home for the holidays…
I got up early to pick him up from the airport not realizing that it had snowed a bunch more and that traffic would be terrific (as the song goes).
I was late picking him up – he had to sit and wait for me for over an hour.
We were happy to see each other and gave a big hug.
He was thrilled about the snow and started taking pictures to show his friends down south. It reminds me of the email story that goes around from time to time about Michigan winters – if I find it, I’ll post it. Very funny; basically you are enchanted with it on the first day, but then you digress as the days of snow continue on…
The plan was to stop in at FEV to drop off some pop for the guys, have Justin see where I work and meet some of my co-workers. Then meet a bunch of my old co-workers from EDAG for lunch at CK Diggs.
The conversation at the table during lunch was all about the auto industries woes and we found out that for a few people there, it was their last day with EDAG – they were laid off.
Then we went home. I had Justin help me shovel some of the new snow and suggested that he take the plastic sheet and slide down the hill along the side of the house. It didn’t work very well and he just rolled and got snow everywhere, so I excused him so that he could get dry and finished the shoveling the rest of the driveway myself.
We had a nice rotisserie chicken dinner (thanks Toney Querio!) in the dining room (very rare) and toasted his entrance into the Army.
Later that evening we did some shopping. I bought him a Carhart hat, pjs, slippers and socks. And then he asked if it was too late to go visit grandma and grandpa. It was a short but sweet visit.
He spent a day or two with his friends and some Bruce family members.
Christmas Eve we went to grandma and grandpas place. Everyone was on their best behavior, kind of. It was a small gift exchange and we played games and ate hors d’oeuvres and dessert. Sang Happy Birthday to grandma (now 77). We waited for Sam and her new fiancé to come – they were kind of late. They had an announcement that they were going to get married the following Monday at the local district court. Everyone was invited.
Christmas day we exchanged our gifts and later went to Marty and Chris’ place to visit for a while.
Every morning we had a nice breakfast – actually it was usually closer to noon – we were all going to bed late – VACATION!
On Saturday we went to Kart2Kart to do some indoor go-kart racing. Justin’s dad picked him up from there to bring Justin with the Bruce family to the Kalahari Resort in Ohio. He would spend the weekend there.
Danny dropped him off on Monday night. We spent some time watching home movies.
Tuesday we went to grandma and grandpas to take care of the recycling. My mother collects paper from herself, a neighbor, me and Martine and once a quarter (it seems) we take it to Great Lakes Recycling to do our part for the environment and to get a little cash too. They were paying .02 cents a pound and my mother routinely would get something like $12 - $15 for her efforts. Justin and I took the recycling back and this time, it was dark in the warehouse so I went looking for someone to help me – after trying to speak to a few guys who don’t speak English, I found someone who told me that they no longer pay for any recycling! Once the market gets back up, then they will again pay, but not now. We had probably the biggest “payload” yet, but ended up just leaving it there to be recycled – with no cash bonus. Oh well.
Then we drove to the new Detroit Tuned and checked it out. Justin met Chad, Tori and John (Hbanero).
Quickly went back home so that Justin could pack and headed out to TGIFriday’s to meet with Pratap, Deepa and Calvin. It was a really nice visit and it was good for them to see each other since they hadn’t in over 3 years. Off to the airport and waited with him until he was through the security.
Bye Justin and good luck with Basic!
I was late picking him up – he had to sit and wait for me for over an hour.
We were happy to see each other and gave a big hug.
He was thrilled about the snow and started taking pictures to show his friends down south. It reminds me of the email story that goes around from time to time about Michigan winters – if I find it, I’ll post it. Very funny; basically you are enchanted with it on the first day, but then you digress as the days of snow continue on…
The plan was to stop in at FEV to drop off some pop for the guys, have Justin see where I work and meet some of my co-workers. Then meet a bunch of my old co-workers from EDAG for lunch at CK Diggs.
The conversation at the table during lunch was all about the auto industries woes and we found out that for a few people there, it was their last day with EDAG – they were laid off.
Then we went home. I had Justin help me shovel some of the new snow and suggested that he take the plastic sheet and slide down the hill along the side of the house. It didn’t work very well and he just rolled and got snow everywhere, so I excused him so that he could get dry and finished the shoveling the rest of the driveway myself.
We had a nice rotisserie chicken dinner (thanks Toney Querio!) in the dining room (very rare) and toasted his entrance into the Army.
Later that evening we did some shopping. I bought him a Carhart hat, pjs, slippers and socks. And then he asked if it was too late to go visit grandma and grandpa. It was a short but sweet visit.
He spent a day or two with his friends and some Bruce family members.
Christmas Eve we went to grandma and grandpas place. Everyone was on their best behavior, kind of. It was a small gift exchange and we played games and ate hors d’oeuvres and dessert. Sang Happy Birthday to grandma (now 77). We waited for Sam and her new fiancé to come – they were kind of late. They had an announcement that they were going to get married the following Monday at the local district court. Everyone was invited.
Christmas day we exchanged our gifts and later went to Marty and Chris’ place to visit for a while.
Every morning we had a nice breakfast – actually it was usually closer to noon – we were all going to bed late – VACATION!On Saturday we went to Kart2Kart to do some indoor go-kart racing. Justin’s dad picked him up from there to bring Justin with the Bruce family to the Kalahari Resort in Ohio. He would spend the weekend there.
Danny dropped him off on Monday night. We spent some time watching home movies.
Tuesday we went to grandma and grandpas to take care of the recycling. My mother collects paper from herself, a neighbor, me and Martine and once a quarter (it seems) we take it to Great Lakes Recycling to do our part for the environment and to get a little cash too. They were paying .02 cents a pound and my mother routinely would get something like $12 - $15 for her efforts. Justin and I took the recycling back and this time, it was dark in the warehouse so I went looking for someone to help me – after trying to speak to a few guys who don’t speak English, I found someone who told me that they no longer pay for any recycling! Once the market gets back up, then they will again pay, but not now. We had probably the biggest “payload” yet, but ended up just leaving it there to be recycled – with no cash bonus. Oh well.
Then we drove to the new Detroit Tuned and checked it out. Justin met Chad, Tori and John (Hbanero).
Quickly went back home so that Justin could pack and headed out to TGIFriday’s to meet with Pratap, Deepa and Calvin. It was a really nice visit and it was good for them to see each other since they hadn’t in over 3 years. Off to the airport and waited with him until he was through the security.
Bye Justin and good luck with Basic!
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