Even though today was too hot and sultry with a temperature of 37 degrees, we still had to go to my wife's father's birthday, or as we call a wife's father here, PUNAC.
He and his son, who is the oldest of the children, live together alone in a house in a village 26 kilometers away from my place after losing their young wife and mother. Unfortunately, at only 46 years old, she suffered a severe stroke and did not survive.
The only beautiful thing the family did, and of which I am proud, is that they donated her organs and thus saved many lives. Unfortunately, two years before the mother's death, the oldest son also suffered a severe stroke at only 21 years old and barely survived, but his entire left side is paralyzed. Despite this, he is always smiling and joking.
Anyway, as we say here, the punac's 66th birthday was celebrated, and my wife, who is the youngest of the children, bought cakes and drinks, juices, beers, wine, and the other daughter bought a cake with the inscription "66," which was delicious.
There were quite a few of us.
All the children with their children, his two brothers, and a neighbor who came by for a drink and cake.
The grandchildren enjoyed themselves outside in the yard because there is not much traffic; after all, it's a village, and only an occasional tractor passes by, and cars even less frequently. We played cards, shared life stories, and, of course, jokes.
The children played hide and seek when it got a bit dark, which was wonderful to see because I also played it as a child, and now they mostly play on their phones or computers.
Since neither the father nor his son who had a stroke want us to buy them an air conditioner because they don't feel hot, probably because they are used to it and also because of the son's poor circulation, we took the chairs outside and sat and ate there because it was 35 degrees in the house, and they only have a ceiling fan which just circulates the hot air. Outside, there was a slight breeze because 50 km away, there is a large mountain, Velebit, which brings some fresh air, so it was pleasant even though it was still 31 degrees at eight in the evening, the wind made it more bearable.
In general, we arrived at the village at 6 PM and left for home at almost one in the morning.
I took a day off, and my wife was off work, so everything lined up nicely.
In general, it’s nice to get away, even if only for those 6-7 hours from the city, which is now full of tourists, to a small village with 270 people where life is peaceful and slow, perfect for rest and relaxation.
It meant a lot to me; it really "reset" me, as people would say.
