saying goodbye to good friends

Five year old Finn and his mother Saskia came for some pool time with Pretty last Sunday before they were to leave for the Netherlands on Tuesday. Dave the Dad was home packing for the trip and skipped the pool fun time. They will be gone for almost a year while Saskia does research there and will be sorely missed by all of us with the possible exception of Spike who tends to shy away from visitors. Nothing personal – it’s just how he rolls.

Two incidents happened during their final visit that Granny Selma would have called Memory Makers. The first occurred when Finn came inside and ran past me on his way to the kitchen. I was sitting in my Frasier’s father’s lookalike recliner in the den watching TV.

“Every time I come to your house you’re always sitting in that same chair watching TV,” Finn commented as he raced by.

“Hey,” I said to his back. “Why do you think I do that?”

He barely turned and said matter of factly, “I guess it’s because you’re lazy.”

I laughed out loud (or LOL) but told him he was probably right. Out of the mouths of babes, etc. Pretty thought the remark rocked when I told her, but her turn was coming.

After everyone dried off, we all sat together in the den for a little chat before Saskia and Finn had to leave to go home to pack. Unfortunately for all of us, Pretty’s cell phone rang.

She looked at the number and realized it was the same unknown number that had been calling her several times a day for the past week. She even heard her cell phone ring the night before at almost midnight but didn’t answer it. The next morning she saw it was the same unknown number and was furious. She vowed to answer her phone the next time the number rang her, and naturally the phone rang when we had company.

Well brothers and sisters, Pretty has quite a temper and when she found out the caller was the Democratic National Committee, her dander was up so high heat was rising from the top of her head. She lit into them with her hell hath no fury like a woman whose cell phone had rung too many times harangue, and her voice definitely wasn’t her inside tone. DON”T YOU CALL ME AGAIN!! Pretty exclaimed.

She allowed as how she had always supported the Democratic Party with her time and resources but with one final verbal blast she threatened the unimaginable of not only stopping her contributions but refusing to vote for any Democrat ever. The conversation ended shortly thereafter.

Saskia, Finn and I had tried to pretend we weren’t there…we acted like we weren’t listening but maintained an awkward silence while Pretty ranted. Apparently the incident stuck in Finn’s memory even as he flew across the Pond two days later. Don’t you call me again, he repeated to his mother during the flight; and then they both giggled as they pictured Pretty on the phone in our den.

Finally, once settled in Amsterdam and getting ready for bed his first night there, Finn resisted his mother and dad’s efforts to go to sleep by imitating Pretty’s meltdown on the telephone two days earlier. Thanks to Saskia for this great video.

Well, well, Pretty, if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, your tirade is the stuff of legends in one little boy’s mind. Finn, you are another Rich Little in the making, and we will miss your optimism and fun in the next year. Please don’t forget your English while you’re learning to speak Dutch in school, but enjoy the extra special days with your grandparents and other family.

The US Open is my excuse for laziness for the past week because of my addiction to the four major tournaments. I admit to my passionate preoccupation with the people, places and predicaments of the four major tennis tournaments every year. The US Open is the last major for the 2017 season so I have mixed emotions every year as I say goodbye to each player I really like when they lose and exit the tournament.

The goodbyes come and go to our friends in real life and those we think we know from their television appearances, but I can truthfully say from more than 70 years of experience with goodbyes that hellos are right behind them. Just 4 months until the Australian Open.

Stay tuned.