I know, it's date night and all, but honestly, Matt is at a retreat and therefore we opted for no Guerin football game; Carmel's game is tomorrow afternoon; and I was just not in the mood for Olympics tonight, but Mark and Alex are, so shame on me, I am watching a chick flick and thinking of taking a swim in a bit...no date involved. Sometimes you just need to break from tradition.
I have had the BEST day. This day has just been really great. I picked Matt up from school, no swim practice this afternoon. He had been wanting to get a new pair of blue jeans (last year's don't fit, big surprise, right?), so I said, "Want to go get those new jeans?" He said, "Wow, you must really have had a great day if you are offering to take me shopping." (I have this sort of rep and all around here about shopping.) 'Tis also true that I needed to go to the cookware store and pick up my little TWD springform pan that I found and ordered yesterday, four doors down from the jean store. The photo is absolute proof that when you are having a great day, things just go unbelievably great all around...we got a parking spot right in front of the cookware store...can you believe it? Love the flower pots! Matt was laughing as I took the photo and saying, "You aren't really going to blog this, are you?" I said, "Absolutely, Matt, this has never happened before and it may never happen again. It might be a once in a lifetime thing, and I intend to remember it!" I have been at this store a lot (gift certificates for me always come from here as everyone knows I enjoy cooking for my family, and I am "impossible to buy for," etc.), and I have never once in countless years had a parking spot closer than two or three blocks away. Yes, indeed, this has been a wonderful and lucky day as we were in somewhat of a rush this afternoon. We were done with the whole shopping gig in less than five minutes. Might be a new record.
Eight more days until the Driver's License...are you all getting tired of this? Sorry. Only 8 more days of it! Without the driver's license, here is what my fall/winter schedule looks like: 4:30 a.m. up and drive to swim practice, then drive back home; 7:00 a.m. drive back to swim practice to retrieve Matt and then over to Guerin for school, home by 8:00 a.m.; 3:00 drive to Guerin to get Matt and take him to swim practice, home by 4:00; 6:00 p.m. drive back to swim practice to retrieve the boy and then home by about 6:45. Factor in the rest of MATT'S chauffeuring needs: IYC choir rehearsals, performances, etc., church activities, lots of social engagements, errands, etc. and my usual answer when people ask, "What do you do?" is "I drive." Can you see how my day is going to go a bit differently in 8 days? Whatever will I do with all that found time? I'll let you know when I figure it out.
And, just so you know it is not just ME looking forward to L Day...be assured that Matt is SO ready to be able to drive himself all these places. Let's face it: I am a cheerful person in the morning, which is annoyingly irritating (not that Matt would ever say this himself) at 4:45 a.m. to those who would prefer to just, oh, let's say, continue sleeping on the way to the pool, or at the very least, rest quietly. We have a little joke between us that Matt's word count pre-morning practice is something like 1 word or grunt per mile. After morning practice, maybe 10 words per mile. After school, about 100 words per mile and counting. I see a trend...I am living in a household of Non-Morning People. It's probably best to keep perky cheerfulness away from non-morning people as a general rule. Driving himself to the pool will no doubt be a quiet ride from now on.
And now, something not cheerful at all: Pat M. lost her 4-year battle with multiple myeloma yesterday morning. Pat and her family live on the other cul-de-sac in our neighborhood. Their son Alex just began his freshman year this year with Matt at Guerin. In your charity, please pray for the repose of Pat's soul and for her family. Thank you.