Memorial Day '10

Had a long, enjoyable, relaxing and productive Memorial Day weekend! How about you?

Want some more detail? Okay. Friday the Little One had a school field trip to the town park: a pond, tire swings, fields to chase geese. All the things that matter to a five-year-old. Me and Patches rented a few movies to watch over the weekend. C brought home some burritos around 6:30; burritos are our official “It’s the Weekend!” food. After we put the girls to bed, post-bathal, we watched (at the wife’s request, plus I need a little goodwill) It’s Complicated, starring Alec Baldwin, Meryl Streep, and Steve Martin. And you know what? I went into it thinking I’d despise it, but it was actually very, very funny.

Couldn’t sleep that night, though, so went down to the living room and watched Damien: Omen II, of all things. However, this experience deserves its own post, later in the week. I’ll explain why then. As a result, I got to bed super late, like 3 am, and the girls woke me by 8, which is late for them. Paid some bills, got our task list ready, and me and Little One hit the road for our weekly errand run. This week’s special guest stars: Dry cleaners, post office, recycling center, library, and pizzeria. These Saturday afternoon pizza stops with the Little One are the best hour of my week, hands down.

We occupied the rest of Saturday doing laundry, packing all our bags, and watching The Tooth Fairy with the girls. Went to evening mass late, but in time to receive communion. I grilled us some salmon, which was amazingly delicious (amazing that I was able to grill it such, that is). That night, at the last minute, my wife’s friend called her for a movie date, so I watched the Sci-fi/horror movie The Fourth Kind by myself. Well, me and a pint of Ben & Jerry’s. But that’s okay, because C wasn’t really into it. I can’t imagine why. I liked the flick, conditionally, and I think I’ll review it for tomorrow’s post.

Early Sunday morning we loaded up the car and drove down to visit my father-in-law, halfway down the Jersey shore. He, my wife, the girls, and my wife’s sister spent most of the day on the beach, leaving me blessedly alone in the bungalow for seven hours! Oh joy! I read me some Magic Mountain, finished outlining a 20,000-word novella I owe someone, went for a leisurely walk, got a sandwich, watched a bit of the French Open, took a refreshing nap. The ladies came home around 6; we all showered and changed, then went to my father-in-law’s ex’s house (they’re long divorced but very good friends) and had some mozzarella and tomato and chicken. My sister-in-law got the girls a whole bunch of Disney Princess-type costumes, which they modeled under a very artsy lamp out on the deck. If she emails me the pics, I’ll post a few later in the week.

The Memorial Day parade was only two blocks away from the bungalow. We watched, sitting on the curb in the shade. Down in this neck of the woods its tradition, apparently, to throw candy while marching or riding in parades. The Little One caught and scavenged close to a hundred pieces – enough to last until Halloween or serious tooth decay, whichever comes first. The fire trucks rolled by slowly, blaring their thunderous horns, scaring little Patch.

The girls returned to the beach for three hours. My father-in-law drove me to meet a lady who’s helping me in the epic struggle to get my book published. He dropped me back at the bungalow at 2; I cleaned up while he retrieved the ladies from the beach. We said our goodbyes and hit the road around 4 and got home surprisingly quickly by 6. C made us sandwiches; we all ate watching a Scooby Doo movie. Bathed the girls and put them to bed. Then, feeling unusually energetic, I did 10 minutes on the exercise bike, some pushups, and went for a two-and-a-half mile walk. Showered, then read some more Tommy Mann while the wife dozed. A perfect ending to a perfect holiday weekend.

There! That’s the play-by-play! Now – come back tomorrow, and every day this week, ’cause I have some good stuff swinging the donut in the on-deck circle.