Black Friday, mid morning, in the car on our way to Ollies. “Ash,” I started, “when we get to Ollies, daddy wants to show me a couple of items. Can you please take Ren to the T-O-Y section?”
Read MoreB and I heard Ren jump out of his bed and land hard on the floor. “Uh oh.”
B said, “Pretend you’re asleep.”
On our staycation, we decided to take one night at a hotel and visit Knoebels Amusement Park in central Pennsylvania as part of Ren’s 6th Birthday Celebration...
Read MoreEarly this morning, Ren crawled in bed with me, not something he does every night...anymore. I looked at the clock and thought of early Thanksgiving mornings a few decades ago years ago when my mother was already out of bed to get the turkey in the oven. By the time the rest of the family woke a couple hours later, the house would be filled with the aroma of roasting turkey. And just a few more hours after that, around the formal dining table set with my mother’s finest china and silver, we would all take turns stating what we were most thankful for. Then we would dive into a very traditional Thanksgiving dinner.
Read MoreThe Groshongs have been hit with a vile bug...Ren got it first followed by the rest of us. Of course he flew through it in 24 hrs, which makes him the healthiest of all of us, and officially in charge.
Read MoreOur 21st Wedding Anniversary was suddenly upon us. We made no plans to celebrate the fact that if our marriage were a person, he was now legal to drink alcohol in all 50 United States.
The big day fell on a Thursday. We needed to leave the office an hour earlier than normal to pick the kids up from school rather than let them ride the bus home. Ash’s violin tutor was coming at 4 pm, a half hour earlier than the kids would get home if they rode the bus. Then B had a 5 pm meeting back at the church and band practice until 10 pm. It would not be a romantic, carefree day spent toasting our love and reciting poetry to each other. We spent the day at work, where once again, I was up against deadlines and moving as quickly and efficiently as possible.
“Have you eaten lunch?” B asked me as we passed each other in the hall.
Ash and Ren ride the twisting Monster Octopus attraction together because Ash is responsible enough to take Ren on the ride by herself and neither B nor I can stand all the spinning—oh yeah, it’s an age thing. They run in line, board right away and laugh and spin for the next fewminutes. As soon as they get off, they run across the walkway where B and I are relaxing on a bench in the shade. “We wanna go again.”
Read MoreJust last week, Ash announced, “Santa gives socks to those who are naughty. I’m nice.” I challenged her, “Are you really nice?”
Read MoreLast week B and I found ourselves in New York City. It’s not like we suddenly woke up from an unknowing slumber in a strange and distant land, or that we were on a walkabout and this was our final destination. This journey was planned. In fact in the days leading to the BIG day, we spent time looking at maps and ferry and bus schedules, so much so that when the BIG day finally arrived, we were very confident that we could navigate our way across the island of Manhattan with ease. It was almost as though we felt we ourselves were New Yorkers. Oh, yes, residents. Nay, natives.
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