The Pap Pap Attack

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of happiness, it was the epoch of Pap Pap.

The weekend started off with a 5:30am wake up call (which is awesome for a weekend), to participate in the Miracle Miles 5K & 15K run downtown. It was an event to raise money for the Winnie Palmer hospital on behalf of an amazing family and an inspiring young man as part of Team Tin Man.

Jenn did the 15K and Nolin and I ran the 5K. Although Nolin and I’s race was not timed, I am happy to say that we were the 1st place runner/stroller combo out of 13,000 runners. To be fair, most of the participants with strollers were walking, but we did pass another pair right before mile 3.

In typical fashion, Nolin stole the show as he made friends with everyone on the run cheering in excitement. When we finished he looked at me as I was catching my breath and patted my head as he said I’m so proud of you daddy. That was pretty cool.

As exciting as the day was, we were eagerly awaiting the arrival of Pap Pap who was coming into town for approximately 36 hours. Unfortunately he arrived that night after Nolin fell asleep, but still came by to see him.

The next morning there was a knock at the door. Nolin shouted It’s Pap Pap. To his disappointment, it was only me returning for my first long run (and by long I mean 5 miles) as I start training for a 1/2 marathon in December. Sorry buddy.

A few minutes later the door bell rang. Nolin’s eyes got really big and this time he wasn’t disappointed. It was Pap Pap.

Nolin went into overdrive. Immediately he was shouting Pap Pap you wanna play trains with me, Pap Pap can you sit down with me, Pap Pap can I pick you up? It had been a while and he wasn’t going to let Pap Pap out of sight this time. At one point Pap Pap tried to head home so he could get ready to go watch the All Ireland Football Championship but he got blocked in by Nolin. Pap Pap you can’t go outside you can come play with me. Pap Pap was now being held captive by a two year old.

We finally got out the door, only to find out that no Irish pubs in the area were actually televising the All Ireland Football game because they are truly authentic Irish pubs. This year was exciting because Teresa’s small hometown of Donegal would win for the first time in 20 years. So we took Nolin (dressed in his Irish soccer gear) to a nearby park and hung out outside.

At one point we heard Nolin shout Pap Pap come with me as he ran towards the street. We both shouted for him to freeze, but he didn’t listen. Next thing I know from out of no where….bam!

Jenn pulled a Terry Tate Office Linebacker and hip checked Nolin to the ground as she tried to jump in front of him. He laughed hysterically. After the initial shock, we all laughed but took the opportunity to once again remind Nolin that the streets are dangerous.

There was no nap for Nolin and no rest for Pap Pap. No one else mattered. I almost felt sorry for him. The only problem was that this honeymoon period would be short lived. Pap Pap was flying back up north the next afternoon.

Luckily, Nolin only cried for a few minutes after they dropped Pap Pap off at the airport, but he would now have to settle back into the normalcy of life with Grammy, Mommy & Daddy (which apparently is not near as exciting).

As if saying Goodbye to Pap Pap wasn’t bad enough, Nolin was then subjected to a shopping trip with the girls. As they made their way through the isles at Bed Bath & Beyond, Nolin took off, and Jenn chased him. In between displays she could see him smiling at her. This time there just wasn’t enough time or room to pull off a perfectly executed hip check when it happened…

Nolin ran into the display of coffee makers, Jenn could only grab a few before they hit another display. Nolin stood in amazement. Luckily no real damage (other than some loud noise and a dented coffee maker box or two). Nolin looked at Jenn and exclaimed I made a bad choice.

Needless to say we got a new coffee maker and they quickly exited.

It seems the Pap Pap hurricane caused only a little destruction and Nolin has finally settled back down. When we asked why he would make the 18 hour drive to stay for one day, he said it was so that Teresa could have a car down here, but it was really because he couldn’t stand not to see his buddy for a few more weeks.

Let’s just hope that next time Pap Pap attacks, there’s a little less Terry Tate and a little more relaxation and afternoon nap time (oh yeah…apparently Nolin has outgrown those too these days…awesome!).