Three Days Lax

I'm back home! That's The Good News.

The Bad News? I've missed the last three NaBloPoMo posts because of vacationing.

Hey ... I apologize but what am I supposed to do?

There was driving for seven hours to get to my destination beginning 5:00 a.m. Wednesday morning. There was last minute monkey business to attend to in order to have things ready for Thanksgiving the following day. Then, the preparations of the Thanksgiving repast itself, an all day ordeal. Of course, dinner and dessert and the obligatory clean-up on said day. The following morning found me heading out to visit a "little sister" who was in the hospital more than an hour distant, Black Friday traffic notwithstanding. And more relatives to touch base with yet another hour away after the hospital visit. Finally, "home" (to where our vacation beds were located for the long weekend) where leftovers were prepared for the home's hosts who had been working all the live long day. Today, Saturday? It was another long drive back home to Placerville where I finally get the opportunity to sit down with a moment's peace and write this mumbo-jumbo.

"Couldn't you have written while on the trip in the car, Michael? I mean ... you had seven hours of drive time, doing nothing but effortlessly letting your ass grow wider ..."

True. But the wrinkle there was I drove the entire seven hours.

"You mean you couldn't have gotten up half an hour earlier on any given morning and done your thing to get your blogs in when they were supposed to be? You couldn't sneak away and plunk out a few paragraphs and post them? Not an instance of sitting on the toilet, doing your business and getting other business done, too?"

No, I could not.

So, like it or not, here is this chronicle detailing most of what happened, justifying my excuse - whether you believe it or not - of why I was remiss over the last three rotations of the small blue ball we all ride obliviously in getting a few words churned out.

Deal with it ...

.......... Ruprecht ( STOP )

Over And Done

It's Sunday night.

One set of kids left early this morning. They were out the door at 5:00 a.m. in order to beat the traffic. 

Another set was a bit surprised the former took off so early. (There was banter and wagering who would leave first and if there would be driveway congestion with both trying to take off simultaneously.)

The dishes have all finally been cleaned and put away. There were moments when they threatened to overrun the place, showing up in unexpected places. Lingering on counter tops. Forgotten on a side table, discovered some place unexpected. 

Miniature candy wrappers are still being found between couch cushions and underneath the random chair.

There's a lot of laundry to be mastered - towels, linens, placemats, more. 

The games have been retired to their proper places. They all seem to be intact, all their pieces and parts none the worse for wear.

When the refrigerator is opened, there's an almost audible sigh from the many contents still within, courtesy of Thanksgiving. Not all of them will be used. 

The dog is exhausted. He's been sleeping most of the day, realizing the lack of activity buzzing about the house is a nice change of pace.

The house is still standing.

And it's almost disturbingly quiet in its solitude. 

I have to admit: It's kind of nice everyone took off a day earlier than expected in order get to their respective homes and refreshed themselves before the week starts anew. But at the same time, there's an air of loneliness hovering in the air.

It was a lazy day once everyone left. It began to rain as morning ticked closer to noon and hasn't stopped since. A good day for recuperation and reflection. And, uncharacteristically, for a long nap to counter the effects of long nights of competition and revelry and impossibly early mornings which should have been spent in bed until a more reasonable hour. For example: When the sun was above the horizon.

But it was all worth it. Laughter and memories and clogged toilets and picture sharing and lots and lots of learning were committed during the last five days. 

And that's a good thing ...

.......... Ruprecht ( STOP )

What? You should be used to this by now.