Wednesday, October 10, 2018

Celebrating our Z. Tyler!---and...Welcome! to lovely Miss Jennifer!

 
Ah! Love-at-first-sight! It---was…indeed! Such a precious bundle-gift for Family!
Jet-black full head-of-hair, generous bright brown-eyes, a ruddy-complexion---Healthy!
Our very first look at the new (1st & only, at that time) grandchild! Wow! Perfect!
And---that…was only the beginning of our blessed-delight. Such Great-adventures to come!
In the following anthology through photos and prose plus occasional-rhyme we shall endeavor to capture the universe-of-Love! we experienced through the birth of our Zachariah Tyler on July 24, 1987, forty-years after my own coming to this world. What a celebration! Z.!
For some 16-years my shadow-buddy and I enjoyed myriad adventures---all…exceptional!
Z. Tyler traveled with his Nanny and Bapa around the St. Louis-region on into Missouri and Illinois. And, we visited Tennessee (Bapa’s birthplace), the southeast including Florida and the Bahamas, Colorado, Oregon, British Columbia. Z.-man rode with me as “shotgun” through the Rocky Mountains up Cheyenne, Wyoming-way one dark night. As the full moon rose over the summit to the east, my co-pilot, age 2, seated in his safety-chair beside me in our big ole Ryder rental-truck pointed to the bright orb and announced, “The-mun! The-mun!” We celebrated his birthday “on-the-road” that year as the family trekked Northwest out ole Oregon-way. Yahoo!
By age of nine-months, that boy could hold a plastic “base”-ball in his left hand, drop it from head-high and hit it “mid-air” with his little red plastic bat before it hit the ground; we played “pitch & catch” in our garage in Salem, Oregon when he was just 2 ½  years old. We got Z. a set of plastic golf clubs (which he very quickly out-grew); we took him to the local driving range and taught the boy to hit golf balls---turns out…he was a natural! Sure-enough! That’s true!
When he went to school (I cried---lost my “play”-mate). That’s okay---‘cause, I took him out of school and the two of us went out and played golf for the afternoon on many occasions. Fore!
Okay! I did “cheat” on the score card when we played; just so Z.  Tyler would win!
But, by the time he was 12---I didn’t cheat any more…I honestly could not beat him! Bravo!
He played high school golf for the team; adults were “un”-invited to watch---Darn!
But, he had the stories! Wow! On a 330-yard hole with a creek at the 300-mark, he took out his “Big-Bertha” driver---the coach had a fit telling him to “lay-up”…uhn-uhn! Z. drove the ball over the hazard; it bounced onto the green and stopped about 8-feet from the hole! Birdie-time!
When my “Shadow” turned 12, I had bought a lot (7 ¼-acres) and constructed two lakes with plans to build a house for us to live in for a while and then sell. At the time, I had a bright-red Ranger pick-up truck, 4-wheel drive. I let Z.-man drive the truck on that property. Fun!
When winter came, he invited his hockey-team buddies (with their dads) to join us on the frozen lake for some Saturday-fun of ice-time, a bon-fire, hot dogs and chocolate. Great-time!
We lived in Oregon for a couple of years and traveled the Great Northwest---Adventure-fun!
From the Northwest we trekked on down to Nashville where Z. Tyler’s mom completed law school at Vanderbilt. Eventually, we returned to good ole Illinois.
Mr. Z.-man got a tractor-ride one frigid evening when he was about a year old. I had promised the boy a ride on my 60-hp White diesel; when the weather turned freezing, we bundled him up and off we went. He sure enough enjoyed that adventure---Bapa, too…I reckon that’s true!
Seems the real-kid in this marvelous family-tribe never did “grow-up!?---that would be…ole Bapa! Transgression-confession!
The incident of a “snowball” fight in Nanny’s new house, when our girls were little, which resulted in a pop-gun barrel hole in Becky’s bedroom door should have been a huge-hint to Bapa’s delinquency! Well! Perhaps! Hey! We were just playing “cowboys & Indians!? Adult!?
Well! When Z. Tyler came along---Nanny’s-house continued to “suffer” the adult-vacancy.
Seems Z. Tyler broke a ceramic-butterfly while hitting golf balls…In the house!
Another time: a fancy vase bit-the-dust! Z. told Nanny, “I was just watching!”
And---if ole-Bapa had it all to do over again?...Yep! I’d surely do it all the very same! Amen!
So many great-times! Travel! Vacations! Swimming! Horse-back riding! Ice-hockey! Soccer! Baseball! Softball! Fishing! Shooting! Hiking! Boat-rides! Rock-climbing! Sight-seeing! Pool!
“A star”!---at every-endeavor!...To be sure! Wow!
In one 30-day period, the boy traveled from Florida to Portland! He’s been to Seattle and Canada. Z. Tyler had one great-childhood (I still am having one) and grew to be quite a man!
It has always been---and…still is a huge delight for us to get together. Love! Is wonderful!
Our family has added a sister for Z. Tyler: Alexandria Elizabeth (16 years his junior and quite the horse-enthusiast) and a husband for our Miss-Becky; they have two precious equestrian-expert riders: Lauren Victoria and our “pistola”-Anna Marie! The girls display talent in music, sports, art, painting, writing and all challenges they face. Each of the four is a sacred-delight!
Each-Beautiful! Intelligent! Sophisticated! Kind! Loving! These cherished children, along with Lovely-Lady Candice Leah (Nanny) and Beth and Becky are the prized jewels in my metaphoric “golden”-crown. What a fantastic-family! I have won the Lottery-of-life! Amen!
 
So---in this presentation…we celebrate: Life! & Love! And---our…Z. Tyler’s wedding-day!
On October 13 (Z’s lucky-number), 2018---Z. T. will marry…Beautiful Jennifer Jung! Yea!
 
Welcome! Lovely-Miss Jen! To our little corner of the world.
 
In celebration of our myriad blessings---
We offer this Love-echo! Presentation…
Remembering the “Great” past- and anticipating future-times!
 
Congratulations! We love you dearly!
 
Nanny & Bapa


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