17 JUL 25

Driving Patience to her next “paid companion” gig that morning... she continues to update me on the large blister on her ankle in all its gory fluid-details...

Back on the ranch while Oxbear is gone to more conferences...

...it's me and the boys getting work done around the house and/or gaming online with occasional roaring laughter...

Five hours later.... Puck is deposited at work... dreams of navy blue Lincoln Continentals in his head...

...Oxbear returns from conferences...

...and I grab Patience from the Big House playing frisbee with "R" in the front yard... “R is learning how to be a gentleman...” she explains to me driving home under another tumble of clouds... “Every time we play in the spaceship together he holds the door open for me...”

And... after much much waiting... the day of Patience having earned enough to purchase her Nike “bubble shoes” has finally arrived... she knows the exact color combination she wants and several minutes later the order is placed...

Her excitement then suddenly doubles as the announcement of her dance teacher's engagement arrives via text on my phone... knowing it was coming for the past six months still somehow does not eliminate the shock value... “SHE'S ENGAAAAAAGED?!?! WHAAAAAAT?!?!?!”... quickly she runs to her room and returns with her pencil pouch... “I'm going to put this in my diary!”

It's already seven o'clock... grab Puck from work and he requests Chick-fil-A out of his own paycheck... we drive west as a blast of rain pushes towards us... smokehouse BBQ nuggets topped with pickles... “Hmm...” Puck grabs a slice off the top of the “zesty” BBQ as the rain begins to sledge in... “I like pickles now”... he then finishes his dinner in the driveway under an enormous downpour...

Kids asleep for the night... downpour fading into Beatrix Potter patter under folds of rose light and a grumble of thunder out west...