Happy Birthday Mom, a 38, and QT With James

3-29-12   

    Yesterday was my Mom’s birthday.  We were able to chat face to face on FaceTime last night for a good thirty or forty minutes.  Bev was there with Erica (they left early on a trip to Washington for volleyball today), so we got to visit with them, too.  Dad made mom breakfast, took her to lunch, and then they watched the movie The Vow.  She got to speak with all three of her children, so she said it was a great day.  Happy birthday, Mom!
    I played golf yesterday with Bruce and C.J. They played a full eighteen, but I met them on #5.  I shot a 38 on the back nine!  I missed a 37, my best score ever on nine holes, by an inch on the right side for a birdie on #18. More on that later.
    Next on my to do list, though, is my trip with James to Long Beach.  He originally wanted to...

go with two friends and drive.  That did not work out.  We didn’t want him to take our van; it seemed risky, and his two friends ended up not being able to go after all.
    The only way he could go was to have one of us go with him, so I went.  He went for a trading card collectors’ competition and event at the Long Beach Convention Center.  His mood went from curiosity to humiliation and humility to acceptance, and then it switched to satisfaction and finally ended with excitement.  He might change some of those around, but I got it right from my point of view.
    The best part, as far as I am concerned, was the quality time I was able to spend with my only son who leaves for a college down at the bottom of our state (NMSU) this fall.  We had time together in the truck on the way to Albuquerque, on the plane to Salt Lake, on the plane to Long Beach, in the hotels where we stayed, at meals, at the Convention Center, etc.  I greatly enjoyed our time together, and I am thrilled that it worked out the way it did.

More on our trip in the next post...