Let the Fun Begin!

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Niece Julie and I had finished half our breakfast when John and grandson Nathaniel arrived from New York. It took them about 16 hours to drive here from Long Island. Julie and I eat slowly, so they soon caught up, and we had fruit together. To celebrate Nathaniel’s recent 18th birthday, Julie gave him a couple of baking gadgets. One I’d never seen before – a pastry marker.

021718 N open pastry guide.JPG

After the meal, Nathaniel announced it was time for the mirror ritual. He pointed out where it should go so that he could see his face instead of his belt. After moving it up, he was satisfied. He will reverse the ritual when he leaves.

John had taken only two short naps on the drive down, so while he slept, we went to Waynesville to an art shop. Julie waited in the background as the artist signed the place mats she bought for her house-mate, Patty. The artist was a lot of fun, telling us that she is an up-and-coming artist. If we bought her work as an investment, we might make a lot of money. She also pointed out that burying a mayonnaise jar full of money in the backyard might be just as remunerative.

021718 Artist signs placemats Julie bought.JPG

We couldn’t resist the photo board outside the shop, both of us women taking a turn with Nathaniel.

We laughed ourselves silly over a roast pork dinner. Nathaniel, who pretends to hate puns, declared he would not bake the promised Black Forest Cake if Grandpa made 20 puns that day. In a matter of minutes John racked up 13 points. He argued that each of Nathaniel’s puns should take a point off. By 9 pm the count was 18. John made one final pun that sent grandson reeling off to bed. They were talking about vintage cars. John said, in light of Nathaniel’s planned career, he should have a chef-fer for his car.

Published by Anne Mehrling

I'm a retiree who loves to write about life in the mountains of North Carolina.

Published

25 thoughts on “Let the Fun Begin!”

  6. The few posts I’ve read of yours so far ( went back and read some older posts as well when I first followed you) tells me you are fun-loving family. Even though you are scattered apart, you still get together … that is a wonderful thing. Enjoy them.

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    1. All of John’s family lived in the same town until the next generation began to go out on their own. One sister still lives on Long Island. The other is now near Charleston SC. All but one of our nieces have scattered. Most of us were together for a wedding a year ago. We treasure the time we have together. Do you have siblings or cousins?

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      1. I am envious of people with large families, especially at holiday times. No, I don’t have any siblings. My mom passed away in 2010 and my father decided he did not want to be part of the family and announced he was leaving on Christmas Day 1983. He would be 92 years old and I believe living in Germany, where he was born and raised and lived until his late-20s. I have friends who are interested in genealogy and they have traced my family tree to see if he is still alive. They could not find the info, however, in the last two weeks, my one high school friend who lives in Honeoye Falls , NY has traced nearly every descendant of hers, on both sides, back to the 1700s. She is now tracing some relatives in Germany and found a genealogist who has offered to check information for her for free … he is retired and enjoys the “challenge” … she asked on my behalf if he could check if my father is still alive. I sent him verification of my relationship to him on February 8th and it takes 2-4 weeks for the death record information to come back to him. It would give me peace of mind to know he is no longer living … he caused much heartache to my mom by emptying the bank account and annuity account (both joint accounts) … then left the country. This was after 30 years of marriage. Very sad situation. My mom has a brother but he lives in Northern Canada and has for decades. I only saw him/his family three times … the funerals of my maternal grandparents and my grandmother’s 80th birthday party. We do not now or have we ever kept in touch. Having a family is so important … luckily I had family members when I was growing up. Consider yourself blessed to be able to enjoy yours, especially when you have family get togethers like the wedding last year.

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        1. That is so sad that you dad did such a thing to you and your mother.

          I value family because we had so few members of ours. My parents each had one brother, neither of whom had children. Therefore, I had no first cousins. I loved watching my three grow up with six first cousins in the same town. Two others were in NC, and they had more contact when they were older.

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          1. Yes, it was and after thirty years of marriage no less. I have only disgust for him now.

            It is great that your three children grew up with their first cousins in the same town … those childhood memories growing up together will live in their hearts forever. That is the way that families are supposed to be.

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  8. Ah, the mirror ritual again! When is he gonna stop growing, BTW? Oh, where on Long Island? 16 hours?!!!! And I feel it takes long just going from La Guardia to Southampton 4 hours on the jitney! (when I go to visit my son) Silly me!!! But I’ve never been one for really long drives. John obviously doesn’t mind. Sure gives him & grandson lots of bonding time!

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    1. Nathaniel may have stopped his upward ascent. He is 6′ 5″. He lives in Centereach. We used to live in Stony Brook. John likes driving, thankfully. Southampton seems on the other end of nowhere to me. We stayed mostly on the north shore.

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    1. Nathaniel knows John loves Black Forest Cake, and that is what he is making. He baked the three layers yesterday and is soaking cherries in liquor now. I hope we restrain ourselves and eat small slices to make it last as long as possible.

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