Summer 2016: Days 6-20
I've been gone for a while from my summer blogging. I had a good reason.
At first, I just had two busy work days in a row, the first (Day 6) was Ben's birthday as well, and I was just too tired to write. Ben's birthday was nice and low key; we took him to The Habit, his favorite burger restaurant, for dinner. He had a baseball game that Friday night; Michael had two games that Saturday, and then I was all set to catch up on blogging that evening. But then, I got a call about 7 p.m. and everything went to hell.
The call was from my friend John from high school. He was informing me that Tom, another good friend and part of the our group that have been close for about three decades now, had suddenly died of a heart attack.
I flew back to Chicago on the subsequent Tuesday for the wake and funeral in what was an absolutely exhausting and sad week. I tried getting as much work done as possible, but I pushed some hours into the Memorial Day weekend. I wanted to enjoy Chicago in May but just couldn't (though the thunderstorm that pushed through during the after-funeral gathering was impressive; Tom's brother declared "This is Tom saying we aren't drinking enough!"). I flew back on Friday, Day 14.
We went to a Bees game that night, and the weekend was fun. Michael and I went golfing; I shot a 52 on 9 and he shot a 67. Got much yardwork done. Popcorn and I hiked on Monday. And gradually, I started to get my will again to write, but I was still tired.
Today, I jumped off the diving board for the first time this year. For those who don't know, getting that first jump out of the way is how I remind myself that I can indeed swim in deep water, even if I'm not a fan of it. I sat in the sun for the couple hours before that and worked while the boys had swim practice in the indoor pool. And, I felt connected to summer again.
I'm still thinking of Tom often since I got back last week. He would be the first one to say to stop wallowing and start writing, spend happy time with the boys, and get on with summer. I think that's why I took Michael golfing. So let's resume here on June 1. There's so much summer left to go.
At first, I just had two busy work days in a row, the first (Day 6) was Ben's birthday as well, and I was just too tired to write. Ben's birthday was nice and low key; we took him to The Habit, his favorite burger restaurant, for dinner. He had a baseball game that Friday night; Michael had two games that Saturday, and then I was all set to catch up on blogging that evening. But then, I got a call about 7 p.m. and everything went to hell.
The call was from my friend John from high school. He was informing me that Tom, another good friend and part of the our group that have been close for about three decades now, had suddenly died of a heart attack.
I flew back to Chicago on the subsequent Tuesday for the wake and funeral in what was an absolutely exhausting and sad week. I tried getting as much work done as possible, but I pushed some hours into the Memorial Day weekend. I wanted to enjoy Chicago in May but just couldn't (though the thunderstorm that pushed through during the after-funeral gathering was impressive; Tom's brother declared "This is Tom saying we aren't drinking enough!"). I flew back on Friday, Day 14.
We went to a Bees game that night, and the weekend was fun. Michael and I went golfing; I shot a 52 on 9 and he shot a 67. Got much yardwork done. Popcorn and I hiked on Monday. And gradually, I started to get my will again to write, but I was still tired.
Today, I jumped off the diving board for the first time this year. For those who don't know, getting that first jump out of the way is how I remind myself that I can indeed swim in deep water, even if I'm not a fan of it. I sat in the sun for the couple hours before that and worked while the boys had swim practice in the indoor pool. And, I felt connected to summer again.
I'm still thinking of Tom often since I got back last week. He would be the first one to say to stop wallowing and start writing, spend happy time with the boys, and get on with summer. I think that's why I took Michael golfing. So let's resume here on June 1. There's so much summer left to go.
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