For some reason I got it in my head that it would be fun to get up at 5am to meet with Genie and drive 2 and a half hours to spend the day with 350 of our closest friends. Though hot and tiring, I have to say I had a blast. However, those of you who think marshalling is not "work" can eat my shorts. Sure you don't run around like a chicken with your head cut off putting out fires like autocrats and you don't have to make $1000 worth of supplies into a gourmet meal but you do sweat you toes off while watching others have fun. It was in fact a quite enjoyable experience but I felt as drained at the end of the day as if I'd fought every fight. That aside, the company was wonderful and the tournament was the cleanest I've seen in years. Could this be simply because it lacked a number of the usual suspects? I don't know. Could just be that Balynar's pep talk got everyone in the right frame of mind. Course, I didn't get to see the all of the fights that were not on my list so...

I did manage to meet and speak with a couple of you and for that I feel greatly enriched. Let me just say that:

1. Mistress Isobel is as beautiful as they say.
2. Mistress Nia is looking great!!! You can see all 47 gone, I swear it.
3. Lady Muireann has her hands full with the bike loving Master Thornbury who, by the way, didn't even offer me a ride. Must be because I'm not warm and sweet smelling.
4. Lord Andrew reminded me of the long lost Liam Carmichael in his style, speed, and accuracy on the field. His courtesy is his characteristic alone.
5. Lord Gorm and Lady Rhiannon are generous hosts and have a NEW kick ass pavilion.
6. Master Bryce runs a quick, clean, and professional show that is enjoyable to witness and be a part of. Where would Caer Mear be without him?
7. Sir Balynar has shoulders broad enough to bear the weight of the worries of a Barony, all with bum leg and a shy smile.
8. Baroness Izzy makes 5 hours in the car pass quick as lightning with her stimulating intellect and bawdy wit.
9. David's (do you have a name yet?) block art could quickly become the badge of the Empire. Make it so man.
10. Lady Susanna's tone when she said to her fianc�, "I'm thinking of a compound word" left me unable to come up with any but one. My lip bled from holding back the comment.
11. Mistress Thjora, the sunscreen conversation while you tied your shoes in front of me was a bit tough to handle. I am married but I am a mortal man. I wasn't ignoring you, I was averting my eyes. ;-)
12. And special recognition goes to Countess Brigit for making me blush and stare open jawed not once, not twice, but three times at her candid, unashamed, nattiness. Not at me per se, but within my hearing. Oh my!

Sunday, as I said, I watched football and went to church. At church I helped out in the nursery as is my duty from time to time. In this case, there were 5 boys all between the ages of 2-3. Watching Zack play with these children I came away with an understanding that compared to this microcosm:

1. He is advanced in his knowledge of the alphabet, numbers, colors, shapes, and proper nouns.
2. He has average communication skills for his age class.
3. He still is challenging authority a bit too much...pushing the envelope so to speak (this I both like and dislike for obvious reasons).
4. He is a loving and trusting soul that has no fear (this too I both like and dislike for obvious reasons).

Monday, I cut the branches from one of our big tree up front that my blind neighbor (literally) kept running into and then I went to the park with my son. His mom stayed home to enjoy a little R&R and book reading while Zack and I went and flew his first ever kite. This was quite a Zen moment as father and son spent a good 15 minutes of uninterrupted joy watching his Winnie the Pooh kite flutter against the clear blue sky. Sigh, while it didn't last long I'll remember it forever.

After that, we stole down to a giant kid's park that consisted of half a dozen slides, swings, and tire walks, 3 stories of treated logs with runways and passages that were darn near impossible for "grownups" to negotiate. At one point I thought I'd lost Zack in the mass of some 60-80 kids playing in and around this children's area when out from beneath the castle's draw gate his flush faced smile emerged. He was having the time of his life romping and running, playing tag with the other kids. I wish I could have let him stay but the other children weren't being mindful of his size and age which, more than once, had me just catching him before he was pushed off the wall. Oh well, soon enough he'll be pushing back and holding his own...but not today.

Together, we walked back to the car hand-in-hand sipping on our refreshment from the same shared bottle of lemonade as Zack talked about all the fun he just had. That night when I tucked him into bed he asked for only three things:

1. "Daddy, sing song A C" (ABC's)
2. "Daddy, sing song stars" (Star Spangle Banner)
3. "Daddy, BIG hug."

You bet son; it's Memorial Day.

Anyway, for them what care...there it is