From Friday To Father's Day... Fantastic

Picture if you will the beginning of a movie or TV show that begins with the main character in a place or situation that seems very strange, unusual and possibly perilous. You are confused and not sure if you missed something.  How did he or she get there? What happened? 

All of a sudden the scene ends; fade out. A graphic comes up that reads:"3 days earlier". You then see what happens to create that initial scene. 

For me, as I sit here typing this on the night of Sunday, June 16 I want to stop and go back.  Return to "72 hours earlier" What a great 3 days it was. 

This past Friday morning was the last day of VBS at Oakland Baptist Church. I've already explained what that meant to me in the previous post. 

That afternoon I drove into Bowling Green, paid some bills and did some grocery shopping. But my biggest purchase was a new gas grill. More on that later. 

Of course, Friday night was the closing ceremonies for Oakland Baptist's VBS. The biggest part of my night was spent counting that evening's offering. It needed to be counted quickly to determine if the week's total added up to $3000 or more. Because it did our pastor, Tim, true to his promise got a Mohawk hair cut. 

On Saturday morning I went to our local Best Buy and had my new car radio installed. It's a JVC and a Father's Day present from my very generous wife. 

I now have the means of listening to my XM radio and my Ipod, through my car speakers, by plugging them directly into the radio. I can say "good-bye" to my FM transmitter and trying to find a frequency that doesn't have a local station or gets bleed over from one. You have no idea how happy this makes me. 

The real surprise of the morning made me even happier. I was invited to go to breakfast with James, Brandi and, the delight of my heart, Aria Nicole. 

We went to Waffle House along with Brandi's mom & sister. Aria had a bit of a tummy issue (I won't go into details) but otherwise was her usual delightful self. 

After breakfast, I did some more grocery shopping (Sam's Club & Kroger) before I went home. 

When I got home my beautiful granddaughter was there. Her "mommy" and "daddy" went on an afternoon movie date so "Nana" and "Papa" got to spend time with her. 

I shared a chocolate coated vanilla ice cream snack with her. At first it was a bit too big for her little mouth. She didn't like the feel of the cold on her cheeks. I broke off pieces of the coating and fed them to her. She liked the chocolate. Finally, she was able to enjoy it like any kid should; by licking it with her very own tongue. 

Sharing ice cream with my granddaughter for the first time is one of the best memories of the year so far.

Saturday night Paula and I watched the first 2 parts of a 7 part miniseries from Netflix: Top of The Lake. It originally aired on the BBC America and is very hard to describe. 
Oscar winner Holly Hunter plays a very strange character. 

Even after 2 one-hour episodes we're not sure if we like the show or not. But whether we consider it compelling or a"car wreck" we both agree, we want to see more before passing our "final judgement". 

Sunday was Father's Day and I got the chance to honor my own father by showing the kids of my church the display I had made earlier this year. I used it as an illustration during the Children's Sermon. 

The framed documents include:a picture of my dad at his drafting table; the bill sent to the American League office from when dad measured out the field in Yankee Stadium on April 7, 1968; a picture of the umpire he helped at the stadium; and a panoramic shot of Yankees Stadium circa 1968.  I'm very proud of that framed display and of my dad's "15 minutes of fame." 

I spent the afternoon one of the ways I love to spend a Sunday afternoons: with my family. 

Michael, Heather, James, Brandi and Aria came to spend Father's Day with me. I got a Lego Empire State Building kit (thank you Michael & Heather)  and yet another afternoon with my the light of my life, Aria (thank you James & Brandi) for Father's Day. 

Of course any get together with the kids always has to include food and this day was no different. I promised grilled hamburgers for dinner. 

These burgers would be special. They would be the last  cooked on our first family grill.  This last cookout ended in a very poetic way.

 After the burgers were cooking for about 20 minutes. I planned on keeping them going for another 5. But when I went to turn them for the last time I discovered that flames had gone out and the propane tank was empty.  

Perhaps I'm being a bit too sentimental but the demise of that grill has significance for me. It is has been part of many many good times here at our home. But it was 10 years old, rusty and  had shown signs of not being safe to use anymore. It was time to let it go. 

The grill I bought on Friday has a bigger cooking area and twice as many burners. It's going to make grilling my special stakes for the family a lot easier. 

I was worried that the burgers were a bit under cooked, but they were very good. The family devoured 10 of the 14 I grilled. 

After dinner we sat in the living room and talked. Michael and James watched a really weird movie, Silent Hill: Revelation, on Netflix and napped. The rest of us talked and played with Aria. 

By 7 o'clock the kids had left. Paula and I spent the rest of the night just watching TV and chillin . 

And that brings me back to where I started. Sitting on the couch writing this post. 

My recollections of the past 3 days may not seem very exciting to you but for me they were fantastic. I got to spend time with the people who make a difference in my life and doing the things that I love. I am truly blessed.