Lucky

 It was a short but action packed weekend. We got to 'party central' about 2pm, Friday. There was a lot going on, so we went out to dinner Friday night, to a little Mexican restaurant. It was nice to visit with my son. It's been a long time since we really had time to sit down and visit. The last time I was there, he was away on a business trip. 

Dylan will be heading out again for a week in September. He designed a system for a major drug manufacturer that has won a national award. He will go to California to receive it. The cool thing about this is that his company sees world wide application for this, and it has the potential to be used by thousands of companies. Pretty exciting. It was the first project he was handed after being hired by his company, and he poured three years into it, between the design and the finetuning required as the system went on line. I know it is something that he is relieved to be done with, and the 'buzz' is the icing on the cake. We are very proud and happy for him. 

After dinner, Brittani had a project of her own to do. She had to put together the cakes for the birthday party. 

Yes. CakeS. With an 's'. 

The five year old had requested a Frozen theme cake, so this was a four layer sponge cake with blueberry compote between the layers and a homemade butter cream blue frosting that was to die for. There was a spray edible glitter and marzipan snowflakes on the side. White chocolate covered the top of the cake and dripped down the side like melting snow. Atop the cake was a blue 'ice' castle and Elsa and Anna along with Olaf and Sven. 

The baby has turned one. She likes bananas. She got a two layer banana cake with chocolate ganache in the middle and a buttercream frosting, trimmed out in pink. 

The THIRD cake was a small banana cake, the 'smash cake', the cake given to the baby for her very own demolition. 

Saturday was the big day. The party venue was at a trampoline park with climbing walls, ziplines, rope walkways, 'ninja warrior' challenges and a go kart track in addition to the ballpits and trampolines. It was loud and pulsing with lights. The kids loved it.

Iris is a very alert little five year old. Tim and I did not want to buy them toys. They have just about every toy known to man, so we got them a year's membership to the Philadelphia zoo. It gives them free admission and free parking for a year. She must not have understood this. 

I started this thing when she was young. When her parents went out and it was just her and I, to help her feel comfortable, I often pretended to 'forget' things so that she could explain to me how they were done. Initially, I thought this was a good way to make her feel comfortable around me. I live five hours away, and she doesn't see me every day. I'm pretty convincing because little Iris later confided in her parents 'Grandma is VERY forgetful.' 

After opening her gifts, she told me, "Grandma. I didn't get a gift from you!" I laughed. I'm sure she thought forgetful grandma had struck again. I explained about the zoo. 

I'm sure she didn't understand this completely, but the good news is that they all went to the zoo the afternoon that we left, She got to feed the giraffe. I'm sure that made her feel much better about her forgetful grandma. 

We headed out Sunday before breakfast. We stopped at Cabela's. Just to look, don't you know. Tim ended up buying a four night stay at a lodge in the Smokey mountains. He wants to go in the fall. (I was as dumbfounded as you are.) We had a leisurely lunch and then we headed out. 

It turned out to be a much longer day than we thought. Half way home, the low tire pressure light came on, so Tim pulled off the interstate. The tire was low, so he put air in. We once again headed out, but within just a few minutes, the tire was going low again. We pulled off the insterstate once again. This time the tire was positioned so that you could see the nail in it. 

The trunk was unpacked. We had never had to use the jack before. It was a feeble and inadequate thing that actually folded over under the weight of the car, which left us in quite a pickle. Much to our surprise, a big truck pulled up and a man said, "Do you need help?" 

Tim said, "Do you have a jack?" 

The man laughed. "I sure do. That one is junk, isn't it?" He lived across the road and he scooted right over and came back with an industrial jack. Tim jacked the car up quickly, pulled the flat off and reached for the 'donut'. The man said, "We can fix that tire if you want," gesturing at the flat. Tim agreed quickly. A 'donut' is a small spare designed for emergency use, something to get you to the tire shop. It is not something that you want to be driving two hours on. 

Tim and the guy headed off in the truck. William and I waited in the shade. Someone else pulled up to make sure we were okay. We chatted a while as we waited. 

It wasn't long and Tim and Roy were back with the repaired tire. We slapped it on and just that quick we were on our way again. Roy did not want any money for his help. He said easily, "I am the luckiest man in the world. A year and a half ago, I was dying. I got a kidney transplant. No matter how much I do for anybody else, it will never be payment enough for what I've been given." 

We drove off feeling quite good about people in general, and it's been a while since I've felt that way. In fact that very morning, there was a van parked in front of the Cabela's. He was selling flags and tee-shirts and the like. They flapped gaily in the wind sending their message: "F___ Joe Biden!" 

How on earth anyone can see Trump as any kind of a hero is beyond me. 

The man waved and yelled to us. I waved too, but I didn't use all my fingers. William gasped "Grandma!" from the back seat in a shocked voice.  I was ashamed. It was pure impulse, and it was rude. Every bit as rude as the message on those flags. I had descended to his level, and that's not a thing to be proud of. 

So. I had a pretty low opinion of humanity yesterday, my own humanity included. Meeting the luckiest man in the world was just what I needed.  I had gone just as flat as that tire.