piece of cake

this is more than a hello kitty birthday cake.

it is a monument to great customer service.

my brother pj and i were picking up a cake for his eldest daughter's birthday gathering with her cousins this weekend.

unfortunately, a custom cake like the one his girl wanted required 24 hours notice.

well ... while we were contemplating buying the pieces and cobbling one together ourselves, a friend of the cake decorator visiting the counter at this west palm beach publix supermarket more or less goaded her into creating it by remarking how simple it would be to create it.

the decorator's friend was charming and helped run a family chain of sub shops. she hoped to start her own cake business.

all this i learned while she chatted up her buddy behind the counter.

in minutes, despite company policy, she put together a lovely confection that i hope would be a hit with pj's daughter and her cousins.

(actually, our whole experience at that publix was very nice. the cashier was chatty and kind and helpful in helping us not to damage the cake. she was most relieved the thanksgiving food rush was over.)

so thank you, "b" and your friend and colleagues at the publix. you really did make our shopping a pleasure.

road warrior 2: first concession

lolo and toboggan boy
Originally uploaded by grumpnet

dad's been my mentor for highway driving ever since i got my learner's permit.

by both example and word he taught me the rules of the road.

i learned strategy and technique and even philosophy with him in both the literal and metaphorical backseat.

(the sight of his head in my rearview mirror in those early days was most intimidating.)

while he, as i, could be guilty of impatience and pique behind the wheel, he showed what a joy the open road could be.

his best advice and antidote to road rage came on a stretch of i-95 southbound.

some driver was being a particular jerk and i was going to teach him a lesson.

dad saw what i was trying to do and cautioned me against such a dangerous and foolish attempt with four words: "the road is long."

and with that he nipped in the bud what could have been a protracted and stupid high-speed clash of egos.

i write all this because i was awakened on this holiday weekend's marathon drive by dad correcting himself from a steering error.

then, as i watched, he drifted into the next lane for no reason.

i told dad he was swerving and told him we should switch off at the next rest stop, which luckily was only a mile away.

that was the first time i'd ever sought to relieve him of his duty.

once home, as we got out of the car, he said, "you know, i thought i could drive all night," conceding that, at 74, he no longer could.

i think this was a bummer for both of us.

road warrior

road warrior
Originally uploaded by grumpnet

mama took this picture of the boy on the final leg of his first whirlwind marathon road trip with the fam.

the sun was peeking above the alleghenies between virginia and west virginia early saturday and he was ready to start the day after papa gassed up the yukon and bought some christmas presents at the hess station in wytheville.

he'd left his cousins a scant 12 hours before in west palm beach, fla., for the long journey into night. we'd spent all of maybe 30 hours on thanksgiving vacation there.

crazy? yes. but this is what our family does for a few moments of togetherness; he might as well be inculcated into this culture early.

for weeks, kris had worried about this trip.

and while i was impressed with his stamina for the long drive to myrtle beach this summer, i wasn't sure how he'd do on "the big one" that was essentially twice its length.

well, the boy acquitted himself more than nicely.

he slept for long stretches at a time with only a handful of brief crying jags that were remedied with a bottle or soothing words from his mom.

(of course, we were also blessed with a lack of catastrophic diaper incidents, so add that to the list of things we were grateful for this weekend.)

as we sat in the beckley ihop for a pancake breakfast a mere 13 hours later, i looked at our son happily burbling and looking around and thought, "he's in. he's a made man."

he took the toughest trip in the annual family itinerary and came out smiling.

i told dad that this was the first thing i'd ever been proud of him for.

pig. out.

i don't think i've ever had a bad thanksgiving day dinner. (just one more thing to be thankful for.)

that said, i pretty much eat only one plate filled with samples of the bounteous feast set before me.

this is usually enough to fill me up once i have a dessert sampler to go with it.

and that's a shame.

i really wish i could pig out with at least second helpings, but i can't. i get full and the pleasure of eating is over. discomfort can only follow another mouthful.

i suppose i could limit myself to say, the basics -- turkey, corn, potatoes, cranberry sauce and stuffing.

a "slim" menu like that, though, leaves out ham, sweet potato pie, green beans, bread and more.

too bad i like tasting as much as i like eating.

oh, well. gluttony just isn't as attractive to me as it once was.

what a pity.

whoa

kris and i took a moment to marvel today at how big our boy is getting and how he's ready to move to the next size car seat.

now, as i wind down with some laundry and dishwashing, it occurs to me that i don't think i took any pictures of the boy this week.

this is what they talk about when parents say the time goes fast.

i'm spending the week wishing the three of us would get over our various colds and infections, which also means i'm kind of wishing the days away.

we wonder and dream about his future while we wistfully hold on to a present that quickly becomes his past.

each day has had its challenge; each triumph, big or little, has been richly and wondrously fulfilling.