Not-so-Grand a parent's day

Tomorrow is "Grandparent's Day". I'm not sure if that conotes anything important or not. What I mean, is that we have these concocted holidays, days of "respect", or whatever to call them, like Father's day and Mother's day. Of course we should love and respect Ma and Pa, but do they mean anything really, these holidays, coming as they do, out of a more recent, and can I say, entreprenuerial tradition? If I just ignore them, or don't send a card, am I an evil son to be abducted in a black hood by the Hallmark Dark-Ops Squad?

I was wondering because last weekend I was somewhat pissed off at my Dad, the right-wing crank who, in the absence of my supposed step-mom (on vacation), had voiced plans to come visit Mira, Teague and I at our humble home. He is only a couple hours drive away from us, and all summer we've been renting a car, loading it up with massive baby gear, driving the 90 miles to see HIM, and I figured at least he would come out on this ONE weekend when the evil step-mom was out of town. But no, he decided to golf instead ("It's a GREAT country club", he said, "and it's so sunny today!"). In reality, I figure, in the absence of his wife he wanted to stay home, drink vodka unmonitored, and look at extensive pornography, since he doesn't have much chance to do so otherwise. I mean, who could blame him?

But then, he also said they would come to see us THIS weekend, and then just today called at the last minute to cancel. Mira is worried that it is all because of the idiotic argument mentioned in a previous post. I don't think so, and I know that my Dad would LAUGH mockingly at this idea, since such things don't phase him. Dad claims, jokingly, but I think with a measure of truth- that he wants to stay home and be a curmudgeon. He increasingly acts the misanthrope- claiming to have little tolerance for ANYONE, except, of course, for those people such as his family who he is forced to put up with by reason of consanguinity.

So, no sweet Grandparent cards to be exchanged in this family. No doddering, goofy, happy reunion of old and young with both old and young drooling down their shirts. Well, I guess I should try to look on it positively. Mira, Teague and I will have a fine weekend together at home, just the three of us, with no pressure to cook meals, provide drinks or entertainment, etc. The weather should be fine. Teague is cruising and pulling up on everything. We have little reason to continue physical therapy, though at 14 months I wish he would say one other word besides "BAH" (or is it "MAH")? He points at EVERYTHING and says "MAH!". As he points incessantly left and right at every object, I can only imagine that he is cataloging these words and will spill them out in unending spools at a later date.