Father’s Day 2011

Picnic

It was good day. We went out to a park and had a picnic…something we started doing before the kids were even born. I don’t recall exactly when we started going to this particular park but I would guess 11 or 12 years ago. It’s about a 45 minute drive through some scenic and rustic neighborhoods in the Burgh. As in with most places in and around the Burgh their just isn’t a very direct route to get from point A to point B. I complain and get frustrated every time I have to drive out to this park…but it’s always a good time after we get there.


The reason we started going there in the first place was because it was closer, driving distance for Jen’s Grandparents. It’s funny how things have changed over the years. Jen and her Grandmother are no longer here and even the old pavilion is gone (I wrote about that last year - A First, the Middle and Endings)



The Attendees

The picnic goers have changed and so has the pavilion but the tradition go on. The very first time we went it was Jen, me, her parents, her brother and her Grandparents – the seven of us. Yesterday it was me, the girls, (MENTAL NOTE – I need a nickname for my new bride), Jen’s parents, her brother, her Grandfather and his lady friend and her son – the ten of us.

Now some might think it would be weird or awkward…such an interesting mix of people…well this is one of the reasons why I wanted to write this entry…it wasn’t…not at all. It was such a cross family and non-family representation of people yet we all had a good time. Granted this was not the first time we had all met or gotten together but that is the point that I am trying to make.

Life goes on…it does. Yesterday could have been awkward, a disaster, filled with long periods of silence. Instead it was just the opposite. It was a good day spent with people who choose to spend some time together and just enjoy the afternoon for what it was worth.



My Rambling Point

I guess what I am attempting to say is don’t be afraid to do something different. Don’t be afraid to break out of the norm and just go with it. What’s the worse that could have happened yesterday, no one really has a good time so we all eat and then take off? Instead it turned out to be a really nice day.

Had you asked me five years ago to pick the attendees for the picnic yesterday I would have been very wrong in my selections. Even for someone like me, who has to plan out everything, sometimes you just need to go with the flow.