Mother's Day Blues

Do not let the title fool you, we had a wonderful Mother's Day this year. We planned to have a family cookout at the park but Big Daddy forgot to reserve a spot so we struck out there. I called the #1 son Josh and he offered to use his palatial estate as a backup plan. This is very generous of him. We know he only agreed so he could have control of his grill which he lives for. He thinks he is a grill master and we will not tell him otherwise. Just kidding he is a great cook which is one of the reasons his wife Leslie married him.

We enjoyed the company of Josh's in-laws as well. Bob, Crystal, and Little Bob were gracious enough to join us. We were all one big happy family for a few hours which did the Big Daddy's heart good. Josh,Meghan,Donna, & Sarah are all but grown up so it is a rare occasion we are all together. We also had the 2 grand kids along, Hailey & Carter. Hailey is Josh's daughter and is 100% papaw's girl. Carter is an adorable 1 year old. He is Meghan's step son. We are just getting to know each other but I am sure it won't be long until the Big Daddy will be spoiling him on action movies, television crime dramas, & heavy metal music. Hey it worked for my 4 kids why not continue the tradition.

Sarah's boyfriend David was in attendance for his first Gallaher family event. After much coaxing and convincing he joined the traditional football game. He was like the new kid in school. At first he was awkward and scared. He later became frightened and wanted a place to hide. He then settled down and fit right in. The bruises will heal eventually both physically and emotionally.

The game went as it always does the winner was Josh and whoever is on his team. He is officially 196 and 0 all time in the series. He will probably always stay undefeated as we don't know how he would handle it if he ever lost to his sisters. I always give the girls the same pep talk that I learned from my favorite movie..."Let the Wookie win". As if they have any choice.

The mothers, Tammy & Leslie, got in the game as well as replacements for the weak and injured. They quickly exited as usual but that was for the best. It wouldn't have been good to send a mom to the ER on mother's day.

Meghan as usual did not last long and came up with a lame excuse why she couldn't play. We are used to this by now but that didn't stop us from teasing her. She takes it well and figures the emotional scars are better than bodily harm.

After the food and football it was time to head over to the mother-in-laws for the second half of our journey. A good time was had by all at Josh's house. We got some much needed exercise and Crystal handed out some valuable life lessons to her new best friend David. Now you know why he decided to play football for a while.


Part 2

We arrived in Pineville at the Stipek Estate and were greeted by our family. It was nice to see them as they are a good drive away and with gas prices we don't get to visit much. Barb, Jinnie, and Bob were gracious hosts as usual. We sat on the back porch catching up and eating some great cake made by Jinnie. She was nervous about the cake since Tammy has been a cake decorator since Fonzie was still cool. She had no reason to be since she did a great job on it. I noticed my lovely wife was very happy to see her sister and mother so anxious to please her. It was good to see my wife smile. After a couple of hours of conversation and cake we decided to head back home. Of course Sarah was with us so we had to stop at Taco Bell. What would a day with Sarah be if she didn't con us out of a meal.

So if you read all that your probably as exhausted as we were by the end of the day. It was a Mother's day to remember in 2007. Once again I am reminded how lucky I am that Tammy Sue Oberling agreed to be my wife and the mother of my children. Even though my mother is not around it sure was a good day for the mother in my life, my beautiful wife. I sometimes take her for granted but this day I thanked God that night for allowing me to have her in my life.

Yes it was sure a good day!!!