Out on the town

When I first realized that I had goofed and volunteered to work in Arlington Heights last Friday, instead of taking the day off to go to Door County with the girls, I was disappointed for a couple reasons. 

One, Ann has more ammunition for the "you just never listen" argument.

Two, I really would have liked to get up there Thursday to spend one extra day enjoying the scenery and relaxing.

But as it turned out, I got to have a "boys night out" in Roscoe.

I called up my friend Rustin early in the day to see if he could meet up with me for a beer or three - and after he got his hall pass from home, we decided to meet up at the Firehouse in town.

But before that, I got the thrill (and I'm not kidding, it WAS a thrill) of meeting with Clare's teacher Mrs. Sughroue for the 2nd parent/teacher conference of the year. Words can't explain the joy of hearing somebody go on about how well your child listens, how well she comprehends and handles extra work, or how much ahead of the curve she is. I literally did not know what to say when she told me that Ann and I must be doing something right with her.

Doing what? We're just trying to survive each day and parent the two girls as best we can. Somehow we must be on the right track - it was just a fantastic feeling to hear somebody give such a glowing review of my Clare Bear.

Then it was off to a very quick workout at the Y and on to the Firehouse.

We met up for the Purdue-Michigan game, had a few beers, ate more wings than we should have and had a great time just hanging out. When I got home the house was mostly dark, and dead quiet. I wouldn't prefer it that way ALL the time, but it sure was nice last week. 

Finally, a chance to fall asleep without the TV on. 

No putting kids to bed and hoping they stayed down.

No middle-of-the-night calls from down the hall.

It was glorious.

And after one more day of work, I made the trek by myself up to DC to meet up with everyone. Despite the brutal cold, it's always great to be up there, especially now with Karen and Jock's new place. No matter the season, the view is fantastic. And Saturday and Sunday morning with coffee by the window was about as relaxed as I've been in a while.

Now....

Where is that warm weather?

No, seriously. Where is it? This is getting old.