A Weekend I Will Always Remember

As you are reading this I am probably in the middle of setting up my booth on Oak Island, North Carolina (Wilmington area). I am there (here?) for the North Carolina July 4th Festival which will take place from 10AM to 6PM Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. This is actually the first mid-week show I've participated in.

Before rushing to a conclusion that a mid-week show is a weird thing, keep in mind that the locale is a huge tourist destination. For the most part vacation rentals on the coast run from one weekend to the next which means Saturdays and Sundays are check in or out days. Honestly I'd love for the Waccamaw Artists Guild to change their (Myrtle Beach) Art in the Park dates to mid-week. Truly it makes sense.

I am composing this post late Sunday afternoon on the 29th. As I'm typing I hear Ben "yelling" for me to come and play. It is a vocal expression that I've come to know very well and something that is probably tremendously tugging at my heart as you read this. This past weekend has been superb!

The two bachelors played and laughed together. We also watched Sponge Bob and baseball. Birdwatcher Ben thoroughly enjoyed seeing an additional suet feeder added to his menagerie of avian-attracting devices.

There have been plenty of hugs, foot rubs, and smiles. My son obviously has me wrapped around his finger since I always answer his cries of "Da! Da! Da!" which sounds like the word "dad" without the second d. Every time I find a smiling face wanting me to see or experience something he has just seen. There is no doubt that I am missing these moments right about now.

Even sadder is that I won't see Jessie or Joan until this weekend. It'll be almost ten days from the time they left for Charleston until my return. My family means the world to me and I know I miss them now like I'm missing a major organ in my body. Thankfully this will be the longest separation we'll have this year.

Hug your loved ones for me. In fact hold them tighter than usual. That thought will help me make it through the heat and humidity this week.

As for the photo, to make things even more of a manly bachelors weekend we went fishing!