(Finally posting this, about a month old)
Prologue:
This was one of the weirdest, hardest, and drama filled weeks of my life. One of our former coworkers, and one of my boss’s best friend, died this week. Add to that clients upset over typical change orders, and a project moving south fast that will take a miracle to avoid a lawsuit, made this week more than interesting. Mix in my official announcement as a company manager and one of my employees resigning on Friday and that gives you a little insight into a part of my week. I actually stayed very steady despite the drama and the fact that this was the week wife Holly and I decided to fast (Monday through Friday) and it seems like things are pretty good. We ended the week with a pickup of takeout (gyros and fries from the food-truck… circles to the end of today), and chilling with a drink in hand, and I left work at work (but still steeps in when my mind is quiet, it will get worse before it gets better).
Great Day
Today ended up being a simple day, but one of the happiest I’ve felt. I stayed in the moment for most of it and feel so grateful for my life.
5:40 am: wife is in pain, period that started yesterday is causing massive cramps. She takes Vicodin to deal.
6:30 am: Holly informs me that she took a second one, and she was dying. She gets up and takes out the dogs: Dumdum and new dog Scratchy (who just had his balls cut off Monday – tough week for him too). I continue sleeping.
8:47 am: I wake up. Putter, grab a cup of coffee. Look at my websites and Reddit. Kids chilling in the house reading and watching videos, wife taking an Ethics class for her work certification. I throw in a load of laundry.
9:18 am: Finally awake, I head down to the basement gym. I wrap up a Joe Rogan podcast with Christina P. (Tom Segura’s wife) while doing a Fly/Bench + Bent Over Row and squats workout.
10:00 am: I have my Combat Powder Protein shake
10:18 am: Finished doing my stuff, I putter some more and am starting to get some lead together for son LoudBoy (10)’s pinewood derby car. Realize we probably don’t have enough lead to maximize his weight. Holly tells me we have to pick up our race packets for our kids’ first 5k before we thought. Oops!
10:30 am: Head out to get our race bibs and maybe pickup lead sinkers for the derby car. Get into town about 11:00, wait in lines for four bibs and then shirts. Inquire about the new local Float Tank, then try to get some sinkers.
11:45 am: Arrive back home. See that stair carpet and rug have stained green from Halloween makeup that Scratchy got into. Chip a little at oldest Birdsnest (D: 12) and help her clean it up. Throw together my Halloween running costume for the run this afternoon (Forrest Gump), while rest of family is getting ready too. LoudBoy has a soccer game at City an hour away, that we then have to drive immediately to race.
12:30 pm: We leave for soccer game. Some Pandora station Holly has on – has Mumford, Lumineers, Avett Brothers, good stuff. I have to yell at kids to stop touching each other in the back of Holly’s minivan I’m driving, but mostly drama free.
11:30 pm: Coach is gonna be late, so I am tasked with getting kids warmed up. Don’t know what I’m doing, but kids do, so I just keep them on task. Am relieved when coach arrives at 11:45 to take over.
2:00 pm: Game starts. Hanging with my wife, daughter, and one of my best friends who is father to kid on LoudBoy’s team. Funny and honest conversations, invite his family over for football and chili tomorrow. My son is playing well, but I’m keeping an eye on the clock since we have to leave at 3 pm to get down to our family 5k.
3:05 pm: Last subbing of the game and Loudboy grabs his stuff. A minute later game ends, but we are scrambling to get back on the road. Pass a harvestor on a county highway at 70 mph to avoid being behind him for 10 minutes. Family is getting their Halloween running costumes on in the car: wife=old lady, son=soccer player (easy and duh), daughter=cat (cat headband, easy, boring).
4:05 pm: We park, I throw on my beard and Bubby Gump homemade hat, and we head over to the starting line. Hit the portapotties and see my dad, who is running the 10k tomorrow. He is a 69 year old man who didn’t start running til 55, but regularly does half-marathons and 10ks. Him and my mom live 20 minutes from us, and are so awesome. He was wearing a DodgeBall movie
4:25 pm: The run starts in a few minutes. We are near the back. Our kids first 5k and they aren’t nervous, just laughing at all the costumes: Minions, Santa and his reindeer, Batman, and the KISS band to name a few.
4:30 pm: We’ve agreed to pair off so the kids don’t get mixed up: me and Birdsnest as one group, and Holly and LoudBoy as the second. Gun goes off and takes a bit to get to the timing mat, then after that it is weaving through strollers and walkers for the first mile. LoudBoy is running strong and Holly has to struggle in the crowd to stay up, while me and Birdsnest go at our own pace in the traffic. They always seem 30 seconds ahead of us by mile 1. Birdsnest did great, stopping only for cramps and water, but we never caught our other family members. They did great, both finishing around 30 minutes, and the 10 year old was something like 20/60 in the 18 and under Age Group, and the daughter was something like 20/80 in the same. They were tired, but beaming. Grandma (dressed like a pirate) and Grandpa were both there to cheer them on take photos, the heavy medals weighing down their necks.
6:20 pm: We are at our expensive grocery story in town (only one in town) directly from the race. Without the Forrest Gump beard, I look like an 80’s gym teacher. Normally painful shopping all together, we were laughing as we got our chili fixings for our impromptu football party tomorrow, plus candy and way too much cheese.
6:58 pm: Home, dogs go out, Holly starts making homemade crust for homemade pizza tonight. I head upstairs for a shower and to do some introverted stuff.
7:15 pm: Pizzas going in the oven, people starting to get showered. Laughing in the kitchen.
7:30 pm: Start movie (The Spiderwick Chronicles based on a book series
9:10 pm: Movie ends, we start another movie with everyone tired but still awake – Chef
10:13 pm: Kids waiving flag, they start getting ready for bed and Holly and I move to finish the movie in our room. This means our room becomes party-central as everyone finishes brushing teeth, petting dogs, taking the puppy to bed and saying good night. After the hustle and bustle, Holly and I comment for the 3rd time tonight on how sweet they are and how well they both did today at their first running race, and how lucky we are. We cuddle for a bit, and if she wasn’t on the rag we’d fuck tonight, but instead, she falls asleep while I finish the move.
11:18 pm: After the previous delay, movie is finally over. So good. I loved it a lot as a feel good movie with out too many twists. Sometimes (mostimes??) I feel movies just jerk you around emotionally and sometimes, after a hard week, you don’t want too much conflict and just want to feel good. This movie
I sit here writing and thinking about how great the REAL stuff is. Work – it is bullshit. It is necessary and stressful, and you feel some pride in what you accomplish, but the relationships are mostly superficial and it is an exchange of time for salary. Not time for love. Love and tribe and family is the real happiness.
I had one of the best days ever today. Seriously perfect in very simple ways. I hope that you all find happiness in your own way. It doesn’t have to be fancy, it just has to be real for you. Gratitude.
-AMD
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