POOPED OUT

“Spontaneity...I’m not very good at it yet, but I hope I will become so with practice.” --T.J. KLINE, The House in the Cerulean Sea 

I was working but it’s almost like a non-work week because I knew mom was coming to visit with the girls (my nieces, Ashley and Holly).   The plans including staying at home by the swimming pool, going to Universal Studios and taking a walk to the shops on the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica.  It will be easy and fun.   

It was Father’s Day and Gloria sent me a card.  That was sweet: 

6/18/1995 

Dearest Michael, 

A very Happy “Father’s Day” to you!  You have taken being a “Dad” just like a duck takes to water.  Want you to know how happy we are that you are here for my granddaughters, Lauren and Carrie.  You are a positive influence for them and being exposed to your great values has helped them mature into lovely ladies.  

Love Always, 

Gloria and Jack 

Alan was so kind to my mom and nieces.  He welcomed them with open arms.   

It was fun to see the swimming pool being used.  It was like having two mini-mermaids.  Both Ashley and Holly are like fish.  They love to swim and aren’t afraid of the water (like Uncle Mike, Ha-ha).   

I was able to have my own alone time, reading while the girls swam in the pool.   Mom was on-guard, watching the girls play in the swimming pool.  Mom was watching the puppy that didn’t belong to us.   

“Hey mom, maybe you should get a puppy?” 

“Are you kidding?  I have enough with these two,” Mom replied, referring to Ashley and Holly.  Ha-ha 

We left to go shopping at the 3rd Street Promenade and I looked in my rear-view mirror and I saw Steven Spielberg in his car right behind me.   Ashley and Holly got so excited.  They kept turning around.  

I said, “Don’t turn around, try to act normal.  He’ll think you know who he is.”   

It was pretty funny.   

After shopping we had lunch. 

The following day we went to Universal Studios.  That was fun.  I went on a few rides.  Holly and Ashley had fun with the slide.  We watched a free play of the FLINTSTONES; however, it’s not really free when you consider the price of admission.  Ha-ha.    

The best part about taking the girls to Universal Studios was the reward mom and I got afterwards.  The girls POOPED OUT.  They were out cold.  This gave us some breathing time.  We all had a great time.  I like amusement parks.  It’s amusing.   

We went to see POCOHANTAS.  We all enjoyed that outing, too.   

I just felt like I was eating too much.  I was feeling chubby.  As soon as mom and the girls leave, I’m going to work on trimming down.  If you don’t work on it—it's not going to happen by itself. 

Mom, Ashley and Holly are great company though.  Alan felt the same way.  They made us laugh.  Memories were made and will stick.  Our planning paid off.  The more we did the more memories we had, so it was all worth it.  We were careful. I enjoyed planning out our activities.  Of course, it’s always best to make room for spontaneous activities because that’s when really fun surprises pop into the picture.  

 “Devotion to family is an essential virtue.” --MULAN, 2020 Disney film.