Don't take me too seriously. I don't.
I’ve been busy scanning our collection of slides (you old timers will remember these) and came across one that we took in Yosemite National Park in 1976 while on a camping trip there. In our haste to get out of town, I failed to pack the tent poles. We had to improvise.
Just before Christmas, son, David, got engaged to be married. His future bride, Mindi, comes with a three year-old son, Kelijah. They’re planning the nuptials for early August (the 2nd or 3rd at this point). Mrs. Major and I are very excited and Mrs. Major is already chomping at the bit to plan and offer suggestions and advice. Sweet Dau #1 is also very excited and can hardly wait to meet Mindi.
David and Kelijah have strongly bonded already. Kelijah is a very smart, strong-willed child who is adorable. He’s curious about everything and remembers what he learns…careful what you teach him. He and I are already building a bond…the photo at left, for example. As we don’t have snow in our area of Florida, we created one out of shredder confetti. I think Mindi was a little taken aback when she saw the mess, but we’ve done crazier things around the Erickson house.
On Saturday, Dave Erickson, ran a 1/2 ironman triathlon. A half ironman consists of a 1.2 mile swim, followed by a 56 mile bike race, followed by a half marathon (13.2 miles) run. He completed the feat in 6 hours 40 minutes and 37 seconds. Well done, Dave!
Dave’s long time friend, Jon Scott, came up from the Miami area to encourage Dave. It was great to spend some time with Jon. We haven’t seen him since he moved south many moons ago.
It had rained most of the day for the previous two days, and it was raining at 4:30 when Dave arrived to check in and get his number (004 by the way). But by the time we got to the venue at 5:15, the rain had stopped and by the time the race started there was a cloud cover but no rain. The clouds stayed most of the day and the sun peeked through a couple of time during the race. The high temperature was 81.
Needless to say, I’m very proud of Dave and his accomplishments. The half ironman is a great feat for a 42 year old who hadn’t done much strenuous physical exercise since his stint in the Marine Corps just after high school. Dave has become a generous, industrious, man of integrity. And I’m proud of him.
After a fun visit with our son, David (aka the Fig), our adopted daughter Shannon (aka #2 Daughter), and two of our three granddudes, Lane and Jackson, Mrs. Major and I left about 6pm for a Christmas pitch-in with the Villages Homebrew Club. We had a great time gabbing with the club members and spouses, eating yummy food, and sampling several brews. When we opened our garage door a couple of hours later, we were greeted by an array of Christmas lights, strung from every conceivable protuberance and the blaring sound of Christmas music coming from my garage radio.
Of course we took several photos and texted this one to the Fig and #2 (also to #1 who is still in Indiana). Turns out they were all waiting at a nearby restaurant waiting to hear from us. As #2 and the dudes had a 2.5 hour drive home, we were surprised they waited. But glad.
I finally got all the strings down and tied up back in the big box. No way was I going to try to put the strings in their original boxes.
Hardly a girl any more our sweet daughter, Stacey, turns 40 today. You’ve given us 40 years of joy. We love you.