the plane.  What a brave and loyal dog!

Finally back home!  Kate was soooooo glad to see her dog!  (And Molly was equally glad to see her Kate!)

What a terrific week!!!

Dog Sitters R Us

Richard, Julie, Kate and Brynn have been in Florida since last week - visiting Julie's parents - - - - - without Molly.

Molly came to spend her vacation with Michael and me.  I was a little hesitant to agree to keeping her.  The last time she stayed with us, it was a disaster, BUT with optimistic hopes for a different outcome, I agreed to have my grand-dog come for a visit.  I mean really... what kind of grandmother would I be if I didn't give it one more try?

She was as good this trip as she was bad, the last. (Except for Saturday and we just won't go there!) 

I brought her home on Wednesday morning (EARLY Wednesday morning), after taking Richard, Julie, Kate and Brynn to the airport.  Michael was off on Wednesday, so Molly had a buddy all day, which delighted her (Michael was not as delighted, but he was a good sport). 

I am amazed at her memory.  Not surprisingly, I think she's a genius-dog.  She remembered "her spot" in bed... "her spot"... on the couch (although we did have a couple of disagreements about that.  She preferred my spot.) 

She disappeared on Wednesday night (in the house) which makes me nervous since she left us so many 'gifts' the last time she stayed with us.   finally found her... all curled up in our bed.  She lifted her head when I came in and looked at me as if to say... "What????"

ANYWAY... we snuggled...we played ball... we snuggled... we played with the kong... we snuggled.  I tried to work on the computer but Molly wanted to.... you guessed it... snuggle.

We ran a couple of errands and took Molly with us in the car.   All in all, she was pretty spoiled this week.

I'm sure she'll be SO happy to be back with her family this afternoon, and I will enjoy having the couch all to myself.  But I will miss my little snuggle buddy.

Sweet, sweet, Molly!

P.S.  Since we had such a great time while Molly was here, I decided to add a post about our week together. 

PAX East ~ Boston

What is PAX East, you ask?  (That's what I asked)  Here's a description taken straight from the website:

• PAX East is a three-day game festival for tabletop, videogame, and PC gamers. We call it a festival because in addition to dedicated tournaments and freeplay areas we've got nerdcore concerts, panel discussions, and an exhibitor hall filled with booths displaying the latest from top game publishers and developers. Even with all this amazing content the best part of PAX East is hanging out with other people who know their shit when it comes to games.

I don't even understand the description.   Color me old!

ANYWAY...

That's where Greg, Gregory, Alex and Connor (Gregory's friend) spent the weekend.  They drove up on Friday and returned on Sunday night.  I can hardly wait to hear about their trip and to get some pictures. (They promised to take lots.)

Greg and Gregory went last year and had so much fun that they added Alex and Connor and attended again this year.  

More to come!

Websites * March 13 - March 19

Ok... this one cracked me up.  It is just what it says it is. I can't seem to hold the button more than about 3 minutes without falling asleep.  I'm not sure why I even wanted to hold the button.  Maybe it's one of those "Because it's there" kind of things.  Anyway... here you go:  HoldTheButton

I got hooked on Drop Words on my phone, but this one is WAY better.  If you like word games, try this one:  Word Drop

Quotes * March 13 - March 19

"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything."
~ Plato ~

And I couldn't resist this one...

"Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity."
- George Carlin