Part Two

Sheesh.  I get back from a long weekend, and haven’t had a break since.

I’ll say it again.  It’s a good thing I love my job ’cause I sure spend a whole lot of time doing it.

Now that I have a moment, I gotta share the rest of the story.  If only to relive it myself.

After an awesome day of visiting Link and his friends, we drove down to Cincinnati to watch the Cardinals play against the Reds.  It was a gorgeous day – sunny, mid 70s – absolutely beautiful.  Before entering the stadium, we walked down to the river to take in the sights.  St. Louis would do good to visit Cincinnati.  Their riverfront is fabulous!

When we were ready, we headed to the stadium gates.

“Uh oh,” the guy replied once he scanned our tickets.  My heart dropped. I thought for sure someone had printed our tickets and already used them

“These are for yesterday’s game.”

Silence.

Yesterday?  But we were coming today!  How could I have bought them for yesterday?!

He advised us to go to the ticket window and plead our case.  He mentioned they would be able to see they weren’t used yesterday and maybe they would honor them for today.

Hopeful, we headed to the ticket window.  “Do you know how many people try to say they didn’t come to the game?” she started out.

“Yes,” I replied meekly.  “But we really didn’t.  And we came all the way from St. Louis.  And can’t you just check and see that we really didn’t use them?”  I quickly rambled.

Ten minutes later she returned, with a smile on her face, tickets in her hand, and a warning to be more careful the next time I purchase tickets.

“Yes ma’am!”  I felt like skipping to the gates.

From then on, it was an absolute perfect day.  We had terrific seats, and we were there early enough for us to walk down to the field and watch our catcher and pitcher warm up.

 

I coulda taken the guy in red, but I restrained myself from running onto the field.

I took lotsa pics and shouted encouragement and giddily walked back to our seats after a nod from the pitcher.

It was fun cheering in a section filled with mostly Reds fans.  At one point, a loud enough guy started chanting, “Let’s go Cardinals, Let’s go!”  And we would all clap.  I was surprised how many Cards fans were in the stadium, and we continued until a Reds fan yelled, “You know you’re in OUR stadium!”.

Yep.  But we were winning.  And we witnessed some great plays.  And even had a few homerun balls hit in our direction.  I wish now that I’da dove for one that landed in our section.  It woulda been worth some broken bones or scratched up knees and elbows.  Or both.

I didn’t want the day to end.  We walked around downtown Cincinnati after our win, proudly sporting our Cardinals gear.  We walked the bridge, had drinks on the patio of a bar, and listened to some good jazz music.

Hard to believe that was a whole week ago.  It’ll certainly go down as one of my favorite weekends in a long time.

 

 

 

Linked Up

Our visit to Link couldn’t have come at a better time.  (Unless you ask Mario.  Anytime would have been better than her birthday weekend.)

Once again, Link has been having troubles with his eyes.  His contacts were irritating him to the point he finally made a doctor’s appointment.  They suggested he go a few days without them.  On his return visit, they suggested a week more.  For Link, that means no work.  And no work means no pay.

He used a few of his vacation days that he’d been saving for his birthday, which will help his paycheck.  But using them for this reason isn’t fun.   With no contacts, he can’t see.  And the fun things he likes to do on his days off require sight.

This all occurred the week before we were due to arrive.  I’d talked to him multiple times, and each time he remained positive about it all.  I, on the other hand, worried greatly about him.

So on Saturday, when I saw him on the steps leading up to his apartment, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. There was my little boy, all 6 foot 3, 300 pounds of him, with a big smile on his face, seemingly as happy to see us as we were him.

His contacts were back in, and he explained that as long as he didn’t leave them in for extended periods of time, he could wear them.

We spent the first few hours of our visit in his apartment.  He showed off his editing work, and expressed his thoughts on how he could possibly make money on his abridged videos.

My business savvy husband listened intently and with great pride as Link described his plans.  “I know you’ve been telling me all along I should find a way to get paid for what I like to do.  And now I’m starting to get it.”

Once we were caught up, we dragged his buddies out of bed for lunch.  I’d met his friends briefly when I visited with Amp, but this time around, I wanted to spend quality time with them.   Link was a little concerned about us treating 4 grown men to lunch.  “We can eat,” he explained.  “And we’re more than happy to feed you,” I responded.

As we ate, I enjoyed the banter between Link and his friends.  They kiddingly ribbed each other, but underneath it all, I could see how much they cared.  We laughed at their work stories and about the fact that they keep lists of customers’ names they find funny.

After we’d worn out our welcome at the restaurant, we went back to their apartment.  We waited in Link’s apartment while Chad and John scrambled to get their upstairs apartment clean.  Then we gathered together in their living room, all in mismatched chairs, and played online games.

As the afternoon went on, my worries about Link began to subside.  He’s doing well.  He’s got great friends.  A decent job.  He’s making good decisions, and he’s growing up.  I still worry about his eyes, and the high medical bills, and the possibility things may get worse for him, but overall, he’s happy and in a good place.

The day was over all too fast.  We said our goodbyes and let his friends know they’re always welcome in our home.  (Don’t know where we’ll put ’em, but that’s no matter.)  Link walked us out, and I hugged him long enough to last me til Christmas.

It was a quiet ride back to the hotel.  I tried to keep my spirits up by looking forward to the next day – my first Cardinals away game! It didn’t take long for the little girl in me to become quite excited about watching my guys play in Cincinnati.

More on that to come….

 

 

Mom Guilt

I came across this the other day.  Perfect timing, as I’m definitely feeling a bunch of guilt today.

I could almost have a blackout bingo with this card.  Replace “won’t buy them a puppy” with “Missed youngest daughter’s 17th birthday”, and I’ve got ’em all.

Mario’s birthday is today.  She’s at home.  All alone.  I’m in Ohio, gallivanting around with my oldest son, Link.

Let me explain: I didn’t want Link to have to take off work, so I picked  a weekend.  And since we were going to Ohio, and I’m a huge Cards fan, I picked a weekend where we could go to a Cards/Reds game.

Makes sense, right?

Well, that weekend happened to be her birthday.  In all fairness, I thought she’d love to have the house to herself.  She’s 17! What kid doesn’t want the house to themselves over their birthday weekend?!

Secretly, I think she’s loving it.  Outwardly, she’s making me feel guilty.  Or is it just me?

*sigh* She knows what she’s doing.

And it’s working.  Before we left, I took her $hopping.  She came home with a Windows Surface and a homecoming dress.

But even still, the morning we left, she reminded me I was missing her birthday.

So yeah, a bit of mom guilt going on.

A nice visit with Link and a Cardinals win, should easily erase it however.

Til the next time anyway.

 

A Sense of Normalcy

I almost felt like this was a normal Saturday.  (I mean, other than the fact that it’s Tuesday.)

After a full 8 hours of sleep, I enjoyed a nice run this morning  Then, I fixed myself some oatmeal pancakes, and leisurely read a few chapters in the book I’ve been working on forever.

When I had my fill, I set about doing some chores.  Not fun, but normal.  I’ve been wanting to get things cleaned up now that we’ve got two less people living here, but I haven’t had the chance.

When the inside chores were done, I headed outside and mowed the lawn.  I haven’t mowed the lawn since we moved in a year ago.  It felt so normal!

And that’s not all!

I actually cooked this afternoon.  Cooked!  Such a normal thing to do, yet I can’t remember the last time I cooked something.  I even enjoyed it a little.  (Don’t tell anyone.)

Then this evening, Hubby and I took a walk along the dam.

Not quite a Florida beach.  But beautiful just the same.

This is what I remember Saturdays being like.  Back when I had a normal job.  And Saturdays actually fell on a Saturday.