Weekend 

I’m feeling a little slow today.  

I had an eventful busy weekend, and I’m doing stuff around the house today, but there are many breaks and it is not at a snails pace, but definitely leisurely.  I slept in until the unheard of time of 9am.  I’ve done some laundry and cleaned my room, and did some minimal fall decorating, and it is now almost 1pm.  I promised the boys a fish dinner and I had considered making cupcakes.  There are things that I do each Sunday that still need to be accomplished – filing and calendars and the like – and I need to help Chase clean his room.  But it is all not likely to be completed until bedtime at this rate.

The weekend started off at 5pm on Friday with me wanting to not be in the familiar city of Toledo.  I needed out.  I called my cousin and a friend, both who live in Michigan, and neither was available.  A coworker and I had joked about taking her new vehicle on a roadtrip to get a picture for my last blog post, so I called her and simply said “Road trip?”  The thing I love about her is she didn’t ask if I was serious, just told me she needed to change and finish walking her dogs.  I had to be back at a reasonable time to get Matt from the school football game.  We ended up not going far, but still out of the city limits.  We found a bookstore and browsed and talked about the things we had read.  Neither of us walked out with a book but she did find an air freshener she liked and also found a swear word coloring book for me.  We went to dinner and encountered the slowest waitress in the history of ever, but had a lot of time to talk because of it.  It’s a wonderful thing to find someone like that, who will drop evrything (even if everything is just a relaxing night at home) and not ask questions, and just be there for you, and who you can also relate to.  We didn’t have to talk about what was bothering me, if anything, we just talked about life.  And that in itself helped me not want to run away too far or for too long.

Because of the slow waitress, I was running behind to get Matt.  He was at a football game close to home, and Chase’s aunt and some of his other family members were going as well.  This was Matt’s first football game and I was a little concerned.  Chase’s Aunt offered to just keep an eye on Matt from afar, and when I realized how late we were going to be I text her to seee if he could tag along home with her until I could get there.  Another person who doesn’t question, and is just there when I need her.  Chase’s family hung with Matt, and while he is not their blood, I know that they will always be there for him should he or I need it.  It’s wonderful to have people like that, and a rare thing to find a family so close knit and willing to take in those who are not technically their own.  *sidenote, Chase’s aunt had kidnapped Chase for the weekend as well to help make her life easier.  In turn making me able to spend some time doing my own thing.

That all being said, my kids were in good hands and we continued our adventure, taking the new vehicle by accident onto the expressway.  Good music, good conversation, trustworthy vehicle.  I was glad for the time away. I finished my evening with a nice long chat with my own Aunt, and called it a night.

Saturday was spent much the same way.  I got to go out of town to visit another friend, who also doesn’t ask questions and just lets me be me.  I brought my new coloring book and while she prepared for a party I sat there and colored.  There was minimal conversation, and while I felt bad that I wasn’t helping her prepare, I knew it didn’t bother her.  I didn’t go there just to color, or to help her set up, or to go to the party. I enjoy her company.  But we were comfortable doing our own things.  Matt went and rode his bike, and I finished my picture and helped her set up a little bit. We talked about different things going on in life.  Once again, it’s amazing to feel like your presence is enjoyed without obligation to be anything or do anything.  I left feeling even more relaxed and at peace with things.  

I took Matt to an early dinner and we laughed and joked and enjoyed each others company, as always.  He is my son, and I do have an obligation to him as a mother. However, I am most comfortable when I am with my children.  They get me like no one else does.  It’s an indescribable relationship.  I am mother when I need to be, and he is always just a 12 year old kid. But we are also friends.  It’s a balance that I don’t think many people are able to accomplish, and I’m lucky to have the relationship that we have.  We went to the store and the amount of times we made eye contact and silently laughed at the ridiculousness of walmart was, well ridiculous, but no words needed to be exchangeed.  I dropped him off and on a whim, as always, headed to the cemetery.

A lot of driving this day, and I needed the music and the time to myself.  As previously described in Sunday Visitation, this is how I ground myself in a world that is too hectic and crazy sometimes.  I love my friends, they are the spice of life, but I need my own time as well.  I went and said hey to dad, talked a little of my worries and told him about the new music I had been encountering, as well as the the new Stephen King stuff coming out.  These used to be our every day chats, and while I didn’t get any feed back from the stone, it helped to just talk.  I gave my love to those who are no longer with us and went on my way, heading back to town to enjoy a movie with my road trip buddy.  We had both been greatly anticipating the new movie adaptation of IT, and I was excited.

I found myself in a movie theatre more packed than I had ever seen.  Parking had been this side of hell and took me fifteen minutes to accomplish.  Luckily she had beat me there and already purchased my ticket, so all I had to do was stand in line to get a drink for us while she went and found us seats.  The movie was phenomenal, probably horrifying to those who had never read or seen the original.  I have read the novel uncounted times and could anticipate the upcoming frights before they happened.  I would cringe in anticipation, and I only jumped once. Richie was portayed fantastically, they all were.  I applaud the director and the cast for keeping true to the story and bringing these fictional peoople to life in such a relatable way.  I am greatly anticipating the sequel.  Not that I know for sure that there will be one, but only one part of the story has been told.

So because of all of my social interactions and constant on the go weekend, I am slow today.  I have some stuff to accomplish, so I am going to leave this here for you all. I hope you had as fulfilling of a weekend as I myself did, and that you have a fabulous upcoming week.  Thank those people in your life that make it better and easier. They deserve recognition.