Network was down for a day here - we got slammed by odd German spam.
Journaling
Hard work early Friday, knocked out some extra contract work. Missed a boating outing w/ a buddy, but instead of moping about that, cranked out a bit more work, then raced off to work out hard at the gym and race around the track for a bit. Getting nicely hot and humid here. Most folks hate it, but I like getting hydrated, then sweating up a storm while running. Seems very purifying for me.
I showered, then picked up S5 early. I agreed w/ W that S5 wouldn't have any more afterschool care, so we are picking him up about 1 hr early. This will mean 1 less hr of sleep for me on days related to me being with him, but he comes first. When he asked if he could stay overnight w/me, I called W and asked, "Would you enjoy a break tonight?" She seemed puzzled, and when I asked about S5 staying over, she said "Oh if he wants to, but either way is fine with me." I commented that he had been asking me frequently, and W admitted that he asks her to stay w/ me a lot as well. Importantly, W reversed herself from the D proceedings and noted that S5 does NOT suffer 3 days of 'adjustment' after visiting me overnight, and comes home 'happy and just fine.'
Anyway, we went and saw the Will Ferrell soccer movie (Gabe and S5 gave 2 thumbs down), then hit on a great idea. We invested in two light sabers - a green Yoda one (2' in length) and a blue/red Darth Vader one (3.5'). Went to my place, turned off the lights, and had an epic saber dual that lasted 1.5 hours, with S5 wearing his D.Vader helmet/voice changer, looking odd as a 3.5 ft Vader fighting a much taller Yoda. S5 and I both had a blast, w/S5 very quickly figuring out he could whack Dad's shins hard with his longer reach.
We picked up donuts on the way home, with W calling earlier seemingly to ask for my blessing to skip a TBall game so that she could take S5 with her M-friendly GF and GF's D2 to a beach festival. I validated her pursuit of less structured fun for her and him, and when we arrived, S5 pointed out that we had gotten donuts for her (I made sure that we got 2 of her favorites).
We sat and talked briefly, w/ me screwing up a bit by talking unnecessarily about negative topics like molestation risk and the need for parental supervision. Seemed like dangerous content that could be seen as teaching, controlling, or just plain not light, fun and positive. Gotta do some adjusting there and keep it light.
Went a place called 'House of Jam' to see a few bands play nice mixtures of cajun/folk/ephemeral/irish music with a strong southern influence overall. Nice guitar work and had a pleasant time listening while sipping my beer. Chatted briefly with one female vocalist about the lyrics of one song, and noted 'the look' from her. She was with someone, and I had no desire to pursue, just noted that it happened despite my being probably 10 yrs older. It was nice to talk with a woman with an artistic passion and without the eggshell tension.
W called during bands for S5 to say goodnight. He noted that he found a 'baby jellyfish' and proudly told me 'I put it in my pocket' and brought it home and placed it in a glass of water in his room. Boy, did he make me laugh and say, "S5, you are the cutest little boy in the whole world!"
Boy, did he make me laugh and say, "S5, you are the cutest little boy in the whole world!"
