Impressions
All f ive of the Radack grandkids celebrating together in Erie on July 4.
Operation Family Vacation by Dr. Stephen T. Radack III, Editor
By the time you read this we will be in the“ dog days” of summer. For most of us summer meant a family vacation was near. When I was a kid, my favorite summer vacation was the annual trip to maternal grandparents, Ralph and Martha’ s house in Butler. My brother and I got to go fishing with my grandfather, and my grandmother would treat us like little princes. She would take us downtown on the city bus for a day of shopping at Murphy’ s, Woolworth’ s and a kid’ s paradise, Alland’ s Toy Land( we always left with something)! The trip would not be complete without lunch at the famous Hot Dog Shop!
Fast forward five decades, as Mary and I prepared to host our family for the Independence Day holiday week; it was time to put Operation Family Vacation in motion. It had been a couple of years since both our daughters and their families were back home at the same time. Cassie and her husband Erie have three boys: Will( 7), Tommy( 5) and Jack( 2). Stephanie and her husband Paul have two kids: Catie Alice( 12) and Reeves( 10). If you’ re counting, that is 11 people including Mary and me. It was time to get those three unused bedrooms ready and blow up the air mattresses. Let the fun begin!
Cassie and her crew arrived on Saturday( 6 / 28) and Stephanie and hers the next day. The weather was on our side. In Erie you never know what to expect even in“ summer.” We have had Fourth of July parties where guests huddled in the garage with their sweatshirts on rather than in the pool in a swimsuit.
For the next week we all loved swimming every day. It was a joy to see the grandkids enjoy the pool for hours. When we put a pool in 24 years ago, our girls and their friends enjoyed it just as much. As time passed and they moved away, the pool does not get as much use, so this week brought back some wonderful memories. One of the bonuses about a day of swimming in the hot weather is it makes for five exhausted kids. Everyone slept well most nights except for maybe Mary and me. Our grandsons think they need to sleep with Grammy and Grampy when we are together. Mary gave up her side of the king size bed for Will and ended up on an air mattress with Tommy or Jack. Just depended on the night and which kid won the Grammy jackpot!
We had a great day at Waldameer Park & Water World, our local family amusement park. The kids look forward to a day there every summer. We are lucky the grandkids’ parents enjoy the spinning rides because Mary and I do not! We enjoyed a great night at the ballpark to watch our own Erie Sea Wolves AA baseball team. We had great weather and a postgame fireworks show, and then the kids got to run the bases. A thrill for all of them, even Jack at age 2.
All of this led up to the Fourth of July. Not only a day to celebrate the birth of our nation, but also the birth of Thomas Charles Shirk, the COVID baby! Tommy turned 5 and it was time to celebrate. We hosted aunts and uncles, lots of cousins and a few friends. There was swimming and cornhole, and we had lots of snacks, grilled sausage, chicken wings and Greek dogs on the menu. And of course, a birthday cake and ice cream for dessert. We capped the evening off sitting by a nice fire watching neighbors shoot off fireworks. Tommy had a good day!
During the week I was able to get my family into the office, dust off the loupes and do checkups on seven of them! I was glad to know they continue to do a good job with their oral hygiene, and both of my girls are still cavity free at 34 and 31! I was happy to be back in the office treating my family after being retired for two years, but was also happy when it was over and we walked out the door.
Over the next couple days we packed in a few bike rides, visits with friends, lots more swimming, sailing on Lake Erie for an afternoon with our neighbors( very hot and very little wind), made S’ mores on the fire, made the annual trip to the local ice cream shop and dusted off the old Game Cube video game( the kids loved this)!
After a week of sun, fun and just being together as a family, it was time for the girls and their families to head home. By late Monday( 7 / 7) morning the house was quiet. It was time to clean, do laundry, put all the toys away and return the house to“ normal.”
Operation Family Vacation was a success. We managed to keep 11 people happy and avoid any trauma or injuries! You don’ t have to always leave home to have a great vacation. As we get older, I know these moments may be few and far between and have learned to appreciate them so much more. There are so many pictures to look back on the week and remember this awesome vacation! I hope you get to enjoy some time with your people this summer.
— STR3
JULY / AUGUST 2025 | PENNSYLVANIA DENTAL JOURNAL 5