Today, July 24, is the last day of my summer vacation. I still have two days off but they are called "weekend" and not vacation. I have gloried in my time away from work. However, come Monday, heaps of work will be waiting for me including about 2,000 e-mails.
This morning I watered the lawn, the flowers, the garden and fed the birds. Normally, these are all things that my dad does...but somehow I felt like doing them and I had the time. Of course, getting this close to flower beds, our strawberry bed and the garden reminded me that I also needed to do some weeding. So instead of grabbing my hoe, I grabbed my spade. You can weed faster and cover more ground with a shovel than a hoe.
We had Lisa come over and take care of dad's cat while we were in Montana, so we had dinner with Lisa last night at the Rice Bowl. It's always fun to eat with Lisa. She has great stories about her nephews, her dog and just the lay of the land in general. Her nephew is nearly 12 and wants to get on Facebook, the computer social network. I've been on Facebook since Easter, I think. And it's great fun.
I've posted about 90 pictures of our vacation on Facebook. However, mom's 80-some-year-old cousin Goldie who lives in an assisted living facility on Flathead Lake couldn't make the family reunion in Roundup so I had to write her a letter and send her some photos.
We took family photos at the reunion. We started with my mom's brother Earl's family. Earl died of a heart attack in the mid-1960s. So his family picture consisted of his widow surrounded by two sons and a daughter.
Next oldest was my mom who died in June 2006. So dad was in the center of the photo with two of his daughters and two of his sons. There were another 22 relatives in the picture, including my wife and two sons, just to make sure dad didn't get lonely.
No one from Vern's family was there. His widow lives in western Montana. He has a daughter who lives in Roundup but she didn't come to the reunion until she was literally dragged there by my wife and a cousin.
Then there was Ginny's family. Ginny lives in Billings in a nursing home. Her daughter Cindy, who also lives in Billings, brought her to Roundup. Ginny has suffered several strokes and will turn 81 years old in August. Anyway, she didn't like the hot sun so didn't stay too long after getting her picture taken with about 15 of her family including two sons and one daughter.
Next was Wayne's family. Wayne passed away last November and is really the reason we had a reunion at all. I've gotten tired of seeing my relatives only at funerals so decided that we should have a family reunion. That way we could take pictures of people who haven't been crying for the past two months. Anyway, Wayne's widow Betty was there with her son and daughter and some of their family. Her son Richie and I turned 50 -- I on July 17 and he on July 20. Betty was holding a new great-granddaughter in the photo. Too bad Wayne never got to see his first great-grandchild.
Next would have been my aunt Milly, but she too passed away about 20 years ago. So instead we took a picture of her only child, a skinny fellow named Billy. Billy is now in his mid-50s. He has done unbelievably well for himself considering that he was in special education all the way through school. He drives, lives in his own home and works for Albertson's in Billings. He is also married to a nice woman named Patty. Billy is missing something, however. His teeth. Think about having to gum your food from now until you die. That wouldn't be fun.
Finally, it was time for the baby of the family Harold, who is now 71. Harold and his wife Sharon are both still alive and very active. Harold is the grounds keeper at the golf course in Roundup and Sharon is still the bookkeeper/office manager at the family business, A&A Implement, which is now run by their son Dennis. Anyway, they had three of their daughters along with Dennis and their families. I told Harold and Sharon's kids to treasure that picture because someday they too will be posing with only one of their parents.
Anyhow...these are the random thoughts of my vacation. I'm glad I went, but I'm glad I'm back home. I just wish that I didn't have to go to work on Monday.
This morning I watered the lawn, the flowers, the garden and fed the birds. Normally, these are all things that my dad does...but somehow I felt like doing them and I had the time. Of course, getting this close to flower beds, our strawberry bed and the garden reminded me that I also needed to do some weeding. So instead of grabbing my hoe, I grabbed my spade. You can weed faster and cover more ground with a shovel than a hoe.
We had Lisa come over and take care of dad's cat while we were in Montana, so we had dinner with Lisa last night at the Rice Bowl. It's always fun to eat with Lisa. She has great stories about her nephews, her dog and just the lay of the land in general. Her nephew is nearly 12 and wants to get on Facebook, the computer social network. I've been on Facebook since Easter, I think. And it's great fun.
I've posted about 90 pictures of our vacation on Facebook. However, mom's 80-some-year-old cousin Goldie who lives in an assisted living facility on Flathead Lake couldn't make the family reunion in Roundup so I had to write her a letter and send her some photos.
We took family photos at the reunion. We started with my mom's brother Earl's family. Earl died of a heart attack in the mid-1960s. So his family picture consisted of his widow surrounded by two sons and a daughter.
Next oldest was my mom who died in June 2006. So dad was in the center of the photo with two of his daughters and two of his sons. There were another 22 relatives in the picture, including my wife and two sons, just to make sure dad didn't get lonely.
No one from Vern's family was there. His widow lives in western Montana. He has a daughter who lives in Roundup but she didn't come to the reunion until she was literally dragged there by my wife and a cousin.
Then there was Ginny's family. Ginny lives in Billings in a nursing home. Her daughter Cindy, who also lives in Billings, brought her to Roundup. Ginny has suffered several strokes and will turn 81 years old in August. Anyway, she didn't like the hot sun so didn't stay too long after getting her picture taken with about 15 of her family including two sons and one daughter.
Next was Wayne's family. Wayne passed away last November and is really the reason we had a reunion at all. I've gotten tired of seeing my relatives only at funerals so decided that we should have a family reunion. That way we could take pictures of people who haven't been crying for the past two months. Anyway, Wayne's widow Betty was there with her son and daughter and some of their family. Her son Richie and I turned 50 -- I on July 17 and he on July 20. Betty was holding a new great-granddaughter in the photo. Too bad Wayne never got to see his first great-grandchild.
Next would have been my aunt Milly, but she too passed away about 20 years ago. So instead we took a picture of her only child, a skinny fellow named Billy. Billy is now in his mid-50s. He has done unbelievably well for himself considering that he was in special education all the way through school. He drives, lives in his own home and works for Albertson's in Billings. He is also married to a nice woman named Patty. Billy is missing something, however. His teeth. Think about having to gum your food from now until you die. That wouldn't be fun.
Finally, it was time for the baby of the family Harold, who is now 71. Harold and his wife Sharon are both still alive and very active. Harold is the grounds keeper at the golf course in Roundup and Sharon is still the bookkeeper/office manager at the family business, A&A Implement, which is now run by their son Dennis. Anyway, they had three of their daughters along with Dennis and their families. I told Harold and Sharon's kids to treasure that picture because someday they too will be posing with only one of their parents.
Anyhow...these are the random thoughts of my vacation. I'm glad I went, but I'm glad I'm back home. I just wish that I didn't have to go to work on Monday.
