Punch Buggy, No Punch Backs!

Well, I just got the gears from my son, who is traveling in Scotland, that I have not posted for a very long time.  Yes, I gave myself the luxury of a blog vacation lately.  When you are not paid, it is very easy to give yourself a vacation after many many years of posting and posting and posting.  My son is keeping a blog while he is away, so now he knows it's fun, but sometimes it's hard to come up with something witty, wise, interesting or informative to say.

Lately, we've wrapped up the school year.  Here are the recent highlights.

Father's Day breakfast was served by Lizzy and Anna on our bedroom patio.  It was a lovely day.  There was a Father's Day massage, a Zingerman's lunch and a nice dinner at the Left Bank.

We missed Michael, but, he was off at writing camp in Scotland working hard and building stone walls.  You can read more about that portion of his trip on his blog by clicking here.

The girls were in tennis camp.  The best thing about tennis camp?  Shopping for cute tennis clothes, of course.  The camp was demanding physically, so they were tired, but happy.  On one afternoon, we went to the local library where they held "Reading to a Dog" day.  The Humane Society brought a dog who actually listens to the kids read.  It was pretty cute.  We also took this time to revisit our favorite childhood books.  You can see Lizzy below with her friend, Zoe.

At the annual Summer Solstice party, we enjoyed a beautiful night on the beach.  This year's effigy was pretty amazing as you can see below.  It went up like crazy once it was lit.  Out with the old, time for a fresh, start.

Kiki did not get lost this year at the party.  Last year she disappeared and we searched for over an hour in the dark, frantically trying to find her.  This time, we anchored her, and she still had lots of attention and treats.

Anna bravely let Roxy off the leash and let her wander around the beach.  It was pretty cute, Roxy stuck to Anna like glue.  Rather unusual for the dog who is apt to run off to greet any dog.  Any dog.  She loves other dogs so much, she must be the friendliest dog ever.  She loves to sneak in a French tongue kiss, so watch out!

Lizzy's friend Reynolds came along and enjoyed a giant roasted marshmallow.

This is not a very good picture, but last night was the "super moon."  It was bright and gorgeous.

Today, the girls left for camp.  They are off for two weeks of fun in the mountains.  Anna says that she has CPD.  Compulsive Packing Disorder.  We had to remove a giant stuffed animal, her entire comforter and pillow set, and thumbtacks and a poster from her back before she shipped out.

Mom and Dad were sad to see them go, but we are heading to the wilderness of Canada for a few days. Lots of posts to follow under the heading Canadian Chronicles.

Lizzy and her friend, Catherine, are off to be Counselors in Training (CITs) this year.  This is Lizzy's 8th summer at the camp.  Hard to believe that!  It's the 5th year for Anna.  Yikes, we are getting old, see picture above!

The big bus, getting ready to roll out!

Well, that's it for now.  More to come later!  Summer has officially started for everyone.

Happy Father's Day To My Dad

My dad has always been the biggest kid. He always has a smile on his face, and in fact, he worked with high school students at his A&W restaurant most of his working career. Not everyone wants to work with teenagers, and not everyone has the patience and skill to do it so well.

I worked with him, and the rest of my family, at the A&W for 13 solid years. Not only did I learn from him as my dad, I learned from watching him handle so many situations. He always trusted me and had high expectations. Life in the fast food lane is chaotic, and he taught me how to handle the chaos with class, time after time.

Now retired, he was the guy that was tough, yet a teddy bear to his employees. Working at the A&W was the first job for a lot of kids, and he gave them their first shot, and sometimes their second chance, after they royally messed up. Yes, his mantra of "You are never too sick to work" is stuck in my brain and my own work ethic.

He also taught us simple things like, when you are on the schedule, you have to show up. However, if no one teaches you this, it's very easy to ignore responsibility--especially when you're a teenager and you'd rather go on that date with a cute boy. Yes, he was my dad, but I think he was dad to a lot of young people during that phase of his life.

My dad is also a finder, and I definitely think he passed this on to me. He can find anything you need. If it's help after you crash your 5th car, he's your guy. If you need a ticket, a missing piece to an old train set, a place to take horseback riding lessons--he will help you find a needle in a haystack, even. Even if you lose yourself, or your way, he can help you find you.

He is always excited about things and life. He loves being a grandfather, or Bompa, as my kids call him. He loves those kids with a passion, and they know it! He embraced grand parenthood with his arms wide open and full of love. No hesitations, no reservations, no crazy advice--he actually is 100 percent in my corner no matter what life throws at me.

Speaking of kids, he is the biggest kid himself. He always has time for people. He always is kind, and a good listener. He will talk to anyone (for a very long time, I learned at a young age) and he is always interested in meeting new people and hearing what they have to say.

One thing that stands out in my mind, is that after I was married, I went directly to Canada. Don't pass go, don't collect your $200 (has inflation effected that?) and don't cruise around on a honeymoon. Get yourself to Canada and hurry up, and well, wait for immigration.

I couldn't work. I couldn't go to school. We had one car that went to work with my husband each day and no money. On my birthday, my dad drove 11 hours to take me out to lunch and take me shopping for "whatever I wanted." I chose new mittens and a hat--it is cold in Ottawa. I think that was one of my best days ever.

When we needed money for our first house, he was there with his checkbook, no questions asked--and I believe most of this was his nature. I think it also was the fact that he trusted me to do the right thing, and the right thing was to pay him back as soon as we could, and we did.

Actually, my dad always expects the world to do the right thing. He is kind and generous with his time and spirit and I think he expects that from the rest of us. Sometimes he is disappointed, but most times not. He will go out of his way to help a stranger, take in stray cats and dogs, and find a silver lining when you're sure that all that is there is rust. When these are the standards, we all try our best to rise up and meet them.

There is so much more to say, but mostly, the biggest thing is thank you. Thank you, dad, for being who you are and teaching the rest of us to be better people by example. Thanks for sticking up for me all of these years, being in my corner, and teaching me how to look at the sunny side of life.