Trying to be Adult
I heard it coming from the living room late that morning at the Big House. Yali had apparently found something that suited his fancy in there, because all I heard him say over and over and over again was:
“MM WAH HA HA HA HA!”
Someone had taught my two year-old how to “evil laugh”. A hundred dollars says it’s Puck.
Meanwhile, with my voice still a little on the rocks, Carrie-Bri and I somehow managed to record another podcast in Francis’ room – my old basement room – amidst piles of apples and clementines that Francis means to keep down there for snacks, but never actually eats. I’m waiting for the ant line one of these days, shortly.
Post-carpool was a mess of hockey sticks in the gym as four kids hustled up and down the basketball court. Somehow, Yali was able to avoid being creamed by two over-zealous boys as they careened past him. Until the girls decided they were done with this spontaneous form of field hockey, and left to hunt potato chips. The boys were too competitive to bother much with the idea of food. That’s saying something.
Two and a half hours after carpool let out, I finally hit the road. Puck had a 5:30 birthday appointment for one of his buddies at the ga-ga ball ring in the back parking lot with the rest of his classmates. And Gloria took the reigns with Yali for me, who threatened to jump from any number of too-high posts on the big jungle gym before I left.
This meant that Oxbear and I actually got to be a little more adult than usual, and spent our evening out at dinner in Ballwin with Hans and Julia. Oxbear got his steak fix. And the wide variety of topics of conversation may or may not have included past experiences with food poisoning. In our defense, however, this was prior to the meal being served.
Then because we’re “old folks”, I guess, in the middle of the Blues losing to the Dallas Stars on the wall television, the evening ended before nine o’clock. Ever since I can remember, Oxbear has literally wanted to be an “old man” before his time, one of those grandpas teaching his grandkids how to use yo-yos and marbles, wearing Hawaiian shirts. I do remember him alerting me to this ultimate life goal long before we were engaged. So it hardly surprises me.
As I fell asleep that night – rain, low growls of thunder in the west. The best lullabies.