Picking the Perfect Pumpkin

The evening ended very late last night as the three of us stayed recapping the wonderful evening. I haven’t stayed up that late in a very long time but it was well worth it. I don’t get to see my mother that often and I am so happy she decided to come out well before her initially intention of coming. My mother had scheduled her first trip out here in January but after a few weeks without “J & L; my mother decided to come a few months early and this was a benefit to me as well. The three of us had some very good conversation and these were some of those moments I have missed in the past two years. I certainly missed having dinner parties with dear friends which is why I enjoyed the evening immensely.

The morning hour came very quickly and everyone was awake much earlier than expected. This was a different Sunday morning with our visitor since we did have plans for the day. Our wonderful visitor prepared a magnificent breakfast for everyone and we took our time with a leisurely breakfast/brunch. I realize it is very difficult for my mother to relax but she was on her best behavior this entire trip. I still don’t know how my mother stays retired after teaching for the past 34 ½ years. She is a very young retiree and I am so grateful she is able to visit us out here on the West Coast.

With breakfast over we turned our attention to the rest of the day. We decided on visiting a local pumpkin patch since it is pumpkin/Halloween season. We are very fortunate to live in a place where we can find these wonderful things and we had a multitude of options available. The pumpkin patch was about 40 minutes away tucked into the green patch before the desert takes over the landscape. There were activities for the children which was a prerequisite along with crafts and yes, the pumpkins.

I took my daughter and son into the “corn maze” for a scavenger hunt and we had a good time going in and out of the hay bales. After this we went on an old fashioned tractor ride which was fairly lame but my children seemed to enjoy the ride around the pumpkin patch. Of course with there being slide nearby I had to purchase tickets so they could go on the slide as well. We then met up with grandma and mom where grandma treated the grandchildren to the “paint the porcelain pumpkin and ghost”. The children painted and really my daughter took her time creating a very beautiful pumpkin and my son’s ghost wasn’t all that bad as well.

The day wouldn’t have been complete without picking the pumpkins which always poses its difficulties especially for my wife. I had to take some cues from my mother to pick the perfect pumpkin and thankfully this didn’t take all afternoon. The afternoon did come to an end as we found those perfect pumpkins. There was enough time so I could make it to the Sunday evening Gamblers Anonymous meeting and thankfully I have an incredibly supportive family.

As we returned home I went off to the meeting. The commitment I made was to attend at least one GA meeting per week and my meeting of choice has been the Sunday evening meeting. We had enough time that I made it to the meeting in time. There are times we I wonder where all the people who need the meetings are and today was one of those times. The meeting was sparsely attended with only 7 of us and 6 of us were the “regulars”.

The only new face was that of a person who has been in and out of the program over the past few years. I was very surprised last Tuesday with the large attendance and dare I say it a little disappointed today with the sparse attendance. This shouldn’t matter because the program continues to save my life and that is all that matters. I did feel much better after the meeting than prior which is always the prescription for recovery. It is all about recovery and I continue to attain recovery through the GA Program.

The meeting was over and I returned home for a very nice dinner since we had so many leftovers from last night. The lasagna was well received as was everything else and I was very surprised to see my son and daughter eat the lasagna last night and today. Their eating habits aren’t the best but this was a very pleasant surprise. Who knows and I guess there will be more surprises on the horizon with this two. The remainder of the evening was all about family with the five of us sharing those quiet moments I so cherish.