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We met two-thirds of our children, all of whom live in Texas, at the lake house owned by my wife and her siblings at Denby Point on Lake Ouachita for the Labor Day weekend.
Molly, 25, flew in Friday night. Megan, 22, and John Bucy drove up Saturday evening.
John is Molly’s boyfriend, but he and Megan work together at John’s business, the Texas Charter Schools Academic and Athletic Association, based in Austin. They had to get the group’s flag football season off to a good start at events in San Antonio and Dallas.
Our son, Patrick, soon to be 28, and his girlfriend, Sarah Riley, were scheduled to come up Friday, but he was involved in a weather-related traffic accident on Interstate 20, west of Fort Worth on Wednesday night, so his car was knocked out of commission.
Sunday was a busy day on the lake, but Nancy took the youngsters out for some tubing. They were all tired and sunburned by the end of the day, but we did manage a trip into the Shangri-La Resort marina to have lunch and some if their wonderful pie. I had lemon meringue, Nancy had pumpkin with Cool Whip and John and Molly split a piece of peanut butter. Megan settled for the crust. It’s a treat by itself, too.
The kids headed for the “games of skill” available at Oaklawn Park after we all had naps and supper, while we older folks stayed home and watched a movie (in between sessions like this out on the deck to watch the lake get calm and quiet after a busy day).
Monday morning meant early up and out for the kids heading back to Texas. Then I went back to bed while Nancy watched Bogie and Bacall in “Key largo.” She took in “To Have or Have Not” starring those two on Saturday.
We finally cleaned up and loaded the car at a leisurely pace in the afternoon while we listened to the St. Louis Caqrdinals come back against the Milwaukee Brewers, winning 8-6 behind the grand slam home run by catcher Yadier Molina.
It was a nice drive back from a great weekend, but as is often the case, we were glad to be home.
I knew that Thanksgiving at Lake Ouachita with my parents, our kids and their respective girlfriend and boyfriends would add to the rush. Still, I was surprised that I had not done a better job of scheduling than I had when I noticed how long it had been since I had posted here.
We did have a wonderful time and great food from everyone at the lake house that Nancy and her siblings share out off U.S. 270. Patrick, girlfriend Sarah and his pit bull terrier, Lou, came up from Fort Worth; Molly and boyfriend John traveled from Austin to meet in Dallas with Megan and boyfriend Clayton, who live in Sherman, Texas. They rode up together. My folks came over from their house south of Little Rock. It was a crowd of 10 plus Lou and our Lhasa apso, Daisy, but we had a great time.
Molly and John got up early on Black Friday to go into Hot Springs and fight the crowds for a great buy on GPS units.
Later that day, we headed back in this direction to meet and have some family photos taken at The Old Mill in North Little Rock. Our photographer, good friend Dan Limke, arrived first and called us to say that at least 30 other people had the same idea, so he went across the river to Little Rock and scout out a new location at Heifer Village.
After everyone arrived, we redirected our various vehicles south of the river for a serious of family combinations that tested Dan’s considerable patience. But it was for family photos that don’t get taken often enough these days.
Thanks, Nancy, for all the work that goes into hosting such an event. Thanks, Dan, for working on a holiday weekend to preserve our memories.
Fall foliage can mean different things to different people.
Some people believe they must travel to see the brilliant collision of orange, yellow, green, brown, purple and red — to New England, to the mountains, to northern Arkansas.
We went to the lake last weekend, hoping to see the leaves in full color on the shores of Lake Ouachita, but likely, we were a week or 10 days early.
But this weekend, when we look out the windows on the back of the house, we see that the oaks in our yard and the maples in neighboring yards are getting close to that magic moment when they are at the height of their beauty for this season. It’s a beautiful gift.
Mike Dougherty's Blog 