David and Lindsay were scheduled to go to California to stay with the hippies, Elizabeth and Sutton, for a few days, but things fell through when the governor of California tightened things up again because of the coronavirus. Lindsay was going to sing two “gigs” with them. Her peeps are disappointed. The entire San Diego area let out a collective groan when they heard the news. It could be heard from as far away as Bakersfield.
Ruth and I agreed to stay with Brady and Eva for a couple of days. We arrived Wednesday evening and left Saturday. Their cousin, Jamie, will be staying the final two nights. Since the child care issue had previously been resolved, they opted to still take a “get away” but decided to travel closer to home. They headed to the U.P. Here’s a few things I learned during our stay.
Lindsay and Brady pulled in the drive right behind Ruth and me on Wednesday. They shared big news. Brady passed the road work portion of driver’s training. If he passed Friday’s written exam, he’d have his permit and be ready to drive.- Before the couple headed north, Brady, David and I golfed at the course where Brady works. It’s in great shape. The sand traps that Brady manicures are especially nice. Brady wanted to “bet” on our play. Me vs. him. We established the parameters, and played eleven of the eighteen holes before hitting a log jam and stopping play. He was down a couple dollars at the time and declared the match null and void since “we didn’t play all eighteen”. That was his loophole. I’ll close all loopholes before we play again.
- The bidet in the guest bath has a hair trigger. I barely touched it and it shot off like gangbusters. Fortunately, I’ve been there, done that, so I was able to defuse the situation before it got out of control.
- While looking for a towel for my shower on Thursday morning, I found a package of Twizzlers in the towel basket. This takes David’s propensity for hiding his candy to a new level. His bathroom = his Twizzlers.
- I’ll be taking my glasses into the guest shower from now on. I could make out the word “shampoo” on the bottle at the bottom of the shower floor. Unfortunately, the long haired beauty on the bottle turned out to be a dog rather than a lovely girl as I originally thought. On the plus side I won’t be “shedding” as much.
- Eva, Ruth and I looked at houses for sale in the Holland area on Thursday afternoon. An out of town relative is considering a move. We saw some great houses and will continue to help in the search. After seeing three we went shopping to pick up a few things. We went to CVS, HomeGoods, and Barnes and Noble. They shopped. I chauffeured..
- Meanwhile, Brady went to HEAT (a conditioning program held on the football field) at 7:30 a.m., followed by driver’s education, a pick-up basketball game, and then he threw passes for an hour to prospective wide-outs on this year’s football team.
- The three of us played cards during the evening while Brady was out with friends. We played a modified version of UNO, kept track of the winner of each round, and the first player to win three rounds was declared the overall winner. Eva won the first and sixth, Ruth the second and third. I won the fourth and fifth. It was very exciting. Eva videoed the Championship match which I won. There’s a parade for me in Hamilton on Monday to celebrate the event. Highlights from the UNO video will be shown on ESPN right after the checkers championship match next month. The sports world is running out of things to broadcast.
- Eva went shopping with friends on Friday. Brady worked at the golf course from 7:00 to 10:30, driver’s ed from 11:00 to 1:00, and came home with his driver’s permit. (God help us all.) Meanwhile, Ruth went to see another house that came on the market the prior evening. She arrived at 11:00 and was told that the couple would be accepting offers until 2:00. We believe that home sold for $25,000 over the list price.
- With that in mind, Brady, Ruth and I went to revisit a house from the prior day. Brady drove. He has a heavy foot, but other than that all went well. We drove through an entire subdivision built around a golf course in Saugatuck. We saw nothing but high end, beautiful homes. Brady remarked, “This is the type of home that I’m gonna own. I’m gonna make bank and buy one.” (I’ll live in his basement.)
- We planned to take both of the kids golfing late Friday afternoon, but Eva got home later than we thought she would and then a storm hit. It ended up raining most of the night. Brady went to bed early and slept fifteen hours. Eva logged almost twelve herself. Teens need their sleep, so they slept.
- Saturday morning we ate breakfast in shifts. Each of us fended for ourselves. I think they operate that way most mornings, so we joined in their routine. Eva makes smoothies. Brady is a free range grazer. If he sees it, he eats it. Just before we left Brady ordered “wings” for himself and Eva. They were to be delivered by Grub Hub. We left before they arrived. Brady used his debit card to add a $10.00 tip to the $6.50 delivery fee. Very generous. If the boy orders food like that often, he’s going to have to make bank.
When we used to stay with the kids, they wanted us to play with them. We were beat after each visit, but enjoyed each minute. They don’t need us as playmates any longer. We both enjoy their company and love seeing the young adults they are becoming. They are creating their own lives, expanding their personal skill sets, pursuing their own interests, and we were on hand to make sure that they stay on the path that they and their parents have developed. So far, so good.