August 26, 1993

Mr. Ron Towler

Towler Electric

331 1/2 S. Old Belair Road

Grovetown, GA 30813

Dear Mr. Towler,

We would like to thank you for your hospitality in offering the use of your lake house for the Cashin family reunion earlier this month. The gathering was a tremendous success.

We had good weather, so we were able to take advantage of the lake and land surrounding the house. Jeb and Nicole (10) had an adventurous canoe paddle across the lake to the point. Danny (6) and Uncle Bob Cashin enjoyed flipping off the docks. Kathy appreciated the fence and gates around the outside patio where Kelly (11 months) and her other small cousins could play without fear of rolling into the lake. Alas, the gate did not contain the turtle that Bob Cashin caught.

If you spy a large eastern box turtle with blood red eyes, it belongs to Bob.

Thank you again.

Yours truly,

Jeb Kathy Nicole Danny Kelly

Danny asked Kathy if Gramalie adopted a baby. Kathy said no that she had all her babies and asked him why he asked. Because she has so many. (I guess 3 is normal as far as Danny is concerned.)

Kathy said that we could have four babies if we wanted to. Then Danny asked how do you make a baby.

Kathy told him that Mom and Dad had to love each other a lot to make a baby. Danny decided that if Mom and Dad loved each other a whole bunch and bunch, we could have six kids.

Then Kathy decided to explain how it worked.

By the time she was done, Danny had his hands on his ears, his face was red, and he was on the verge of tears.

Kelly has gotten very good at entertaining herself. One of her favorite things is the fireplace hearth. She can pull herself up on the bricks and stand, scratching the bricks. Kathy and I are convinced that her personality is much like Danny’s. She gets very focused on things, and will quickly complain if you deter her from her current mission.

Her favorite mission of the day is attempting to get on the top of the fireplace hearth. She can just reach a toe up on the edge. Almost enough to hoist herself up. She hasn’t quite gotten the move yet. But she will stand at the hearth and chat with the chimney, scratching on the bricks, searching up and down the length of the hearth for a stray wood chip to play with.

She also likes to stand at the windows that face the driveway and backyard. She especially likes spying a kid or parent that she can yell to.

Like her brother, she will not be long for a crib. She already has attempted to climb out. I caught her reaching over the side, exploring the diaper holder.

Another favorite activity is climbing around our feet during dinner. Since the weather has gotten warm, she has enjoyed her discovery that Dad has hair all over his legs. Often I must pry her little fist from a handful of leg hair during dinner. She gets very tickled and laughs at this.

She also likes to climb under our chairs and get trapped.

She is sleeping through the night with only occasional outbursts. She still insists on getting up in the morning and having me bring her to Kathy. She won’t even think of skipping breakfast. When I pick her up from her crib, she immediately turns herself toward our bedroom door, almost climbing out of my arms in mid air.

Today at church, she was presented Dad’s watch and a doll to play with. She threw the doll on the floor, and explored every side of the watch. I’m sure she would have taken it apart if her mouth would only work like a screwdriver.

Her hair is getting longer. She even has some over the tops of her ears. She’s looking more like a little girl. She has no teeth and is still in diapers.

Kelly is officially mobile. Laying on her back, she lifts her feet and grabs her toes. She has learned that by doing this, she turns into a ball and rolls over on her side. Once on her side, she lifts one leg up and her head which turns her over on her stomach. She can then continue in the same direction by tumbling over on her back (which she has been able to do for some time.)

Having traveled about 10 inches (the same length as a Crevice Spiny lizard), she can pick up the object of her desire. Her little solar system toy is her favorite.

Kelly is slowly turning into a person. She likes playing with the little toys that dangle from the bar over her recliner. She likes to smile and she’ll even laugh with an inhaling yelp.

We kicked her out of our room last weekend. She can move around enough to get to the edge of the swinging cradle and end up sleeping with her face tilted into the bars. She has graduated to a big crib and has enjoyed the past few nights sleeping with her big brother.

Danny has been recovering from a week long fever and an infected ear. Kathy remarked how pleasant he was throughout his sickness. Very quiet and cooperative.

He must have recovered because he is already giving us fits with all of his running around, torturing his big sister, and whining.

Mom and Dad’s for Dad’s birthday brunch. We gave him a case of Killian’s Red.

This morning, Eve Cheeks came over to take blood and urine samples, measure my height, weight, chest and waist, and ask a bunch of health questions. She is a nurse collecting information for my new USAA life insurance policy.

Danny and Nicole each fixed themselves some breakfast as they watched my examination in the kitchen.

Nicole went to a fair with Anna. She got a free fly swatter among other trinkets.

Carol, Bob, and Eric came over for the evening. I was tired from mowing the lawn twice to get it short then running the motorized aerator rented by John Homolak across the street. Bob and I went on a beer run to Kroger where I used the self-swiping credit card machine that threatens to wipe out the check industry.

All four of us had gone to the biannual used clothes sale at the abandoned mall on Oak and River. I got a coat, some pants, a shirt, a dreaded (by Kathy) sweater vest, a red Lacrosse button up sweater, some golf shoes and a sports coat, all for just under $50. Kathy spent $22 on a couple pairs of jeans and a short winter coat.

We watched the video of Kelly dancing to Jimmy Buffet’s volcano song. Carol suggested sending it into America’s Funniest Home Videos so we could win $10,000.

Carol has the early pregnancy blahs.

Kathy woke up at 4 a.m. with contractions. The alarm went off at 6, and I woke up, hearing her mulling about in the bathroom.

She came out and told me she didn’t think I would be going to work. These contractions seemed to be the real thing. Seems the raspberry tea I had insisted we drink together the night before had worked.

I got up. Kathy wanted to get a shower and wanted to see the kids off to school. I had to type up some instructions and do a little work on some slides that would be needed at work that day.

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The four of us went over to Bob and Carol’s. We set the kids up in a back room and watched 3 hours of Oliver Stone’s “JFK”. The movie was long, but raised many curious questions. How that single bolt rifle could have fired off 3 quick rounds accurately is the strangest. Either there was a conspiracy among men, or physics conspired with Oswald.

I looked over and caught Kathy timing her contractions. She was getting worried, so we grabbed an umbrella and took a walk down the street in the drizzle. Bob and Carol greeted us when we came back, half expecting us to bring in a baby, I think. But the contractions settled down. Another false alarm.

Today is the official due date. Kathy had looked down at her stomach earlier on Saturday and said, “Tomorrow is your birthday. You don’t want to miss it!”

Happy Birthday, new kid. Where are you?

Last night Mom and Dad double-dated with Ted and his new girlfriend, Susan. Mom and Dad were the first to meet her (except for Grant, I think, who lives over at Ted’s whenever he can- only he is out west visiting the Grand Canyon, gambling in Las Vegas, and searching for Redwoods.) The family spent much of the day calling each other to discuss all of this. Ted seemed just as eager to join in all the discussions.

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