Just a few weeks ago, we were in Gettysburg to camp for the Labor Day weekend. And this past weekend we got to make a return trip for a very special reason--- to celebrate Freda's birthday! And not just ANY birthday-- but her 80th! Her daughters have been working for months to plan a wonderful surprise party for her, and we were grateful to be invited to go. Freda is such a special part of our family, and has been since the very first time we got to meet her. She loved our Pap, and he adored her. And over the years, she has become way more than a step-Grandmother to us and our kids. She's a grandmother to us all...and we all admire and respect her so much.
We took off early on Saturday morning to make the 2 1/2 hour trip to Gettysburg. We wanted to make sure we were in place in time for the 12:00 surprise entrance. I had to chuckle because, in true Richard family style, Uncle Butch and my Dad were giving the room full of guests (of whom we knew maybe 3 before this day) the starting pitch to break into "Happy Birthday" when Freda appeared. It just reminded me so much of Pap.
Freda's reaction was priceless, and worth every minute we spent in the car to be there. She appeared genuinely surprised and touched at the number of people who filled the room on her behalf. If she had any inkling that this was going on, she certainly didn't show it. We had all been a bit concerned because the week prior, she had walked through Libby and Zig's kitchen, directly past the invitation to the party that hung squarely in the center of their refrigerator door. When we told Freda we had been concerned about that, she said that she thought she would make a terrible eye witness to a crime because she hadn't observed a thing--- even though the invitation had her picture right on it.
This marked the second weekend in a row that Jason and Zig watched the PSU football game via iPhone. This was the second of three home games in a row that we are going to miss this season, but this was by far the best excuse for missing it. The guys were scolded a few times for watching the game in the midst of the party, but we realized it was OK when Freda herself kept coming over to check the score. I got a good giggle out of the fact that they were sharing one pair of headphones between them. We were very grateful for a PSU victory, and a better showing than it had been the week before. Now, we can only hope for continued improvement and maybe also a miracle in order to beat Michigan this coming weekend. (I will have wine and maybe some whiskey at the ready this coming Saturday to just endure what is likely to be a slaughtering.)
After we had partied for a few hours, we decided to head to the Visitors Center to take the kids to the Cyclorama there. We hadn't had an opportunity to do this while we had been in Gettysburg a few weeks ago, and we thought it would be worthwhile to go and do it while we were in town. I was very surprised about the things the kids remembered from our battlefield tour and the fact that they really seemed to like the Cyclorama. All of them for different reasons, of course. Joshua liked the history of it all, and learning about the battle. He absolutely loved the Abraham Lincoln connections. Lauren loved the artistic factor of the cyclorama painting. She marveled about how someone could really paint something like that. And Mara just seemed tickled to be out the car and able to walk around a bit.
Around 4:00 we were ready to head home. And it was a quiet trip from everyone. The kids were watching a movie and having a few snacks. Jason and I were enjoying the time for conversation. There were really no issues until we returned home and found that Toby was not in agreement that it had been a good idea for us to be away for the day. We knew that was his opinion because he ate our living room rug. Ate it. The carpet scraps and fibers were everywhere. I believe he completely ate the binding from the rug, which made him awfully sick that evening. As if the carpet weren't completely ruined already, he managed to throw up right in the middle of it and then was very miserable looking/acting as we cleaned it up. I was sure I was going to end up in the Emergency Vet that night due to his stomach being tied in knots by carpet binding. Gratefully for all of us, this issue was resolved without that vet trip and with only a new piece of carpeting as a necessary remedy. I'm not sure what got into him--- he has been alone like that before, and we had someone come to the house to let him out while we were away--- but it is his first real instance of destructive behavior in the house. Sure he eats underwear and socks, but we've never had him actually destroy something of consequence.
After all of the running around on Saturday, Sunday was a quiet at home afternoon once we got home from church (after 1:00...for the love). But it was much needed, and greatly cherished. The weeks are flying fast, without much breathing room once they get going, so we'll take all the respite we can get when we have a chance.
More soon!
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