My July 4th Weekend

I sit on the couch in front of the TV in the family room.  Behind me, I know there are unwashed dishes in the sink and a dishwasher that's not completely functioning properly.  I also know the kitchen island is cluttered... more cluttered than I am comfortable with.  There is a plastic beaded neclace lying on the coffee table in front of me... and Ella's t-shirt and socks... and Cal's White Sox hat... oh, and the Band-aid box.  My running shoes sit along side the table, left there after yesterday's run.  And a plastic frog lay belly-up beneath our newly-acquired rocking chair.

I know there are piles of clothes to fold and messes elsewhere, but it's 10:44pm on July 4th, and I'm done.  I can't, and won't, clean this messy house up.  And I'm almost okay with that.

During my fantastic bike ride this afternoon, I thought about my weekend.  Whereas I typically think and beat myself up about the things I didn't do, I, switched gears (in my head, not on my bike) and thought about that I actually had done.  Too often, I highlight my shortcomings, which negatively affects my mood; this time, I decided to celebrate all that I had done over the course of this July 4th weekend, in brain-dump style.

I...

Got home from work on Friday and watched half of "Despicable Me," (the Leatherman Family Fun Friday movie of choice) after having rushed to catch the 5:22 only to be delayed 20-ish minutes due to "locomotive" problems... cuddled with Ella and actually fell asleep with her for an hour or so before waking up to try to catch Bill Maher, but fell asleep with him, too... woke up Saturday at 4:30am, unable to sleep more, and moved to the couch where I did sleep for a couple more hours... woke up and worked a couple of hours, knocking some things off that I had wanted to get done on Friday but hadn't... took the kids, all three of us on our bikes, to the ball field at the kids' school where we played baseball, however they wanted to do so... at Ella's request, painted mine and Ella's finger and toe nails a mix of blue and red... fixed the Leatherkids lunch, creative stye as we didn't have a bunch of supplies (e.g. bread) here... went for a 3-mile run and actually didn't struggle (my runs have been brutal the past few weeks)... showered and got myself ready to head to Ribfest for unlimited drinks, ribs and some good music (Sister Hazel and Sheryl Crow would be playing -- yea!)... met some friends at that fest, drank IPAs and ate ribs... danced and sang along... dropped my phone in the toilet, reached in immediately and grabbed it (yuck), dried it off and found it to be working... slept well that night and got up Sunday at around 9am (whaaaaaa?)... hunted down my dad's wallet (he lost it while out with the kids on babysitting duty on Saturday)... washed clothes and sorted them... went to and tolerated the crowds and expense of Ribfest with the family... encouraged, coaxed and sometimes begged the kids to go on rides... ate more ribs... saw an aligator and a snake and pleaded with the kids to touch them, this was their chance, but they didn't (who can blame them?)... returned home to find that my phone wouldn't charge... felt sad, really, really sad... went for a 3-mile, music-less run... walked, unplanned, with Ella after my run... went to the grocery store with Ella, after declaring it "Mommy-and-Ella time"... listened to my dad read to the kids at bedtime and then saw him off... tried to watch a movie recommended by a work friend (movie was "Mother of Mine," work friend was Chandra), but couldn't stay awake for it (I'll try again sometime this week)... slept in again on Monday... battled the sadness of not having a functioning phone... "soaked" my phone in dry rice to try to draw out any water that may be in it... worked some more on Monday morning, but outside where I could watch Ella swing (at her request)... did more laundry and sorted it... walked to Walgreens with Ella to buy a couple of things... played wiffleball in the backyard with Cal and tried to include Ella but succeeded only so much before just walking away, frustrated, from it... colored my hair... made my gaspacho salsa and some cherry bombs for the Reinkes' July 4th party... went for a 13-mile bike ride by myself... showered and went to the Reinkes' for said party... drank pineapple vodkas and sangria and ate some food... watched the Leatherkids enjoy themselves in the pool with just the two of them and then later with some college kids (is it wrong?)... went to the Reinkes' friends' house to eat desserts, have one more drink, a cosmo, and watch fireworks... actually watched the fireworks... drove the family home... put the kids to bed... and here I sit amongst the signs of the busy weekend I had.

I wish my house were picked up and clean, but ain' nobody got time for that during or at the end of a busy of July 4th weekend.  Perhaps the mess will stick around all week and serve to be a nice reminder of the weekend we did have... except for that darn phone -- I'll remedy that today.