Anniversary

As of this past Thursday, the wife and I have been married for sixteen years. Our marriage is old enough to drive in New York.

We went on a Thousand Islands boat tour. We stopped at Boldt Castle, and it was absolutely fabulous. I know the castle itself was restored and furnished only within the past few decades, but they used period accurate furnishings, as well as actual furniture from the Boldt estate. I was impressed.

We also saw Rock Island Lighthouse, which wasn't as ornate, but still impressive nonetheless. How someone gets a job at a gift shop on a tiny island, I guess you have to know people.

From start to finish it was a wonderful experience. The scariest part was leaving our two older boys at home (my sister watched the two little ones). They've been home alone before, but not for the entire day.

A pair of milestones in one day I suppose.

We put the FUN in funeral

Ignore the title, I did nothing of the sort. It was a somber and dignified event, even though I felt the slightest bit out of place.

It was a 'Mass of Christian burial', which is a fancy way of saying it was a full blown Catholic mass. I'm not Catholic, not even a little, so I was a bit lost on the ceremony, and there was a lot of it.

The older I get, the more dead people I know, and I don't know if I'll ever get used to it.

Life and Death

My grandfathers girlfriend died this morning.

https://www.faroneandsoninc.com/obituaries/Joanne-Heisler

My grandmother has been gone over twenty years now, and my Opa was, apparently, a fast mover, because he was with Joanne for just about twenty years.

She hadn't been doing too well. She lost both of her sons within the past year, and cancer decided it was her turn. I got the call this morning, and it changed my plans. My brother and I headed over and helped him take care of things. The house was a revolving door of near family that made no small motions to get things taken care of.

Calling hours, funeral, and the endless paperwork. Some say we live in a democracy, I know we live in a bureaucracy.

The other campers

So my son is going to a boys camp this week, just like he did last year. He's bringing his younger brother along, and the timing is just so perfect. 

You see, my wife is also going to a girls camp this week as one of the adult leaders. I'm taking some time off work so I can be home with my two younger kids, who are no trouble at all.

It's going to be so quiet.

Not in the woods

I've been camping once this summer, and it was late spring, before the kids even got out of school. Everything got so busy. The kids had swim lessons for six weeks. Their last lesson is this week, but next week is just as busy. Then the next.

We have another camping trip planned for October. I like being out in the cool weather anyway.