Perfect Weekend

The last three days have been such a blast, I'm feeling a little Lou Gehrig tonight.

Friday morning we watched the US/Slovenia match. The girls get a kick out of all my screaming and yelling during sporting events, and I have to admit, I was pretty into the game. I nearly lost my mind when the last goal was disallowed, but that second half was flat-out fun to watch. After the game the girls played while I did a little work on the book, and while I didn't write a lot, what I did write felt good, it felt true. I love that feeling. The girls earned a bunch of free pizza coupons at school this year, and we've been using them on what we creatively named Pizza Fridays. The coupons are for a place called Peter Piper Pizza, and while I'm not crazy about the place, the girls always have a good time, so why not. We play some games when we're done eating, and then the girls cash in their tickets for a bunch of crap they'll soon lose or forget about. I do love watching their faces as they try to decide what to get with their tickets, very serious business for them, kinda priceless. After lunch we stopped at Target to pick up some cards for Father's Day. The girls enjoy picking out their own cards, and they really put a lot of thought into their choices. This year's theme was dogs; the girls were quite happy with their selections. When we got home we swam for a good two hours. I spent a majority of the time judging a "diving" contest. I'll give the girls this, the number of dives they're able to come up with is staggering. Sure, we had best cannonball, smallest splash, but most of the dives were a little more creative: best dog dive, best cat dive, best insert-name-of-animal dive, best trumpet dive, best violin dive, best insert-the-name-of-instrument dive, you get the drift. After swimming we ate dinner, and then we watched Labyrinth. The kids enjoyed it, especially David Bowie, even though they refuse to believe he's the same guy who sings Changes and Golden Years, songs they both love. I remember thinking the special effects were so cool as a kid, but I was surprised by how dated they looked. Meg worked a long day, so she was pretty much in bed with the girls. I decided to usher in year 41 by watching Dream A Little Dream. I admit it, I was feeling a little nostalgic, and nothing like a good Corey and Corey flick to bring back old memories, well, for me at least.

I woke up Saturday to birthday hugs and kisses from my ladies. Meg and the girls gave me a beautiful new leather bag for school, very exciting. Unfortunately, Meg had to go to a seminar, so it was me and the girls most of the day. We met up with my sister for lunch, and then went by to check out her new place. There was another diving contest when we got home, and then we watched another classic kid flick from the old man's time, The Neverending Story. The special effects in this one were so bad, I'm ashamed to have been impressed by them as a kid. We had Mediterranean for dinner, and really, the rest of the night was pretty mellow. Before bed I checked Facebook, and I was overwhelmed by all the birthday greetings. Facebook has its faults, but that was pretty cool. No big party, no drunken debauchery, just hanging out with the family. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Pretty sweet to follow up my birthday with Father's Day. The girls gave me a new wallet, and Meg gave me Dave Eggers's book, Zeitoun. We lounged around the house like any other Sunday morning; it was good to have Meg with us. Meg had to get a few last things at Borders, and then we met up with my parents and sister for lunch at In-N-Out Burger. This is the Riley idea of a fine dining experience. We went to my parent's place for desert, and spent a nice afternoon just hanging out, my dad and I keeping tabs on the U.S. Open. It was great to see my dad enjoying himself. A couple weeks ago the guy was laid up in a hospital bed, so I know today was special for him. It's been a rocky road for my dad after his kidney transplant, and it means a lot to share Father's Day with him.

It's funny, this weekend probably sounds pretty uneventful, boring even. I think it was perfect.