It was some time around 3:45 on Friday afternoon that I got the picture message from Chuck. It was a photo of the “Welcome to Arkansas” sign from the Arkansas-Tennessee state line. He’d been on the road a little more than six hours and would arrive on our doorstep well after midnight (2:30 a.m., to be exact). We were at the playground, a necessary after-school activity for two energetic little boys. Jeremy caught my facial expression upon seeing the picture message – a mixture of excitement and relief that brought tears – and asked, “What’s wrong, Mom?” I shook my head and he went back to playing. The weekend wasn’t going to drown me after all.
I didn’t tell the boys their dad was coming home. Seeing their surprised faces Saturday morning would be well worth the secret-keeping.
So far, the three-day weekend has been a good seesaw between busy and relaxed. We grabbed burgers at Blue Sky (the best in town) and spent a few hours at the Discovery Center. We’ve played Xbox and napped and snacked our way through a Sunday afternoon. The weather has been ideal, which helps to ward off the regular bouts of cabin fever.
Sidebar: There is a massive amount of geese flocking the man-made lakes of Amarillo. There is an equal amount of goose poop in the grass surrounding the man-made lakes of Amarillo. You’ve been warned.
Today is my day to be a recluse while the three boys do whatever noisy, beast-like activities they need to do to feel like men. I will read, run and rest. (That very sentence gives me happy little goose bumps.)
Speaking of reading, this book has captured my attention in the most obsessive way. I’ve read 100 pages in the last two days and will mostly likely finish it tonight. Kevin Roose is a fabulous writer, and his semester-long experience at Liberty University (as a former Brown student, unbeliever and card-carrying liberal) is eye-opening. It’s been a test of my will not to flip to the end to read the conclusion.