Crazy work week, busy weekend, dishes and laundry, repeat. Fellow parents, this is real Circle of Life. Time flies by as we desperately try to keep everything and everyone headed in the right direction.
Every now and again, though, days pop up and there’s a chance to actually have a quiet and restful day that allows warm and fuzzy moments to happen totally organically and naturally. And those little bursts of joy do a lot for recharging the batteries heading back into Monday… or in my case into Sunday, as I’m working on Sundays half of the time. And this past weekend was just lovely.
That’s what friends are for
Last week was one of THOSE weeks. As Van Morrison, Steven Tyler, and others have told us: “Mama told me there’d be days like this” and last week I had a few in a row. But TGIF began with some Starbucks with two of my daughters and continued all the way through a day of me hanging out with my kids and taking the day off from the gym and running. Friday happily ended with a few hours at my friend’s house, where we bantered through the upcoming primary drama, youth sports, town committees, and a host of other topics all over some hoppy beverages. It was excellent.
The couple that works out together, stays together
One of the best parts about having kids is that someday, one day, they do in fact get old enough to be responsible for themselves and others. And that provides unprecendented-since-2003 possibilities for my wife and me to go out and do things together without paying for a babysitter. In our case, this now means that we can actually go to the gym together, and Saturday morning we stole away for an hour to work out together. That was a huge treat on many levels, and bonus points were also earned on Sunday evening when I got to hit the weights with my son. #winning
Grease IS the word
Grease Live is pretty awesome. I mean really awesome. I grew up with the original Grease, performed it in 1991 at camp, but hadn’t really dealt with it in any meaningful way for about 10 years before it popped on to Fox a few weeks ago with Grease Live. And no, I had no idea that that was even a thing. With that being said, there’s so much to like about Grease Live that I almost can’t talk about it. Jessie J nailed the opening song and it was all gravy from then on. The singing was great, the dancing was ridiculously great, the updates were good, and despite the dated motifs and my general distaste for Sandy and especially end-of-the-show Sandy, the whole thing was so enjoyable because the cast looked so freaking HAPPY to be in the show. Seriously- they were all having a ball and I loved them all for showing it. While it’s been on our DVR for a few weeks and we have watched it on and off a few times, since Friday we have had it on (and off) pretty much every day, and I did quadruple dip “Those Magic Changes” because I’m generally in love with the song in the same way that I can’t stop listening to the “Flashlight” finale from Pitch Perfect 2. But the bestest part of Sunday was when my almost 2-year old woke up from a nap and just snuggled in tight for about a half hour of the show and was enthralled by the music. And I did tear up once or twice as we all sang along and she just tucked herself in there, happy and warm as can be.
Uncharted territory
Plus have you noticed that winter now means that it’s 50 degrees all the time? While that’s basically bad news in the global warming department, it is great news in the trail running department, as off-roading is going to be a 10-month treat this year, as opposed to last year when the trails didn’t clear until mid-April. And this weekend I hit a previously-undiscovered trail in my neighborhood on one of those stupidly warm days, going out for a pleasant run that was gentle on my gimpy Achilles and covered some surprisingly beautiful terrain near Hanscom.
Steph, transcendent
Saturday was an unimpressive TV night as my wife and I watched the Thursday episode of Elementary in between checking the news and weather. But we also caught the end of the Warriors-Thunder game from OKC and oh my lord, what a game it was. Andre Iguodala’s two free throws to tie the game at the end of regulation was one thing, but Steph Curry’s 35-foot game-winning moonshot with less than a second to go in overtime was/is otherworldly. Of course he was taking the shot. And of course it was going to go in. Ballgame.
Truth be told (and it’s time to tell it), I have never seen a basketball player like that before. Larry Bird was great, Jordan was better than Bird, and Kobe was a stone-cold killer, but Curry is unprecedented. Speed, vision, flow, shooting, strength… it is all there, and just like Peak LeBron he does it without looking like he’s exerting any effort. What a joy he is to watch, and what a joy the Warriors are to watch play basketball. It is artistry in action. I hope they go 77-5 and then 16-0 in the playoffs. But that play was glorious- one of those plays that just hangs there, perfect and pristine, forever.
In all honesty those 36 hours or so from Friday morning into Saturday night totally reset my orientation to the world and I’ve been riding high all week in the afterglow. Here’s to more good times, and happy memories, as we head towards the spring and warmer weather around the corner.
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