I Suck At Kimball Farm

It has been a long time, but today I felt like I had to post an entry. In doing so, I actually had to un-delete this blog. There were many reasons as to why I deleted the blog in the first place. The most important was the time commitment. Being the parent of a now fifteen month old, I found that I definitely had a very limited amount of time.

It's true when they say time flies when you have children. Most days, when I'm done doing my fatherly duties, it's already late at night before I can unwind and relax. And the next thing I know, I have to repeat the cycle all over again in a several hours.

In addition to my limited time, I also felt that no one wanted to read my blog because inevitably most of the entries would involve my daughter (Briana). In the past, I have tried to limit my posts involving my daughter, mostly because I feel like no one really wants to hear about what my child is doing. Unfortunately, that gets harder because she has become such a major part of my life now.

Consequently, I got a little burnt out with the entire process and deleted this blog. Interestingly enough, it was not until yesterday in which I actually reconsidered un-deleting the blog. My friend (Aimee) had noticed that my blog was deleted some time ago. After I mentioned my reasons for the deletion (as mentioned above), she noted that the blog would allow me to look back in time and reminisce on certain issues, particularly when it came to my son (Braden).

Sadly, I never gave that part much thought. My son, Braden, was born prematurely and survived for only a week. It was definitely a tough experience to go through. In fact, the entire year of 2009 (the year after Braden passed away) was a complete blur to me as I was simply, for lack of a better word, disconnected from grieving.

Thinking that perhaps it may make sense to read about what I managed to post in the year 2009 during my disconnected grief (as well as all my thoughts during the time I spent with Braden), I reconsidered un-deleting the blog. So thank you, Aimee. And it was not until today that I actually followed through on that thought because I was pleasantly surprised by today's turn of events.

The day started off with a quick shopping excursion to Babies 'R Us. On the shopping list was a new convertible car seat for my daughter. There is currently nothing wrong with the car seat she is using now. Karen and I were just planning ahead for when Briana outgrows it.

Until today, I never knew so much about car seats. I swear... the baby market is a lucrative market. Regardless, we ended up getting Briana a Graco Signature Series Smart Seat... not only because of the safety recommendations... but because it looked cool. And thankfully, it fit in the trunk of the car after we had to take it out of the packaging.

From there, we made a little trip to Milford, New Hampshire. I have never been to Milford, New Hampshire. (I'd say I suck at Milford, New Hampshire.) Karen has gone a few times because her college friend (Michelle) lives there. Michelle was having a birthday party for her twins. I have never met the twins, so what better time than when they turn 4 years old?

Needless to say, it was an interesting party. I think one of the other sets of parents at the party should send me a thank you letter because I probably saved their child's life, or at least his intestinal system. The child was eating a Lego piece while the parents were mingling. Normally, I'm not one to ask other people's children for things, but since this piece of Lego was in the child's mouth I figured it was a good time to start asking. Might I add, a piece of Lego covered in the saliva of some child who you do not know in the palm of your hand... fun.

Afterwards, Karen and I decided to be a little spontaneous on our way home following the party. We decided to take a detour to Kimball Farm in Westford. Unfortunately, I suck at Kimball Farm. Neither Karen nor I knew how to get there. All we knew was that it was located in Westford, which we were passing on the way home. So off the random highway exit we went.

I must say, it was a fun time. Barely into Westford, I stopped at the local gas station to ask for directions. The service attendant did not seem to speak very good English, so he suggested I ask one of the patrons at the pump. Apparently, the woman I asked used to be a French teacher for 35 years in Westford. (My immediate thought was "Parlez vous Francais?") She then mentioned that many of her students at one time or another had worked at Kimball's. And rather than tell me the directions, she offered to escort me there because she thought about getting ice cream too.

So there we were, following this woman as she drove through Westford. The ride took quite a bit of time. We thought either we were way off in picking the correct exit to Kimball's, or this woman was some serial killer leading us to some abandoned area of town to kill us. Luckily for us, it turned out to be the former.

Needless to say, I thought what this woman did was incredibly nice, especially since Karen and I were nowhere near Kimball's at the time. I was going to offer to buy this woman some ice cream for her efforts, but she did not stop at Kimball's like she had originally told me. So thank you, former French teacher... or Merci!

Anyway, from there things got increasingly better because ice cream makes the world a better place. We stayed at Kimball's for quite some time because shortly after Karen's aunt (Denise) and uncle (Paul) met up with us. Denise and Paul happened to be returning from their excursion around the same time and had heard we were at Kimball's. So they decided to meet up with us. It was good to see Denise and Paul.

From there, Karen and I (and a very tired daughter, Briana) headed home. All in all, it was a great day, primarily due to the generosity of this random woman who I will never know... and of course, the ice cream.