Yesterday Was Great

As a child, a great day is sun touched skin from countless hours in the pool and cherry stained lips and fingers from a dripping Popsicle.

As a child, great days happen in abundance.

As an adult, great days are replaced with good days as simple fun is replaced with countless responsibilities

But as an adult, great days, days that plant seeds in your brain and flourish into wonderful memories may not happen daily, but when they do, boy, are they cherished.

Yesterday, I had a great day!

I had been entering the Hamilton lottery daily since getting the opportunity to see the show several months ago. So I could not believe my luck when my phone dinged to let me know that I had won two tickets to Wednesday’s 1:30 show.

Wednesday morning my sister and I boarded a train on our way to our Hamilton adventure. Despite the dreary weather, our spirits were high. I had warned my sister that our seats would probably be pretty high up, but no worries, the show was great from any view.

As I picked up our tickets, my eyes quickly scanned for our seats…Orchestra?!

No way, that could not be right.

Oh but it was, front row seats. We could see the sweat on Alexander’s face as he rapped every verse as if it was opening night. We stared up in awe as the larger than life characters rose before us, putting their hearts and souls into the performance.

As if amazing seats weren’t enough, my sister had a friend who was a supervisor at the theater. My Hamilton Angel, as I like to call him now, insisted we meet him in the corner as soon as the performance ended. Turns out we had been added to a list. A list that enabled us to stand were Burr and Jefferson and Lafayette had stood. To see the view they see every night as the audience laughs and sings and cries along with them.

As we gazed in awe, and took pictures to later remind ourselves of this experience, George Washington walked on stage. Even in his modern clothing, I was amazed at his stage presence. I quickly rambled about how wonderful he was, and how he was one of my favorites. He then offered to take a picture with us, and went on his way.

Having our full of the scenery, my sister and I walked off stage to thank our Hamilton Angel. As we chatted with him, he mentioned that Mr. Hamilton usually comes down to greet audience members, but unfortunately he had an interview.  Not one minute later, the door to our right opens up, and out walks Alexander Hamilton!  This man who had the ability to make me love him, hate him, and cry at this death.  At this point I am giddy, and excitedly shake his hand and tell him how phenomenal he is.   One more picture, and he is on his way.

And then we were on our way.

Yesterday was a great day!

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We Went Out

Last night, we had made plans with another couple to go out.  I was not looking forward to it, at all.  It had nothing to do with the couple, it was more that I was used to our normal Friday night routine.  A nice dinner at one of our normal spots, a few beers, and home by seven (possibly eight if we were feeling real crazy).  But we had made plans, and it was way to late to cancel.  So, we went out.

Our night started out with us drinking beers in a tent while listening to an emo pop punk band.  Our night ended with us sitting at a VIP table, ordering bottle service, and listening to a 90’s cover band.

I can’t remember that last time I acted like a 20 year old.  The last time I didn’t constantly check the time, thinking about how I would rather be in bed then out.  The last time I didn’t worry about all the things I had to get accomplished over the weekend.  I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun.

Unfortunately, I am paying for all that fun today.  Just because I acted like a 20 year old, doesn’t mean I can handle a hangover like one.  Nothing productive got accomplished today.  I slept.  I ate.  I popped several Advil.  And I slept some more.

Today was definitely rough, and I’m hoping for a better day tomorrow.  But I’m glad we went out.

Call Me By My Name

I have a friend named Samantha, who I affectionately call Sam.  I have been calling her Sam for the last eight plus years.  It was only until about three years ago, that I learned she hated being called ‘Sam.’   I’ve never actually asked her why she disliked it so much, but I can only assume it is one of three reasons:

1.  She doesn’t like that ‘Sam’ is not a very feminine nickname.
2.  Because she is a Literacy teacher, she prefers three syllables to one.
3.  Maybe she had a traumatic event that involved the TV show Cheers, and just the name ‘Sam’ reminds her too much of Ted Danson’s character Sam Malone.

It actually surprises me that she is not a fan of the shortened version of her name.  I grew up being called Jess.  If anyone actually called me Jessica, they were

• Being formal because it is the first time we have met.
• Really angry at me.
• Or just didn’t like me.

My mother actually named me Jessica in hopes that everyone would call me Jessie, but Jess stuck, and only my family calls me Jessie.

In my opinion, when someone calls you by some sort of nickname, it is a show of affection.  It shows a closeness and a personal relationship.  I still get excited when I meet someone new, and they call me Jess for the first time.  So, despite her dislike for the nickname, I plan on continuing to use it.  Mostly because I’m going to force her to read this, so she understand why.  Because I cherish her friendship.

Slice of Spring

I hear my alarm go off.  I squint at the brightness of my phone in my pitch black room.  I lay still for a moment taking in the first few moments of the morning.  I listen to the rain lightly falling outside my windows.  Why is it harder to get up when it’s raining outside?  I feel the warmth of my puppy Wrigley next to me, gently snoring.  She has no intention of waking up with me.

I did not want to get up.  The time change is a wonderful thing at 7 PM when the sun is still shining, making the day last a bit longer.  Allowing you to accomplish just a little more because sunlight equals energy.  But the opposite is true for the sunrise.  The darkness at 6 AM causes my body to protest.  Fighting against my need to get my day started.  Because darkness equals sleep and rest.

But in the end, my will power prevailed and I’m glad it did.  Because today was totally worth getting up for.  Stepping outside to enjoy this little slice of Spring was amazing.   No winter jacket or gloves weighing me down.  Windows rolled down, allowing the stuffiness in my car to blow away.  Seeing the green grass overtake the not so white snow.

The effects of a warm, Spring day on a person are immediate.  More smiles.  More energy.  More laughs.  More need to accomplish…anything.

Unfortunately, this Spring weather is only visiting right now, and will be leaving by the weekend.  But it was perfect while it lasted.  And I’m glad I got up to enjoy it.

 

Concentrating is Not an Easy Task

I had all day to write this Slice.  But it’s Monday and nothing came to me.  Sometimes Slices are perfectly poised on the tip of my fingers, itching to be typed out.  Other times a Slice is buried so deep in my head,  I have to concentrate really, really hard to retrieve it.

But concentrating right now is really difficult because…

I can’t keep my eyes open. (The only downside of my early morning workouts.)

Deadpool 2 is on the TV. (Any and every version of Ryan Reynolds is distracting.)

My husband is playing with the dog. (Which means she is jumping between the couches, including the one I am currently sitting on.)

My mind keeps wandering to the things I need to accomplish before bed. (Lunch, crockpot for tomorrow, work clothes)

My cat is scratching at a closed door.  (She doesn’t want anything in that particular room, she just doesn’t want the door shut.)

Now my husband is walking around with a winter cap over his face.  (Seriously, I couldn’t make this up if I tried.)

I had all day to write this Slice.  But Monday got the best of me, and this is the best I got.

 

 

 

 

A Productive Sunday with Olaf

Today my husband wanted to watch a movie about a Swedish death metal band.  Needless to say, I suggested he go downstairs and enjoy his movie.  Alone.  Which provided a perfect opportunity for me to be productive.  I decided that while I worked, I would also watch a movie.  Preferably something a bit mindless.  A movie that was entertaining, but didn’t require me to pay attention to every bit of dialogue.  Maybe something I have already seen, so I would know what was going on throughout the movie, but would still allow me to accomplish something.

Out of the over 6,000 free movies On Demand, I choose Frozen.  Frozen,  a movie I have probably seen over 50 times.  A movie that I am pretty sure I could recite line by line.  (Disclaimer:  I do not have any children.) 

Frozen  would be perfect.   Enjoyable background noise while I worked.

But then the movie began, and so did the songs.  Every time the music started, I had to pause my work and sing along.  Loudly.  With emotion.  And hand gestures.

Since I was splitting my attention between Olaf and my work, I had to rewind and rewatch all my favorite parts.   And the parts integral to the story line.  And the parts that made me laugh.  And the parts that tugged at my heartstrings.

So, eventually  I gave up on being productive. I decided to just Let it Go!  I put my laptop away.  Curled up with my comfiest blanket. Grabbed my mid afternoon coffee.  And allowed the Disney-verse to pull me in.  Again.

 

The Things I Do

Today my husband was in the mood to check items off his ‘Over Due – To Do’ list.  One of those items was helping me finish up a DIY project.  I handed him the supplies, and then I told him what I needed him to do.

You good?

Yup.

Would you like me to leave you alone now?

Yup.

As we all know, when you’ve been married, or lived with someone for a decent amount of time, there are always things about that person that drive you crazy.  It doesn’t mean you love that person any less, it’s just the way it works.   We all have idiosyncrasies that get under each other’s skin.  For example, my husband hates when I hover while he works on projects.  If he needs help, he’ll shout.

But as I was walking away from him, I started to think about some of the other things I do that drive him nuts.

• After I have a cup of coffee, and the caffeine kicks in, I tend to ask him a lot of questions.  It’s not the questions that bother him, it’s the rapid fire way I ask them.  I forget he needs time in between questions to answer them.
• He loves when he asks a question, and I answer with a question:

What do you want to do tonight?

What do YOU want to do tonight?

• Another thing he’s a fan of, is my habit of starting a thought, and walking away before I finish it.  Or I’ll ask him about something, keep it very vague, and expect him to know exactly what I’m talking about.
• Lastly, is when I use his car.  I drive like a grandma; seatback nice and straight, with the seat as close to the steering wheel as possible.  And, of course, country music on the radio is a must.  Occasionally, it slips my mind to put everything thing back the way it was.  And I might sometimes forget to turn the music down.

So, now I must go downstairs to check on him, I mean switch out the laundry.