TG and me with five of the eight
A few weeks ago, our grandson Guy turned one year old.
We all went to Knoxville for his birthday party, which was held at the home of Brittany's dad, Scott, and stepmom, Karen.
Their house is beautiful and they were so gracious. There was a mountain of fabulous grilled meat, including chicken and ribs. And there were cowboy beans and mac and cheese and other succulent delights.
There were loads of balloons
Baby Guy began walking several weeks ago and was toddling all over the place.
Ember, who will turn five in December, is an even bigger big sister than she used to be.
Since Andrew is a pilot, the theme was aviation. Brittany had thought of everything. In the foyer, she had custom-made cookies arranged atop an old suitcase.
Passenger Guy, Destination One Year
There were clever touches such as a wheeled cart containing an assortment of single-serving chip bags, with a sign reading In-Flight Snacks.
On the kitchen island was another sign designating the area as the Fueling Station. Adorable.
Many of Brittany's family members were there, and it was good to see all of them again.
Ember was caught up in the spirit of things
TG and I traveled to Knoxville the day before, arriving around dinnertime, and enjoyed a pleasant evening meal and a restful night of sleep.
At our age, approaching big events slowly and deliberately has become paramount. Nothing sudden. IYKYK.
The others -- the Chericas (Chad, Erica, Rhett, and Elliot a/k/a Skippy) and Maudag (Mike, Audrey, and Dagny) -- got up early on Saturday morning and made the four-hour trip in time for the party's one o'clock start.
There were in-flight snacks
After lunch, Andrew and Brittany presented Guy with his smash cake. There was a single candle on top and at first it startled him and there were a few tears.
But the candle was blown out and then removed, and Guy extended a curious hand and extracted a hunk of cake and frosting, and tasted it, and quickly got into the spirit of the occasion.
Cupcakes were provided for everyone else and it was such a good time.
Guy was wished a happy birthday in such cute ways
Then the party repaired out to the patio where Andrew assembled all of Guy's birthday presents and everyone was chatting and visiting.
A kiddie pool and some water toys kept the smaller children busy for a good while.
Our handsome Andrew is a proud and loving dad
Towards the end of Baby Guy's birthday party, after Audrey and I had folded all of the gift bags that we could, and smoothed all the tissue paper that was salvageable, something about which I am obsessive at every party, I insisted on getting some pictures of me and TG with the five of our grandchildren who were there.
The mini-shoot resulted in some great pictures and I'm so glad that we did that.
Well hey little feller
Later, TG and I plus Maudag, who were staying at the same hotel as us, returned there so that Mike could check himself into his room and Audrey and Dagny into theirs.
Andrew joined us with Guy and Ember, and we got coffee and all sat in the hotel lobby for a few hours, talking and visiting some more.
Brittany had thought of everything
Brittany went home as she had some school assignments that needed her attention, and she welcomed the hours of silence.
After a quiet evening and another good night's sleep, all of us from Columbia got up, got ready for church, packed up, checked out of our rooms, and went to Sunday morning service at Temple Baptist Church, where TG and I and our children were members for several years in the '90s.
Guy was fascinated by this balloon display
We saw many old friends and even a few family members there, and it was a great service with beautiful music and excellent preaching, and we enjoyed it.
After that the children were cranky with fatigue and hunger, so we all descended on Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen for lunch.
There was a brief wait to be seated but once we were, the food was delicious. Everyone got full. Then it was time to head home.
There were a few tears as the candle was extinguished
Before the trip got really good and underway, we all stopped at the new Bucc-ee's Sevierville location, to change clothes and get cold drinks and prepare for the drive.
The trip through the Smoky Mountains was uneventful and we reached home around eight o'clock that evening.
Speaking of the Smokies (sort of), a day or so before we left for Knoxville, my dear friend Marsha had a birthday.
This cake is really quite good
She was recovering from surgery and was off work for several weeks, so one day when she was feeling stronger, we had her over to have a proper celebration.
Audrey and Dagny came too because they also love Marsha.
We had refreshments -- I'd made chicken salad -- and after that, we had some gifts for Marsha. She said she had a good time and wished us well on our trip to Tennessee.
Before our trip, we celebrated our friend Marsha
Marsha loves Tennessee, loves the Smokies, and would like to live there after she retires. She goes to Pigeon Forge on vacation every year and really gets into the whole vibe.
That's why for one of her gifts, I gave her a throw pillow with the white tri-star design of the Tennessee state flag, only set in orange, because like my own Andrew, she is a huge Vols football fan.
(The Volunteers are the teams of the University of Tennessee. Go Big Orange.)
Go Vols ... Go Big Orange
But back to our Knoxville trip, what a blessing to be with Andrew, Brittany, Ember, and Guy for our grandson's first birthday.
Fun Fact: Guy was born forty-five years to the day from TG's and my first date.
That's right! Our first date was on Thursday, August 24, 1978. Guy was born on Thursday, August 24, 2023.
Guy was ready for some pool splashing
On that warm night in Chicago, on an ordinary Thursday, on a first date, I couldn't possibly have imagined that forty-five years in the future to the very day, our third grandson would be born.
On that night in the summer of 1978, TG took me to old Comiskey Park on the south side of Chicago, for a major league baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and the Kansas City Royals.
But there were many presents to open
I still have the shirt that TG wore that night. He looked so handsome in it.
(It wasn't official Cub fan gear; we weren't Cub fans then. That happened later for TG and much later for me.)
I had never been to a professional sporting event of any kind before that night.
We gave him this pilot hat and a book about planes
TG was not particularly a White Sox fan either, but he loved baseball and attending the game made sense to him for a first date.
He tried to explain some things about baseball to me, by way of making conversation, but little if any of it sank in. I know this because decades later, he had to explain it all again. I think I've got it now.
We also got him this outfit for cooler weather
(Batting Average should be .300 or higher. Earned Run Average -- that's for pitchers -- should be under 3.00 ... don't get those decimal points in the wrong place and whatever you do, don't get the under/overs confused.)
That reminds me of something my Mamaw said many decades ago. Her youngest son and my mother's youngest brother, my beloved Uncle Dodie, had played golf with some friends. Duffers all.
Dagny made sure she got to squeeze her baby cousin
They played an eighteen-hole course with a par of seventy-two.
When he got home, Mamaw asked Dodie what the score was. He told her that he shot over one hundred but that his friends had shot in the nineties.
Mike caught Audrey and me doing good
That's good, baby, she said. You won.
She went to a professional baseball game once too. At the seventh inning stretch, she stood with the crowd, gathered up her purse, and said Thank the Lord that's over.
Me and five of my grandbabies
Mamaw was a hoot. But not a sports fan.
And that's okay.
As for TG and me, we are most definitely sports fans. I limit my enthusiasm to baseball, specifically the Chicago Cubs and occasionally the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Yankees.
Dagny squeezed Ember at a Starbucks
TG likes and follows lots of sports, but will no longer watch the NFL and rarely the NBA. You know why.
But baseball we can agree on, which is why in a few days we are headed up to Chicago to take in two late-season games at iconic Wrigley Field.
(We will definitely both be decked out in official Cub fan gear. We've each got lots.)
Dagny posed with one of the lions outside the church
Wrigley Field -- a/k/a The Friendly Confines -- is one of only three original ballparks in America. As in, it's never been torn down and replaced with a newer, more modern one.
Do you know the other two ballparks in America that can make the same claim? I regret to say that I have never been to either of them (for a game; we have toured one of them), but while there's life, there's hope.
If you know which two they are, without looking it up, tell me in the comments.
Skippy contemplates the menu at Cheddar's
And even if you have to look it up, tell me in the comments.
Meanwhile we're having some beautiful weather here, no longer sweltering. Speaking of firsts, be it birthdays or dates, the first day of fall is a mere eleven days away.
He was born 45 years to the day after our first date
Speaking of eleven, today is nine eleven.
Never forget.
On the twenty-third anniversary of that awful and heartbreaking day, may God bless America and confound her enemies both foreign and domestic. Especially domestic.
And that is all for now.
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Happy Wednesday
