Forty Years Later

by Pa Rock

Proud Papa 

Our company arrived early Monday afternoon and left early Tuesday.  They came in two waves.  The first was my eighteen-year-old grandson, Sebastian Files, who arrived in his Ford Fusion along with his mother (my daughter) Molly Files and his soon-to-be fourteen-year-old sister, Willow.  The second wave came in about an hour or so later and included my son Tim, his wife, Erin, and their two children, Olive (14) and Sully (9).

Molly and Willow are visiting from Oregon, and the rest are in the Kansas City area.

Sully is becoming quite a skilled fisherman and has now fished in two oceans and numerous ponds, lakes, streams, and rivers.  We went to the river late in the day where he got a line into the water and tried to fish as most of the group stood arround skipping stones across the river and undoubttdly scaring the fish away.  But everyone had fun.

The photo on the left at the top of this page is of my three children at Gramma Aggie's pond at the farm she and her husband, Harris Farmer, owned near Dennard, Arkansas.  I took it about forty years ago while while watching Nick fish in the pond as Tim. on his left, and Molly, on the right, looked on.  

Before we left the house on Monday to go to the river, the kids and their kids were walking around looking at the photos on the walls, and I mentioned to Erin that the picture of them at the pond was my favorite.  Without letting me know, I guess while I was on a walkabout, she arranged and snapped the photo on the right while we were at the river - and then emailed it to me later that evening:  The Macy Children, as adults, 40 years later!

I now have two favorite pictures of the kids.

The grandkids seemed to have had a great time.  Uncle Nick, being a kid himself, stayed busy keeping them entertained.  He helped Olive and Sully engineer a classic practical joke on their Dad and Mom by taping a harmonica to their very nice car's front bumper just before they left to return home yesterday.  I was unaware of the gag until later, but apparently when Tim had to pull over to figure out why the car was making all of that noise, Olive and Sully were rolling with laughter in the backseat!  Tim and Erin both possess that playful nature as well.  

Rosie loved having company.  She has stayed with Tim and Erin and the kids on several occasions and is always excited to see them.   This was Gypsy's introductory visit with the family, and she was beside herself with joy to have other women in the house, and especially children.  Gypsy and Sully bonded very tightly, and she was a sad girl yesterday morning when everyone got in their cars and left.

It was a wonderful visit that really pumped some joy and enthusiasm into our out-of-the-way household.  Thanks for coming guys - and for sharing part of your holidays with Pa Rock, Uncle Nick, Rosie, and Gypsy!