In the Blink of an Eye

It’s hard to believe that Labor Day has come and gone once again. Summer is over, at least unofficially. It seems that this year was really dragging, feeling like it was almost standing still, and then suddenly it whipped forward in a blur of activity. The months of January through June were so slow it felt like there were 40 days in each month. May and June were especially slow. They were like those cartoon dreams where you’re trying to run away from something and you realize you have cement blocks on your feet and you’re running in molasses. It seemed like the 4^th of July, and my vacation time, were somehow not getting any closer.

Finally, June turned to July. I took my usual vacation during the week of July 4^th and felt like summer was mercifully here. I relaxed, went down to the Vineyard and enjoyed some time with my wife. Then I made a huge mistake. I blinked and it was the end of August. That’s all it took, a quick blink of the eyes and 8 weeks were gone. Scientists say that time is constant, that there’s 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day, and 7 days in a week. I either just proved them wrong or I’m living in some kind of time warp, because 8 weeks just went by in the blink of an eye.

I know that I didn’t pull a Rip Van Winkle and snooze through the whole summer because I remember things happening and being part of them. My wife and I did go down to the Vineyard while the kids were away in San Antonio at a conference, and we had a very relaxing time with my in-laws, my wife’s sister and her husband and their two awesome kids. We also went up to Vermont for a weekend in late July to attend a family reunion for my wife’s family. We hung out and talked with people we hadn’t seen in four years, we went tubing down the Battenkill River, and we ate a lot of good food. My brother who lives in Canada came down for a week or so and we got to see him and his wife at a cookout with my family. We went to a couple of parties down the Cape with friends and there were so many people in their back yard there was almost no room for my chair. We had some friends visit from Texas and spent a great afternoon reminiscing with them. We spent time with some of our good friends and counted our blessings that we have such awesome kids. My wife and I celebrated our 23^rd Anniversary in August. Looking back now, I guess we really did enjoy the summer.

So summer is almost gone and fall is just around the corner, like it or not. As I mentioned last year, I’m going to enjoy any summer-like days that happen to come along over the fall. There are still a lot of nice days to enjoy and it’s not like it will suddenly be freezing outside. Who knows, maybe we’ll have another mild winter like we did last year and we’ll be outside all the way to spring. Let’s just hope the next few months don’t go by as quickly as the last two. I’m still recovering from the whiplash.

Home Alone

My wife, my daughter and my son were all out of town the week before last, but I had to stay home because I couldn’t get the time off from work because of a major project we’re working on. There are times I enjoy having the house to myself because sometimes I just want a little peace and quiet. I can sit and read a book without being interrupted or having to switch rooms because someone wants to do something in that room that is noisy. There’s nobody there to ask me to do something for them, whether it’s driving someone somewhere or helping move something or helping cook something. I don’t have to do anything for anybody and I can just relax and take it easy. I know that sounds a little selfish but, like a lot of other people I know, I really don’t get a whole lot of down time so it is nice when I do.

I knew I would have to work some extra hours, so I thought it really wouldn’t matter that much that no one else was home. I’d go to work, come home and eat dinner, and then I’d do some more work until it was time for bed. I had dinner planned out for a couple of nights by just eating some leftovers, and I figured I could eat some food at work on Thursday because we have a “Happy Hour” where there is always some kind of food (pizza, a bunch of appetizers, pasta or Chinese food) and multiple beverages. In addition to all that, I had a company party on Saturday afternoon/night where all the food you needed was provided. That covered more than half the nights I would be responsible for my own dinner, so I knew I wouldn’t starve.

The first couple of days went OK and things seemed to be going along well. Two days had flown by pretty quick. As mentioned previously, I was working some extra hours due to a deadline, so it was work, eat dinner, work, and go to bed. Surprisingly, when I woke up on Friday morning it all sort of hit me: I’d been alone all week, the weekend was upon me and I was still going to be alone until late Sunday. I’ve heard of people who love the single life, being on their own, and doing what they want, but I guess I’m not one of them. I hate being alone for more than a couple of days.

In a previous post, I mentioned how much I hated how quiet it was when everyone but my younger brother and I had moved out and we were the only kids left with Mom and Dad. This was even worse, because when I woke up no one was in the house and when I came home no one was in the house. It was just so…empty. Even though I was seeing people at work every day, not seeing my wife and kids made feel extremely lonely. And even though I was speaking to my wife on the phone or by text, it just was not the same. The last couple of days seemed to stretch out forever.  

Though this seems like it was all doom and gloom, something very positive did come out of my week alone. It helped me to remember how much I love my family and how much I love to be with them, both the kids and my wife. My wife is my best friend, and there is no one else I’d rather spend time with. The day she came home just happened to be our 23^rd anniversary, so to say I was happy to see her would be a huge understatement. My parents were married for more than 50 years when my Dad passed away and I look forward to my wife and me reaching that milestone. Spending the week alone gave me a glimpse into what my life would be by myself and it wasn’t good. A little down time and some peace and quiet is good for a day or two, but I really hate being alone for much longer. I’ll take the noise, the driving, and the errands and, most importantly, my family over an empty house any day.

Thanks

It’s hard to believe that it is already the one year anniversary of 8 of Nine. When I started my blog a year ago, I didn’t know if I would post every week or just post a few and then quit. While I didn’t do 52 posts, I did do 40-something posts, which I think is pretty good. I also didn’t know if anyone would even read the posts, but apparently some people have stuck with me through the year. I just wanted to say “Thank You” to everybody who has visited 8 of Nine over the last year.

Whether you’ve read one post, all the posts or somewhere in between, thank you for taking the time to read all that you did. There are a lot of blogs out there, but you came to mine. I’d like to think that I offer more for your entertainment dollar than others do. For those who have posted comments, sent me emails about a post or went old-school and said something to me in person, thank you for your encouragement. Just knowing that a post made you laugh or brought back happy memories for you makes me feel that my long hours in front of the keyboard are well worth it. For those of you who have become a follower of 8 of Nine, thank you for daring to be associated with me and being willing to put yourself out there for me. It would be a huge blow to my ego if I had zero followers after one year of writing. So to all of you, thank you, thank you, thank you!

I’m very grateful that the blog anniversary coincides with Thanksgiving this year. Thanksgiving has always been one of my most favorite holidays. The turkey and all the trimmings, the pies, the football games – I loved all of them and still do. On top of that, people pause and take some time to be thankful, or more thankful, myself included. I am truly thankful for my wife, my kids, my parents, my brothers, my sisters and my friends, without whom I wouldn’t have a blog. Thanks for inspiring me and encouraging me to do something I truly love – writing.

You may be thinking, “Hey, Joe. What are you going to do to keep us amused over the next year?” Well, I have a few ideas:

·     I think it is time for a new look, so I’m going to pick a new template and change things up a bit.

·     I’ve thought of doing a series on famous family sayings that were heard around my house when I was growing up. My brothers and sisters shared some of these with me recently and I will probably write about them occasionally, here and there, as a change of pace.

·     I found a few old writings from when I was a kid and may use them as part of some posts. One is an assignment written in 1973 about what it would be like in 1999, another is a story I wrote when I was about 11 years old. There’s some funny stuff in those two items.

·     Hopefully people around me will continue to do and say things that trigger memories that are filed away in the archives of my brain. And hopefully, I’ll be able to extract those memories and write about them before they go the way of my youthful good looks, my athletic ability and my energy level.

At least that’s my plan for now, but you just never know what’s going to happen, so I guess you’ll have to keep coming back and see for yourself.

In the meantime, Happy Anniversary to 8 of Nine, Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, and thank you for visiting my blog. I am truly grateful.