happy birthday, Daddy

Dearest Daddy,
Sending loving thoughts your way, on what would have been your 82nd birthday.
I couldn't give presents to you, so I did the next best thing: I gifted Bonnie with my presence today.
No, that's not quite right, as you know.
Actually, her presence was the gift to me.

We did our usual, meeting up at the erstwhile
"Sea Turtle Cinema" complex.
Your two youngest grandsons wanted to dine
at the cheeseburger place, so that's what we did
on this gently rainy afternoon.
(smile)
So much energy those boys have!
You just wouldn't believe how much they've grown!

Believe it or not, Merritt is twelve years old now!
He was not just over 3 when you died in 2009.
Conner was just 1 then.
I know they were both too young to remember you,
but I'm going to work on that.
See this batch of goodies from Clearwater Marina?
I gave those to Merritt today as a (very) belated
birthday present and he was thrilled!
You see, he is a very big fan of dolphins,

especially of Winter, the one whose tail
had been severely damaged by a crab trap.
Perhaps you don't know of her?
There was a movie, "Dolphin Tale", in 2011,
chronicling the technology that saved her life
when she had to be fitted with a prosthetic tail.
Get the pun? Nice little play on words!
(smile)
I had bought the dolphin-created artwork in 2014,

during my visit to Winter and Hope and pals,
intending to give it to Merritt, but always something held me back.
Today was the perfect day and he loved it!
Here's the message I wrote for him.
"Dear Merritt,
Happy 12th birthday!
Did you know that you and Winter are the same age?
Her birthday was in October.
I hope the art she painted will inspire you to explore your creativity.
with my love, Aunt Tina"

Conner's birthday was just missed by one month.
That's not even really belated, then, is it?
Hahaha hahaha!
The last time I had lunch and a movie with them,
he was carrying on almost the entire visit about
his school trip to the Mighty Eighth museum.
That's what made me think of this book -
and I was so thrilled to find it this morning!
(Thanks for the nudge and the help!)

I had purchased this book, and several others,
at the George T. Bagby State Park, back in 2012.
Why did I buy them?
Well, at the time, I was still invested in buying in bulk for Christmases and birthdays, what with having more than twenty nieces and nephews.
The books were autographed and a great buy,
but I mostly liked that they were written by
a Daddy in response to a daughter's request.

When I had asked about the plain-looking books,
I was told "an old man comes by and drops them off".
I guess the clerk didn't know James E. Coleman had helped establish that state park years earlier!
Here's what I wrote for Conner.
"Dear Conner, Happy 10th birthday!
This book was written by a veteran of World War II.
I hope it will inspire a love of reading, learning, and maybe even writing.
with my love, Aunt Tina"

I know this crazy squirrel is from the "Ice Age" animated movies, but when I saw him in the restaurant, I just had to take a selfie with him!
(smile)
We saw "Pacific Rim: Uprising" and the boys really enjoyed it!
This was my second time seeing it, but I had been late (big surprise!) the first time.
I had not realized how much of the movie I'd missed in those fifteen minutes!
Good thing I saw it again today!
Now, I want to see the first one so I can have more of the back story...
maybe I will find it on tv sometime.
Back to Savannah I go!
I am so blessed to have shared this day with my 'stepmom' Bonnie!

with much love always,
your one-and-only, ever-lovin' daughter