Thanks Mom for stuff and things.

Sure makes me realize how much I appreciate what my Mom does for me on a daily basis when she is gone for a couple days. She deserves a lot more than just a couple days off and she deserves it a lot more often. But it makes me realize how much I take for granted on what she does for me every day, every week, every month and every year. Blows my mind how she has directed her whole life for helping me get through my life. If I come up with some crazy trip to go somewhere to visit someone over the weekend, she never bats an eye. She might give me a look but eventually she agrees and we are on our way somewhere.

I have a couple examples already from this summer. In June my sister Shelie invited me to stay a couple days with them at Woodland Resort at Devils Lake. Of course I jumped on the idea and said yes. I mentioned it to Mom and she was all for it. But she did ask if they had a hot tub, which they don’t but she said yes anyway.

I had a blast as usual. Doing it up Clint style every night at Proz. I met a lot of awesome people and I also got to catch a fish on the Channel A handicapped fishing pier. Thanks Shelie and Brad for an awesome four days and three crazy nights.

Mom had a good time also. She didn’t have to cook and she enjoyed watching the boats come in and out from the patio. But even on vacation it is a job for her to help me do stuff and things. Like getting me dressed, in the chair when getting ready for the day and out of the chair at the end of the night and undressed. Plus a lot of other things that only people like us would know need to be done. It is work. I am a lot of work.

Even when I had the brilliant idea of going home the long way and stopping in New Rockford for the high-stakes shake of the day. Too bad we got there an hour early because the Buck-It’s Bar wasn’t open. But I tilted back for 10 minutes and we were on to our next adventure.

The next adventure was stopping at a friend’s place southeast of Carrington. I had wanted to go there for years and never did it. But this time when I mentioned it to Mom she said, “I love Enslow!” That is my buddy’s nickname. His place isn’t on the way home by any means but it isn’t that far off the long way home either. Enslow welcomed us and gave us a little tour of his place. We even got to meet all of his Redbone coonhounds. They are neat. Another friend was there also who I hadn’t seen in years, Blackbeard and his dad were there. We all have nicknames. We all bullshitted for an hour or so in the garage, I also tilted back. It was a quick visit but well worth the trip, soon we were on the road home. Next time I visit it will be longer I promise Enslow.

Last week I had another brilliant idea for another adventure. This time it was heading east into Minnesota lake’s country. I had a handful of objectives on this trip. I was able to accomplish most of them. I mentioned a couple of those objectives to Mom. Again, she agreed and I made motel reservations. Much to her chagrin, I got the motel without the hot tub. An honest mistake, sincerely.

It was a Thursday and we headed to visit my cousins Steve and Roxy. We got to their place on East Silent and Steve had fried up a bunch of crappie for lunch. We weren’t expecting that but it sure at the spot. We hadn’t been to their place for at least five years. We visited for a couple hours before they had to go to one of their grandkid’s baseball games. It was a great afternoon. They even sent the leftover fish with us. Thanks again. The fish was a tasty snack at the motel.

Steve also suggested a bar/restaurant in Perham that we should check out. So once we got to the motel in Perham we got unpacked and we made our way over to the liquor store for essentials and then the grocery store for snacks and stuff. After that we went to check out the Silvermoon Lounge & Restaurant that Steve suggested. It is kind of hard to find but once you find it, it is pretty neat. It doesn’t look like much from the outside and actually not much on inside but they do have good drinks and great food. We only had one cocktail each before I needed to go back to the motel and laydown.

The next day we decided to go back to the Silvermoon for supper. The waitress remembered us from the night before and as soon as I got my first cocktail, I noticed a celebrity on the other side of the room. It was Babe Winkelman and his wife Kris. I was as giddy as a jackrabbit on a first date. I could barely contain myself. I didn’t know what to do. Mom was laughing at me while we were eating our supper. Babe and Kris were with another couple and they were still eating. I didn’t want to bother them during their meal so I had one more cocktail to gather up enough liquid courage to go over there when they were finished. I am sure glad I went over there. They could not have been more gracious and friendly. It was awesome. We talked for better part of an hour about life, fishing and hunting. I hope to run into that again sometime.

The main objective for this trip was to surprise my friend Jen at her birthday party. I don’t think we had seen each other in maybe eight years. We used to have some good times when I lived in Fargo. Borrowed Bucks, The Hub, The Windbreak and the best of all, O’Kelly’s (when Clevy ran it) were our stopping grounds. Anyway, she had no idea I was coming. It was only 12 miles from Perham to Jen and her husband Bob’s lake home on Little McDonald. It didn’t take long for us to get there. As soon as I was going down the driveway towards the beach where the party was, Bob spotted me and started yelling, “Jen is going to freak!” He was running towards me to help me down the hill and gave me a big smile and thanked me for coming. By the time I was halfway down the hill Jen spotted me. She screamed. I can’t remember what it was she said but it was awesome. She came running over and gave me a big hug and kept screaming. It was perfect. She couldn’t believe I was there and I was so happy that I could make her that happy. We reminisced for little while before she had to go visit with some other friends and family. It was a great night on the beach listening to a band and watching the sunset.

Around midnight I got a text from Mom saying, “You ready!” That means I need to get going quickly. She puts up with a lot. Anyway, I found Jen and Bob and we made our way up the hill to my pickup which they wanted to see. I got a couple handshakes and a couple hugs and they watched my pickup work its magic. It was a great night all around.

The next day there was another objective that I wanted to happen at Mike and Randi’s lake place on Sybil Lake. I wanted to go for pontoon ride. But it was hot. It was hot for me in the shade. I was starting to overheat so Mike and I went for a ride in the pickup to cool off. By the time I got back I knew the pontoon ride wasn’t going to happen. So Mom and I went back to the motel. I laid down and cooled off watching TV while Mom went to a local brewery called 1894. She had a blast listening to a band while having something to eat.

The next day which was Sunday was another objective. That was to visit my friend Pipper on the way home. Him and his wife Deb are on Loon Lake. When we got there the clouds were ominous. After about a half-hour talking outside it was time to head in before the rain started. It was a good time visiting with Pipper and Deb, their son Jesse and his wife Leah with their two daughters plus Steve and Roxy also came over. The visit and the rain lasted about an hour. After I tilted, Mom and I were on our way home. It was a great trip, thanks to Mom.

Another trip that I have planned that I ran by Mom after I planned it is going to Medora in November so I can chase mule deer bucks in unit 4D with my rifle. She agreed after some compromises and stuff. It is going to be a grand time no matter what happens. I just hope I can make it this year and I don’t miss it like last year when I came down with pneumonia the week before the trip. Here’s to no whammy’s! This time I promise there will be a hot tub Mom, it is already booked.

Anyway, none of this would be possible without Mom. I am forever grateful for everything she does for me and everything I put her through. Thanks Mom, I love you.

Thanks for reading, Clint.