this past weekend, both my husband and i both got to go to proverbial rome. i've discussed before how it sucks that we have to split up sometimes to have some sort of social life, but we are just at that point in our lives right now where sitters are too expensive and our families live states away. i'm sure as the kids get older this will change, but for now it's just how things are. butch made plans months ago to go solo to our hometown to spend some time with his sister, who was flying in for a wedding. although i was excited for him to get off the lazy boy recliner and venture out into the world, i was a little worried. i've mentioned before about the adventures of warren...and sometimes things get a little out of hand. for instance, he went away to a renaissance faire one time, bought a 70 dollar sword without me knowing...and bounced our very first mortgage check. (awesome convo with the bank when it showed up "sword" on the statement.) another time, he traveled to my brother's bachelor party and got lost in atlantic city...all the while i was at urgent care with ella who had a 105.2 fever. believe me, the list goes on. i could probably write an entire book about some of the debacles he's gotten himself into, but i will refrain for now. anyway, he went away this weekend and planned on meeting up with not only his sister, but some the friends we grew up with in our hometown.
let me start by saying that these guys are people he has known since kindergarten, and kids i met when i was in middle school. these are friends that would not only help you move...but would help you move bodies. i don't know why, but whenever they get together they turn into 18 year old boys and forget the fact that they are in their early thirties with real jobs and real responsibilities. (men tend to regress.) as soon as butch arrived, i got a text from our friend that said, "the eagle has landed...running out to get some miller's hot bologna and guers ice tea." (when in rome...or in this case, my hometown.) these are delicacies that we can't get here in maryland, but stuff we grew up on. i knew butch would be thrilled. (he was.) if you are reading and you aren't from there...miller's hot bologna is made out of, like, pig lips and guers ice tea will give you kidney stones the size of golf balls. (both are delicious.) the drinking of yuengling beer commenced shortly after he arrived and didn't stop until the wee hours of sunday morning. they played beer pong, made beer can chicken, and enjoyed each other's company. now listen, these little trips down memory lane are okay every once in a while and butch definitely deserves time to get with his friends and act like an asshole when he has the chance. however, when i got this picture texted to me...only three words came to mind: one. lucky. lady.
all jokes aside, warren sometimes has a problem hitting the brakes and loves to get wound up in moments like these...so when i heard from an old high school friend (who happened to marry the star quarter back, nicknamed "beef") and she said the guys ran into each other and were "reliving their glory days"...i lost it laughing. my husband went right up to the former super star and yelled, "beef! why didn't you throw me the ball in high school!?" (only my husband would say something as ridiculous as this.) he then got up on the bar and started dancing. when a friend of ours told him to get down, he jumped and nearly decapitated himself on a ceiling fan. (awesome.) if he would've died in that manner, i'm pretty sure i'd have to make a story up to tell my children in later years. i doubt "death by ceiling fan" would go over well. later, they went to a convenience store and bought 30 dollars worth of chocolate candy and ate it all. (apparently men turn into menstruating females after drinking?) anyway, to make a long story short...he had a good time. he blew off some steam. he was allowed to act 18 for a hot minute and rode the hot mess express well. i think all of us are really 18 year olds trapped in older bodies. remember how carefree and awesome that time was? you didn't have so much as a worry in the world and you had a master's degree in acting up. pretty sure he wasn't the only one that enjoyed himself, so did the other guys that he was with. exhibit A below.
so on sunday i had the opportunity to get out on a boat with my friend fen and find my own little piece of rome. butch and i swapped places and he took the reigns at home when i headed out. i have not been that relaxed in a loooooong while, as i was on that boat this weekend. i think because even when i'm home and "relaxing" i am thinking about the 2,138 things i have to get done around the house, or someone needs something at any moment of the day. (i'm like a mommy ninja.) i mean, i don't know the last time i read a book from cover to cover since my kids were born. i got to sit and read a full couple chapters without having to do anything but sip my wine as i turned the pages. (when in rome...) no one needed to be fed, no one's ass needed to be wiped, no one had anyone in a headlock. i had a chance to recharge. i can also check, "sleeping overnight on an anchored boat in the bay" off of my bucket list...although i won't mention the fact that i woke up in the middle of the night and would've bet a paycheck that someone was trying to break in. i shot up out of the bed and thought, "they want all of our shit and then they are going to kill us." my heart was racing, my head was pounding, but it turns out i just watch too many datelines...cause it was just the wind. (wtf.) i told fen and her sister the story the next day and they were dying. fen said, "what is wrong with you!?" i stated, "a lot." (i was seriously scared!)
so anyway, becoming an adult may mean that you have to let some of your past disasters and debacles go...but it doesn't mean that you have to let that entire part of yourself go. yes, you need to "grow up" and "be more responsible"...but there is nothing wrong with having a good time every once in a while. when i was gone for the night, ella woke up in the middle of it crying. my husband went over to her room and when he asked her what was wrong...she told him she had a bad dream. when he told me this the next morning and i said, "well did you ask her what it was about?" he stated, "dinosaurs." (what??) as i walked in the door that afternoon, ella was awake and asked butch why she wasn't napping. he said, "dinosaurs, again." i looked at ella after he said this and we made eye contact...she looked sheepish and then started laughing. (hysterically.) she is a total scam artist with her father and she knows it. i know it as well...and that's what the laughter was about. (dinosaurs.) i said, "ella, really? dinosaurs!?" she lost it again. so this weekend it's back to dateline and wine, kid's birthday parties, and enjoying the beautiful weather with our children. (maybe a little home depot, bed bath & beyond...i don't know if we'll have enough time.) sometimes finding balance is a struggle, but i feel like if you aren't spending every weekend getting nearly decapitated by ceiling fans or accosted by pretend pirates...you're good. maya angelou passed away this morning. she was a great writer and one hell of a well spoken woman who made statements such as, "seek life's laughter..." and "grab life by the lapels." i agree but would rather say (ever so eloquently), grab life by the balls, the boat, the miller's hot bologna...or whatever is going to make it better for you. go to rome and do it with gusto...and most importantly, don't let life's dinosaurs hold you back.
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