And as this saga ends…
You should understand none of this greater saga really started as Joyce and I left our driveway as I posted all those weeks ago. We were headed to the weekend of Zayne and Amy’s wedding.
It may have started with this picture of my Dad that had a place on Grandma’s living room wall.
The saga really moved into high gear on an evening at RAF Edzell Scotland when a fellow shipmate came into the EM (Enlisted Men’s) Club, came to our table and said, “there are a couple of really cute girls at the gate needing to be signed in.”
RAF Edzell was a Top Secret installation so you couldn’t just have people walking in and out, and this necessitated the “sign in” procedure the two cute girls were having to deal with.
In a very uncharacteristic move on my part, I got up and walked the short distance to the main gate. My shipmate had been correct. There were two really cute girls. They, at this point, had not been “signed in.”
The cutest one was blonde and she said her name was Joyce. I introduced myself as Don.
Skipping ahead a bit, the cute blonde young lady and I were married some months later, and that’s really how this whole saga thing moved into high gear.
But I digress. Maybe more on that later.
Joyce and I don’t usually have a lot going on socially. So these last few months have been uncharacteristically busy for us.
Ashley, our middle daughter and four of her children Elijah, Ezra, Ellie and Elspeth arrived in Wichita from Scotland. We spent a few days shopping for wedding outfits, etc.
The Scottish kids always enjoy Grandma taking them to Boot Barn. (Not many of those in Scotland) After those few days, we headed to Hooker, to our home. In the short time we had there, everyone enjoyed the pool, cookouts, driving lessons etc.
Then Ashley and the kids headed out for some time at their other grandparents in Enid OK.
So it was back to Grandma and I.
This was when we headed to the wedding in Cookson OK. Zayne (our oldest Grandson) and Amy were to be married on the shores of Lake Tenkiller. It was a beautiful affair. They had “ordered” a marvelous sunset for their evening wedding and it was absolutely spectacular!
And just like that, there is now another girl in our family. We love and appreciate Amy. She seems to fit well within a sinister group, maybe even a cult, that is developing within our family. They call themselves “The Girl Cousins.” I think they could potentially be dangerous. 😉 A couple of the more, let’s say senior, members have been known to be involved in some questionable activities,that involved the deaths of some of God’s smaller creatures. (But that’s a story for another day) 😏
There were several events to do with the wedding in the Tulsa area. then the wedding itself in Cookson which kept Grandma and I occupied. Interestingly, Joyce’s maiden name is Cookson. Being from Scotland, she wasn’t aware she had a town on a big lake in Oklahoma.
Zayne and Amy were married, and a few short days later Joyce and I boarded a plane in Wichita, accompanied by the family members who had traveled from Scotland for the wedding. We traveled with them to Chicago and then overnight back to The Old Country.
We spent the next three weeks with our Scottish family in Balmullo, a wee village just a short distance from the North Sea.
The whirlwind Grandma and I have been on these last months has been one of both logistics and emotions. When the logistics slacken, the emotions seemed to kick in. But we’ve handled it well I believe. We’ve done it before and I’m sure we will do it again. We have, after all, been doing this for 56 years.
We couldn’t have done it without our daughter Angela putting the airline portion of the saga together on United Airlines. She is, after all, a former employee. 😉 (There is another whole story here when you have some time)
She had intended to be a fellow traveler but circumstances directed otherwise.
Ashley’s family moved people around to make a place in their home for us for the three weeks of “The Old Country” portion of our saga..
It was special having our three daughters, Deer Park IL, Scotland, and Wichita KS and their families making the trip to Cookson for the wedding. As families grow and move, these times become more difficult to arrange, and by default more special. Everyone has to sacrifice a bit. Grandma and I appreciated it very much.
While in Tulsa, we stayed in the Southern Hills Marriott where a much smaller Tenley and Camden used to like to throw coins in the fountain in the lobby. The fountain is still there, so the now 16 year olds threw a few coins in with knowing smiles on their faces. How is it possible these kids grow up so quickly?
Should you need to contact Grandma or myself, we currently have no sagas planned!
Except of course for the obligatory medical appointments. 😉
don3518@gmail.com