THE NEXT WAVE.

The day after Christmas, we celebrated with Ted, Bev, their children, and the grandmas, Eunice and Ruth, who are family members of Kristanne’s boys, Austin and Alec. Las Vegas is a long way to go for a visit and Murphys is much closer for them.


Alec and Austin with cousins Abby and Daniel. (Ted is visible in he background.) The kids are sucking orange juice up through a peppermint stick “straw”.

After dinner, the gift exchange. Grandma Eunice gave Austin what looked like a huge bag of cash. But, hidden inside the bag was a family tradition. This year Austin got “the ugly cup.”


It has been a tradition for several generations In Eunice’s family for someone to pass on the ugly cup at Christmas. It is inscribed with these words: “I had a choice of being rich or good lookin’” Austin will now have to pass it on next year. She gave college-age grandson Alec, a gift-card of gas for his car. What clever gifts!


The boys enjoyed the Guinness Book of World Records Austin received from his cousin Owen, who is in Italy.


Bev and her Mom.


Then, later in the day, Austin in his new pajamas, texting.


Mason, texting.


Alec texting.


Emil texting.

Naturally, boys love to wrestle and/or show off their strength. Alec is a student but he works full-time as a manager of a Golds Gym. So, it isn’t all texting.

Next, is Christmas with my nearby siblings.  I absolutely love the holidays and the extended family get-togethers.

HANGING WITH FRIENDS.

Yesterday was a work day, all day. A tree man removed heavy over-story on the oaks and maples that threaten buildings or keep sun off the strawberries and smaller plants. I tried to make sense of my wide-spread sprinkling systems. But today is a fun day. Friend, Michal Houston, is visiting, and the three M’s will be together again. I love to hang with friends. Social connections are different today, but we won’t be doing anything like this:

Or this:

They are sitting close enough to be friends. But…

What can be so distracting when a massive, professional entertainment is right before your eyes?

Could it  be a first date and they don’t know how to talk to each other?

I would hate it if we had so little to communicate with those sharing our table that we had to  consult with friends from a distance.

It is noticeable that everyone is young, of a new generation. It will ever be so, the older generation criticizes the younger generation and wonders if they will be prepared to take on the problems of the future.

I expect it will all work out, but you won’t catch us doing anything like this. And, it does give you pause to wonder.
(I don’t know who to credit for these photos. They came to me in an email, and I guess like un-copyrighted newspaper articles, they are useable by anyone who does not make money from your work. And I thank you , whoever you are.)

THE FUTURE GENERATION

Jim's grandson Eric, turned thirteen, on the eleventh. The mighty "Casey" couldn't blow his candles out. (Eric is an avid ball player and fan.) Of course, some of the candles were the type that don't go out, a set-up by Mom, Wendy.
We helped him celebrate by having dinner earlier in the evening at Harbor Seal, then home for cake, ice cream and presents. Typical, I suspect. Some things never seem to change.

Sports items dominated the scene, with this grand Mets sweatshirt, official baseball shoes, and shorts. The Mets happen to be his favorite team.

The kids are wonderful together, loving and playful with each other. They all appear to be best friends. Its nice to see and feel your future is in good hands with the next generation coming up...except...its hard to understand how tied they are to their phones, like the device is a body part.

  Jaime had on her two inch heels for the evening and stood up to brother Eric, and measured. You see that cord hanging from his ear? I think its music and phone all tied in together. Parents have to say, "...text you'll contact her later..."  SOME things do change.
I guess we used to scare our parents into thinking the world was coming to an end with our music and dance and cigarettes and haircuts. And, we turned out pretty well.

Yesterday was a work day. Jaime had never been for a ride in a motor home, so she went with us to get propane, empty the tanks and fill with water. All a bit of a revelation to her, as we prepare to leave Ivoryton. Jocelyn and I picked berries a couple days ago, so Jaime and I decided to go for a pick-your-own peaches, but the trees were practically stripped. What we bought was quite luscious though, a variety I'd never heard of and promptly forgot. Then we went to the recycling center.

 Then later, since the weather was blessedly cool, we went for a nice bike ride to town and back.

While downtown we checked out this clever sculpture. Its a face entirely made up from numbers one through ten.

There aren't many places to shop in Ivoryton for a kid, but Jaime likes Gathers, an antique store that also has candy and ice cream. She got her candy bar and we called it a day.