21st Birthday, Pine Dust Fever, Gotta Burn Some Calories…

I don’t know what it’s like in your neck of the woods, but it got officially hot here in Northeast Indiana. Mid-80s with some hefty humidity. Plus, as an added bonus the pine dust decided to start falling. So until we get another rain we’ll be living and breathing in a yellow soot. It’s the worst part about May here. I took nearly a 5 mile walk yesterday morning and felt it all day. Between the heat and my allergies by 4pm I was feeling pretty miserable. Instead of “black lung” I was dealing with “yellow lung”.

Today is our middle child’s 21st birthday. Since it’s on Monday we can’t take her out for Mexican street corn nachos and a margarita like we’d planned(and like she had requested.) We are going to try and do that next Sunday. She did originally ask if we could go tonight. My wife couldn’t attend because she had a meeting at work until 6pm and so our daughter asked if I could go at least. At first I said sure, but then I immediately felt bad. I’m not saying I haven’t done anything for our kiddo the last year or so, but my wife has been there for her time and time again. From running over when she’d call saying she was sick and didn’t feel good to being there when everything went down with her first dog and the POS that shall remain nameless, to budgeting money so we could provide her with financial help and staying over and taking care of the new dog so our daughter could concentrate on school and work. I’ve helped her prep some meals, but my wife has shown her how to prep her life.

Bottom line was I told her I didn’t feel right celebrating her 21st without her mom there. So next Sunday it will be.

In lieu of those nachos and margaritas we had her come over yesterday and we had an early celebration of pan-fried burgers, chips, and pasta salad. For dessert a pan of brownies and a scoop of ice cream. We also gave her her gifts: cash, gift card for groceries, charging cable(hers was frayed and not working), and several lunches prepped so she can take them with her everyday. It’s going to be a big week for her, as she’s got her final exam at school on Thursday, plus immediately after she’s got a hair color to do at the salon as part of her apprenticeship. She passes the final exam she’s got her certificate. She’ll then just have a few hours left before she’ll be ready for graduation.

It’s been a very rough road the last year. Obviously for our daughter, but also rough for her mom and I to see her going through it. You can provide only so much help. We can take care of her dog, or prep her some meals. Or Venmo her money. Those are time-consuming, but not hard. Watching her contend with a broken heart for so long(for the stolen dog, not the ex) has been excruciating. There’s no money or salve or words of wisdom that will heal that. The feeling of being duped by someone you cared about is the worst, and that kind of healing only comes with time. And with working on yourself until you build some path to healing. I know we helped give her the time to do that with financial, emotional, and physical support, but finding her pup Celeste was also a huge part of that.

When she got Celeste the dog was 3. She’d been living at the animal shelter for months without anyone even looking at her or considering adopting her. We don’t know what sort of life Celeste had prior to the shelter, but by the scars on her elbows and her general look of despair on her face we’ve guessed it wasn’t pleasant. Something about that face touched our daughter and she knew Celeste was the dog for her. She needed a lot of work since she lived in a cage for the past several months, but Celeste has become an amazing companion and friend to our kiddo. They were both going through it when they met and they both had a lot of healing to do, which they did together. I’m of the firm belief that our kiddo saved Celeste, and I think it’s safe to say Celeste saved our kiddo as well.

Pretty melodramatic, I know. But we’ve seen a transformation in both of them. We would have seen her through all of this no matter what, but Celeste has been there when we couldn’t be. I’m damn grateful for that dog.

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I think I’ll be going to the Y to get my exercise in until the yellow clouds cease to exist. My exercise has been slacking and I feel it. I need that release that only exercise can offer. I always said that exercise is not only good for your physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. Your mind and body fills with stress all week because of, well, life, so exercise is a means to release said stress. When you go without that stress builds up and manifests into physical ailments, as well as mental ailments like anxiety. It also manifests into your clothes shrinking.

I have not been exercising regularly, and I can tell. I’m more sore and with all the added stress between bills, putting our savings money to use with our daughter’s situation, and of course my job, the anxiety has been sneaking in more often. So yesterday’s 5 mile yellow dust walk is the beginning of getting the exercise back to a main event instead of a one-off.

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I’m excited going into this week since this coming weekend is Memorial Day weekend. I honestly thought it was two weeks away as May 27th seems kind of early for Memorial Day, but I guess it is the last Monday in May. I’m not complaining. I’ll take any three day weekend I’m offered. I will say this, I prefer the three day weekend to begin on Friday, as opposed to ending on Monday. When you have a Friday off it just feels differently. It’s like starting the vacation early, where having a Monday off feels like avoiding the inevitable. It just feels like “second Sunday”. I know, it’s weird and I’m weird. But that’s just how my brain works.

Regardless, I’ll take it.

My next time off is scheduled for July 15-22. My wife and I are flying to Colorado for a week of R&R. We’re seeing Dr. Dog at Red Rocks, but besides that we’ll probably just hit up some beautiful mountain air, and of course a couple record shops. And who knows, maybe we’ll figure out what John Denver was going on about with that “Rocky Mountain High” business.

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I’m feeling we’re seeing the light at the end of this very long, stressful tunnel. It’s all coming to a head this week, and if all goes according to plan new paths will be made and the upswing will be in full effect. At least, that’s what I’m hoping anyways.

Have a great week.