A nostalgia-filled day

 

Jacob on the left, and his buddies at the pool

Jacob Burton will be sixteen on Monday—yes, driver’s license and all that goes with that significant birthday. Today was his “party,”—swimming at the neighbor’s pool, with three of his buddies and a very few of Jordan and Christian’s friends who have been close to him as he grew. Christian grilled hamburgers—and sent one home to me—and I gather they all had a good time. One of Jordan’s friends presented Jacob with a clever gift—a picture frame into which she inserted her own material. The heading was something like, “In case of ….” And then there were a variety of suggestions of troubles each accompanied by a couple of twenties. At the bottom it said “Break glass.” The giver, a girl I’m fond of, requested a picture of Jacob and me with the plaque or whatever you would call it.

I was not invited to the pool party. I’m quite sure that is because I would not have gone—can’t get into a pool anymore, never liked lying out in the sun (why do they all say laying out—so wrong!). So while they were swimming, I had a long visit with Carole Tayman, Bill Sheridan, and my goddaughter Kate. My Tex-Mex casserole was a hit, but it wasn’t enough to lure them to retirement in Fort Worth. Carole said if the weather was not so beastly hot this week, they probably would have considered it. My protests that this is unusual fell on deaf ears. They are not coming to Fort Worth, even though one of Carole’s friends this week urged her by saying, “We need your vote.”

And yes, we talked politics. We have all long since been on the same page. Back when they lived here, Roe v. Wade was also under attack, and Carole was a big proponent of the single-issue vote. Even though we agreed today, we brought different viewpoints and bits of knowledge to the table, so it was an interesting discussion.

And Carole had a long list of people she remembered from the eighties and nineties—she wanted to know what happened to them. As I retold the stories, we all realized how many people from those days are gone now. I shed a few tears and laughed a lot. She told a funny story about my Jamie, in high school, staging the house so his friends would be impressed. And it turns out thanks to Kate they had discovered a wonderful, off-the-beaten-track taco restaurant they visited twice. None other than Jamie’s longtime favorite, Ernesto’s.

It was a good visit. Was it yesterday in the blog that I quoted someone who said one of the dangers of retirement is feeling like you don’t matter? These are people who make me feel that I matter—and they mean a great deal to me.

After they left to go to the final session of the competition, I tidied the kitchen—I’m a speed master at that—and worked for a couple of hours, then a long, satisfying nap. And for supper tonight, the cheeseburgers from Jacob’s party You can see it flung on my desk in a baggie in the picture with Jacob. When I said, “I guess it comes with no trimmings,” Jacob laughed. I “trimmed” it with lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise, and left it on the cutting board for just a minute. Turned just in time to see Sophie reach for it and miss. I scolded long and hard, and she’s been sort of hangdog ever since. But I was really looking forward to that burger and would have been sorely disappointed if she got it. It was really good.

Finished a project tonight, so I’m feeling a bit smug. May read the rest of the evening.

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads, single dads, adopted dads, almost-dads, next-door dads, wherever you are!