Sometimes coloring outside the lines is hard for me. The General and I had plans to attend a wedding on Sunday afternoon about an hour from where our son and his family live. Our plan was to rush from church and hope to make it to the wedding on time. We the would drive back home. It was a crazy plan.
Actually that was my plan. The General's plan was for us to spend the night in Cat Spring and visit our son and his family. What she didn't know is that I had a routine doctor's appointment scheduled for this morning. It has been on my calendar for six months.
It was out of character for me, but I suggested around noon on Saturday that we call Craig and ask if it was convenient for us to come? We could take them to dinner on Saturday night. As it turned out, his kids were all home and he thought it was a good plan.
At the time, I hadn't given a lot of thought to yesterday being Mother's Day. As it turned out, being surrounded by grandchildren was rejuvenating for the General. Okay, so I'm not purposely playing it cool. It was good for me as well.
The General is in her element when we are with family. I'm not suggesting that she tires of my company, but as grandkids get older, the likelihood of them being available becomes more of a challenge. What not take advantage of every opportunity?
Okay, so we felt a little guilty about missing church in Henly. Being present on Sunday has been a priority for us for decades. We miss out on something good when we aren't present. So, it was a trade-off for us. It actually was a good choice.
Strange the things that pop into my head, but I thought about Tom T. Hall and his song: "Old Dogs and Children and Watermelon Wine. Do you remember the lyrics?
"How old do you think I am?" he said
I said, "Well I don't know."
He said, "I turned 65 about 11 months ago"
I was sittin' in Miami pourin blended whiskey down
When this old gray Black gentlemen was clean' up the lounge
There wasn't anyone around 'cept this old man and me
The guy who ran the bar was watchin' "Ironsides" on TV
Uninvited, he sat down and opened up his mind
On old dogs and children, and watermelon wine
:"
"Ever had a drink of watermelon wine?" he asked
He told me all about it, though I didn't answer back
"Ain't but three things in this world that worth a solitary dime
But old dogs and children, and watermelon wine"
He said: "Women think about they-selves, when menfolk aint' around
And friends are hard to find when they discover that you're down"
He said, "I tried it all when I was pretty young and in my natural prime
Now it's old dogs and children, and watermelon wine.
"Old dogs care about you when you make mistakes
God bless little children while they're still too young to hate
When he moved away, I found my pen and copied down that line
'Bout old dogs and children and watermelon wine
I had to catch a plane up to Atlanta that next day
As I left my room, I saw him pickin' up my change
That night I dreamed in peaceful sleep of shady summertime
Of old dogs and children and watermelon wine.
With the General, she's got two of the three covered. She love old dogs and children. She doesn't like watermelon and she doesn't drink wine. Some of you are thinking, give her some time. I have the wherewithal to drive anyone to drink.
The respite from our routine, was good for the two of us. Did I mention that Craig and Becky have four rescue dogs, three children and one foreign-exchange student. Sharing time with them was good for us.
All My Best!
Don
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