On This Date in 1999 (May 10)

The Mother’s Day brunch at Mayflower Drive included a mixed fruit salad, Pillsbury orange rolls, scrambled eggs, hash browns (the frozen Ore-Ida variety), and sausage links. Everyone ate heartily. In fact, the rolls disappeared before I could get my hands on one of them.

During the afternoon, JoAnna went par-3 golfing with the boys while I cleaned up the house (kitchen and living room) and worked outside. I mowed the grass and then thinned out the ground cover on the north side of the yard and transplanted the excess (16 plants altogether) to a bed along the south side. I divided them into two clusters of eight and planted some marigolds in the middle. Until yesterday, I could never figure out what to do with this area of the yard.

After spending five hours outdoors getting my hands dirty, I was ready for a hot shower. Any thoughts of a restful, relaxing evening were dashed when Andy asked, “Could you pitch to me, Dad?”

JoAnna did speak up for me. “You should let your dad take it easy. He’s been working all afternoon.”

I actually enjoy pitching batting practice to Andy, so it wasn’t a chore or an inconvenience at all. And since he has about 10 baseballs, I don’t have to immediately run down every ball he hits.

When we returned from the park, Larry and Alice were at the house. It was just a brief overnight stay for them. We sat around the living room and talked for awhile. We all went to bed at 9:30, Larry and Alice sleeping in the boys’ beds while the boys slept in their sleeping bags in Mom’s and Dad’s room. After turning over soil for four hours, I was certainly ready for the early bedtime.

Larry and Alice were on the road by 7:15 this morning and JoAnna left for work shortly thereafter. Both boys were in a very lethargic mood. It was difficult to get them moving. Andy was still sitting at the kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal at five after eight.

“C’mon, you’re going to be late, Herman!” I told him, the urgency in my voice giving these words a sharp edge. I think Andy and Eddie were probably marked down as tardy today. I hope that’s not an indication of how the rest of the week will go.

So much for now. We send our love.