All the Friday feels right now.
Working for the weekend.
So. Much. To. Do.
The annual Forest Bathing pilgrimage north of the border starts tomorrow. And I can’t wait.
But first…how the week started…on Sunday we went out for pizza, a “see you later” dinner for my nephew, who was moving to Austin, TX on the 4th of July. We were going to our local fave place (Denly’s), but it was on overflow with a graduation party. (What? The Sunday of 4th of July weekend?) We did a quick, as they say in annoying business parlance, pivot, and headed down the street to the Red Rose. There was live entertainment, good pizza, lots of laughs, and a quick “good luck, love you” hug before I scurried to buy (losing, but there are still huge jackpots and real people do win so…) Powerball and MegaMillions quick picks in the convenience store next door, my top teeth firmly sunk into my lower lip and eyes leaking down my cheeks.
This kid, well, when he was younger, he wanted me around—at sports events, school events, whatever. You name it, he wanted me there. One day, when he was getting a little older (9? 10?), I asked him, “Why do you keep asking me to come to all these things and then pay me no mind when I’m here?”
He barely broke stride, looked me straight in the eyes, and without hesitation said, “I like knowing you’re nearby.” And then he quickly moved along to whatever else he had to do.
So that’s kind of always been our thing. He went to college in MA and I hardly ever saw him. But I knew he was nearby, and he knew the same about me. When we were proximal to one another, we’d always connect with each other, be it with a raised eyebrow, and eye roll, a hand gesture, or some other such thing to signal our knowing nearby-ness.
He left Wednesday morning. It’s a great move, and I’m happy for him. Maybe I’ll get to Austin one day. But I don’t like knowing that he’s not nearby, even though I know he knows he will always be nearby in my heart. And I’m ok if I’m not in his. He’s an adult for crying out loud.
Thank God I’m not a mother. I couldn’t handle it.
So that was a very happy bummer to start the week off.
About that live entertainment, though, this T.Swizzle cover kicked it. Yes, Taytay is making another appearance here. I can’t quit her. Deal with it.
Then Tuesday I was getting a pedicure and when I was borderline unconscious during the leg massage portion of the procedure, we got a “long shot but do you want to come watch the fireworks on our boat tonight?” text. We turned into a couple of roadrunners, grabbed some beer, some snacks, packed the cooler, and off we went. It was a gorgeous and fun night with friends we always have such a great time with even though we don’t see them as much as we’d like. When we do see each other there’s plenty of catching up, reminiscing, laughing, etc. All good things. we were so happy to be there, with them.
It was a very happy treat.
4th of July involved a lot of rain, a lot of HGTV, and a shower in between pairs of pajamas. We had so much fun on the 3rd we kind of didn’t care that the actual holiday was a wash. And it was nice to have an excuse not to do anything. Sometimes you just need to be a slug.
Wednesday was your standard Wednesday (work, gym, work, sit out back, dinner, TV, bed) and then yesterday I had my mom, sis, and bro-in-law for dinner. I always like to see my people before I go away, and since I started work have got off my regular Thursday hosting schedule, making it even more important to me. It was hot as balls here so I convinced my mom to came early to float in the pool and read on her Kindle. Then my sis came when she finished work, then Kerri when she did, and then my b-i-l when he did…we bobbed about in the pool then fired up the grill. Dinner was delicious and it was a great night—sometimes our dinner conversation is more lively than others and this was one of those times. We can even talk about political matters civilly, sometimes. In any case, I love these low-key Thursday dinner and drink nights with my fave peeps.
And now it’s Friday. Friday, with all of its pressure and all of its glory, both compounded by the impending week out of the office. I’ll take it.
Tomorrow, vacation…for a number of logistical reasons, with an assist from a launched-in-May direct flight from Boston to Ottawa and another assist from my friend willing to time her drive from ME to coincide with my flight so she could pick me up at the airport on the way (rental cars are outrageous rn even in CAD), I’m not driving this year. The drive is pretty always and fun when you’re with someone, but it’s no great shakes alone. I can’t wait to be back on the Island with people I love, rehashing old memories and making new ones. (Though, full disclosure, Kerri does not come on this trip and I will miss her. Of course.)
I’ll keep you posted if we set the over-under for number of bottles of wine drunk in a week so you can get your bets in. Though I’m also not sure I can count that high.
Speaking of high—WTF is up with the cocaine in the White House? Anyone? Hunter?
Anyhoo…thanks for sharing this space with me. It’s a gift of a grind, this side project is. You being here makes it more gift than grind, for sure.
Have a great weekend. See you Monday.
Hope you have lots of people in your life who like knowing you’re nearby.
Love you too.
Enjoy your time away. 🌳