May 31st- Double Trouble, with a twist

 

May 31st, 2015 Year 4 Day 31

FREE PRETZEL #31.  All Done

Sunday May 31st was no longer a dream.  The last day had come and it was time to honor not one, not two, but three worthy pals. Hoping that I would get some golf in this morning, I realized on Saturday night that the boys had a birthday party for one of their classmates and so I would be forgoing golf to attend the skating party.  It actually ended up being pretty fun, watching the boys do their best to stay on their feet throughout and remembering that I too was not the biggest fan of roller skating. 

After the party, the boys and I continued our day together and tried out some golf clubs at Golfsmith before heading to our first recipients home.  Mary Kranzfelder has been a friend since high school.  Mary was part of the Holy Cross crew that have been well represented in the blog.  She is from Moorestown, just a few blocks from my golf course and last Sunday, I was hoping to present her with the FREE PRETZEL.  After my hole in one I attempted to contact Mary because I was in her neighborhood and it seemed everything would work out well.  You see, Mary has relatives in Indianapolis and has been to the Indy 500 on many occasions, so I thought it would have been appropriate that she receive the pretzel on the day that the 500 took place.  Amazingly, she was getting her hair done at the beginning of the race, ran late and I was unable to connect with her.  It happens and today was a do over of sorts. 

Mary with her treat, only one week later

Mary has also been a lifelong Notre Dame football fan, as is her entire family.  We have bonded over the happy times in the Irish history and reminisced about days past.  Mary has also been a very avid follower of the blog from Day 1, but since she had been living in New York the other years, it was harder to get her a pretzel.  I guess she proved that it was just as hard even living in Moorestown.  I was glad it worked out and she was happy to enjoy her tasty afternoon snack, even if it wasn't during the Indy 500.
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Lou and Megan have been friends for pretty much as long as I can remember.  Meghan's parents have lived around the corner from my parents from the beginning of my life, until this very day.  Meghan and I played on our first ever soccer team together and her father was our coach.   The picture below is my proof. Meghan was also a part of the Holy Cross crew and someone I always seemed to know for most of my life.  

Hard to see, but I am far left in yellow and Meg, I think has white turtle neck on, 3rd from right in yellow

Lou was one of the finest soccer players I have ever had the pleasure to play with.  Lou was a master dribbler, juggler and lived and breathed soccer.  As we have gotten older, our skills have probably diminished, but I am sure it would come back to us, just like riding a bike.  Lou was always on the smaller side, earning the nickname "Little Louie," but it never stopped him from dominating bigger opponents who were sure to underestimate him.  It was always great playing with Lou because he could always find me with a pinpoint pass for a goal.  That was my job, scoring.  His job was schooling everyone and then passing it to me.  Just kidding, but I was always envious of the footwork and skills he possessed.  

Lou and Meghan were always close throughout high school and it was no surprise to our friends when they found each other after college and eventually were the last of our merry band to get hitched and then have kids. It was pretty comical when the happy couple told all of us that they were expecting twins.  All of of our friends were pretty excited. Excited to see how these two, notorious "scatterbrains," would do with two newborns.  As a father of twins, I was just excited to see someone else try and deal.  

On August 25 of last year, Meg gave birth to Ella and Louis.  The pair, like most twins, spent some extracurricular time in the NICU and were on quarantine for a little while.  Meg and Lou live in the city, right near the old Penitentiary and have a nice place they call home.  Lou and Meg spent a few days at the shore this past weekend and were at Meg's parents house in Delran on Sunday while the twins were napping.  It was great to be able to see them and catch up.  We were only there for a few minutes, the boys were running amok, but it was nice to see Louis before he joined Ella on the nappy train.  

Lou and Meg have also been big supporters of the blog, Lou enjoying it so much that he had offered to back the blog if I kept it going after the month of May, as long as he had complete control of what I did with the pretzel.  I balked at the idea, not because of the cost or even the control, just the exhaustion of having to write every night. It's great that the two of them have joined the twin club and Katie and I welcome them with open arms.  I just need to constantly remind them that they are boy/girl twins and watching our boys will be nothing like what Louis and Ella will be like. Right?  I sure hope so for their sake.  Lou and Meg had to have enjoyed the FREE PRETZEL because in our short conversation, the each finished it off.  A day at the beach will do that to you.  Meg and Lou have always and will always be good people and Katie and I are always here for guidance or support in your journey.  #twinlife

Special virtual pretzel shout out to my nephew Gabriel who learned to ride a bike on Sunday.  Here is proof. Apparently he just kept going.  Bye Gabe!

I'm tired, relieved and happy to have provided FREE PRETZELS for a whole bunch of new friends.  I hope that you too have enjoyed the journey and only time will tell if I am up for another one.  I guess we will just have to wait and see.

I big gigantic thank you to all who have followed along, liked on Facebook and have commented either in person or online.  It means a lot that people actually read and let me know that it is fun. If I missed anyone, then maybe next year will be your year, or maybe if I get up the energy I might Pretzel bomb unsuspecting people at random.  That could be fun.

Until next May....or whenever...