Summer in the City

Everyone seems to have the same story:  "Our AC is not keeping up!"   We’ve resorted to buying the sunscreen fabric you get in the garden center, and making a curtain out of it for the giant western facing windows in our house.   It really helps.    Here's some of our recent activities:

Fourth of July:   A bike ride to the park where we missed Dan’s entertainment by about 2 hours (at least we got to see the belly dancers).   Then off to the Rapids Soccer game with fireworks.   We originally bought 4 tickets, but since it appears we are suddenly and bewilderingly empty-nesters, we sold them to some other dude who gave us 2/3rds the value – oh well.  At exactly game end, a bluster blew in, dust and all, with rain, and we retreated to the car since neither one of us considered bringing a jacket when it was nearly 100 degrees just hours before.   However, it gave us a prairie dog view of the fireworks – they were so directly over our heads that little meteors fell to the ground hitting cars and the dirt around us.   With the wind still gusting though, we also got dirt in our upraised faces.   Great fireworks.

July 6th - Waterworld!   I worked on my tan (read: sunburn) under a constant lather of 30 spf.   It’s interesting how the water can give you goosebumps in, yet again, 100 degree temps.   I love being in and around the water.   Having been raised on a lake, I just can’t get enough.

Seven, seven, oh seven – Uprising Festival.  We made our way on down to Fiddler’s Green (sorry, Coors Ampitheatre – at best the name gets parenthesized – why do we keep selling off our home town character to the highest bidder?)  to catch the last 3 of many entertainers who showed up: Jars of Clay, Mercy Me, and Third Day.   I am still trying to get my hearing back, but it was worth it in the sixth row.   Jars of Clay came out in colored-striped tube socks matching their 80’s vintage exercise shorts and 60’s era polo shirts, showing off their white legs above the kneecaps.   I cracked up the whole time.   It is refreshing, after concert going in the 80’s and 90’s, to be around people who are actually nice … and sober, and still have a great time listening to really loud music.  Actually, considering my rather picky concert choices in the last decade I have not had to experience much unpleasant activity overall.

Today – in between working on tiling the bathroom (why, oh why do they put carpet in bathrooms?) we went to our neighbor’s 90th birthday party.   This guy still drives to the golf course every day.   He ambles around his yard finding offensive parts of his trees to cut off, but otherwise keeps fairly active including mowing his own lawn.  He is quite the humdinger.

In between all that we are pondering our rather new aforementioned empty-nester situation.   The youngest has almost instantly made a choice to discontinue being with her dad/us.   Tomorrow will mark almost two months since she has spent time with her father – I suppose the teen years have nabbed her, her personality is changing and her head will start spinning soon, if not already.   What was just recently a fairly docile 14 year old, there was noted defiance in tonite's query on her plan to come to our house tomorrow for what would be her second two week spell of the summer.  Where it nearly drives me to want to cuss, change lanes erratically and eat many bags of chips, we are better educated after having consulted a professional’s opinion on our current lot.  It is difficult to not wonder what we did wrong, how we are deficient, or in some way smell bad.  I am sure it has nothing to do with the toilet sitting on the back patio … due to the tiling job.   By the way, the raccoon seems to have found interest elsewhere, like in our neighbor’s garbage.

Comments

[Stephanie]

Sad on the empty-nester thing, although I remain hopeful for you, just as I do in our situation, that both girls will eventually experience a return of their senses and seek out a relationship with their Dad and with you. I know it's tough in the meanwhile, though. Take heart that it is not something you did, or failed to do (or that you smell bad), but rather was a deliberate wedge driven between them by The Mother. It's nigh on impossible to counter that wedge with anything but time and unconditional love when they do come around eventually.

The rest of your adventures sound like great fun! I'm jealous of the concert night. I absolutely LOVE Third Day. Had a good laugh over the socks. I bet it was a hoot! I'm glad to hear that you two are having fun together. :)

[Rob]

Nice update. I am thinking that maybe you can sell off the naming rights to your blog.