Father’s Day, 29th Wedding Anniversary, A Full House…

This weekend was a good one.

It’s not often that all of our kids are back home and under one roof, so when those weekends happen they’re ones to remember. Most of last week I was dealing with some serious sinus issues. I think it was a combination of my daughter’s pooch Celeste being over three days, as well as grass and tree pollen and cottonwood falling from the sky like snow. But I was hitting the Sudafed and allergy pills like a mad man, trying to get some relief from pressure in my head that was close to alarming.

Saturday morning I got up early and drove to the store and picked up some fresh donuts before my dad came over for coffee. While there I picked up some Mucinex to try and get that congestion moving out of my head. Glad I did because that pressure started waning significantly.

My dad came over and we enjoyed a donut and some coffee, and I gave him his Father’s Day present early. I preordered Stephen King’s new book Never Flinch, which is more of a mystery novel than horror. And it has one of King’s most liked characters in it, Holly Gibney(from the Mr. Mercedes books, as well as The Outsider and Holly.) He was very happy about the book as he really likes that character(as do I), and I’m sure I’ll borrow it once he’s done reading it.

I went into Saturday with everything done around the house, so the day was pretty much free for me. I ended up going into town to pick up a couple records that I ordered. I noticed I had a couple gaps in my Miles Davis collection, so I ordered Agharta and Dark Magus. Man, do they sound good. If you collect vinyl, then you’ll know that Music On Vinyl puts out some amazing reissues. They did Miles justice with these two. They are super clean and I cranked them Saturday afternoon.

My wife went to the ‘No Kings’ protests in town with some other like-minded friends she knows. I totally support the cause, but I wasn’t up for going. So I stayed home and did some recording downstairs. I had a couple drum parts I’d recorded awhile back and decided to work on one of them. I laid down some guitar parts and a bass line over a couple hours. I’m taking these in a more improvisational direction and I’m liking what I’m hearing so far. I’ll add some keys and synthesizers for texture, then I’ll start mixing. Feels good to be putting something together with drums, guitars, and bass. I’ve been concentrating more on electronic stuff for the past couple years, so I felt the urge to just play some guitar riffs and make some noise again.

My wife was invited to go to a musical that night as well, so she came home after the protests, got cleaned up, ate a little something, and her friend picked up for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Wagon Wheel Theater. My son and his girlfriend were at a baby shower for his girlfriend’s cousin. My oldest and their girlfriend were coming up to visit but wouldn’t be at our place till 8pm, so I had a couple beers and watched The Alto Knights. It was a gangster movie that came out earlier this year about Frank Costello and Vito Genovese. Robert DeNiro played both roles. I didn’t think it was as bad as the reviews made it out to be, but I’ve seen better. Great cast and it was directed by Barry Levinson.

My oldest and her girlfriend showed up, so the three of us ate and watched Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths that they brought with them. Great movie, amazing acting, and also very hard to watch at times as it deals with grief, mental health, and family dynamics.

Sunday we had some coffee and went for a walk in the neighborhood after we got up, the wife and I. Turned out to be a beautiful day, and a little warm. Our oldest and their girlfriend walked over in the early afternoon to visit with my parents, while my wife and I went into town. I got a haircut from our daughter, and then we went to the store to grab some things to grill for the afternoon. It was Father’s Day, of course, but it was also our 29th wedding anniversary. We grabbed some brats and some chicken thighs, and I made up some baked beans and we had some chips. I also roasted some asparagus on the grill as well. It was a great meal, and for the first time since Christmas we had all the kids at home together eating at the dining room table. Only one who wasn’t there was our son’s girlfriend who had to work.

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It was fitting that our anniversary and Father’s Day dropped on the same day. I suppose they both go hand in hand, really. It really puts into perspective how fast things go. First, we’re newly married and wondering what it would be like to be parents. It wasn’t the easiest thing for us, really. We went thru a miscarriage in 1998, but then in 2000 we had our oldest. A year and a half later we went through another miscarriage, which going through that AFTER having a child makes that experience so much harder. You understand what it’s like to be a parent at that point, so the disappointment and sadness is that much heavier. To then go on and have two more children was something we didn’t see. And our son being a “surprise” didn’t make his arrival any less special. He was the bonus baby, and I’m so glad he came into our lives.

He’s the last kid at home and will be moving out the first of August. End of an era, and the beginning of a new one…the empty nester.

So overall this was a great weekend. Happy to have all the kids home. My wife and I will be going out to dinner Tuesday for our official anniversary date which I’m looking forward to. She’s got a busy week, and I really don’t. So I think I’ll be working on more music, and maybe working on some paintings as well. I’ve got two more weeks then I’ll have a four day weekend. I’ll need it by then.