This past weekend was a little hectic. Jessica, Julie's oldest daughter, graduated from high school. Saturday was the graduation ceremony, held at NIU's Convocation Center. It was nice, simple, and not as long as we expected. Someone said it'd be four hours, but we got out in around 2. Still, I had my Walkman, just in case. ;)
I'm very proud of Jessica. She's had the odds rather stacked against her, since she's also given birth to Curtis this past year, but she passed her senior year with flying colors, earning not only her diploma, but also her class' Citizenship Award for being an outstanding student.
(And yes, I took the graduation photos.)
A couple days before, our friend Kathy came up from Joliet for a long weekend. Kathy's cool, and we get along very well. She needed a break from her routine, and we were able to offer it to her. Still, Friday night, her youngest son wanted to come up and spend the weekend as well, so we took off around 5 to go get him.
It's about an hour's drive from DeKalb to Joliet, but it took us about two hours to get down there. We made a little side trip: Stopped at a local Super Target to get some stuff to make sammiches and went to this beautiful little park right off the highway to eat. It was nice. We had a good time sitting, chatting, watching the world go by. When her son wondered what was taking so long, we told him there was an unexpected detour, and we got stuck in a big traffic jam.
I think we all need detours and traffic jams like that more often in our lives.
Sunday was the graduation party at Julie's ex's place. To say I was uncomfortable there would be a bit of an understatement. Here, I am, the outsider, the interloper, someone with little history as far as this "family" is concerned...
I was there for Jessica. I was there for Julie. I kept telling myself that, even as I wanted to just go disappear away from all of the relatives from "the other side of the family". I stayed, even though Julie saw my "let's get the Hell out of here" face more than she cared to.
It was uncomfortable. I suppose I could've made it easier if I was more social, but that's not easy for me. I'm not one, in social settings, to wear a false face and suck up to someone whom I don't respect. I promised Julie next year, when it's Cory's turn, to try and be nicer, more polite, more social, but that's gonna take a lot.
Sunday night, after Kathy left for home, Julie asked if I wanted to watch a movie. I felt, after the stress of the last couple days, we needed to go for a ride. We grabbed Kadie and got in the car and took off, with (as Chuck Berry might say) no particular place to go.
We ended up in Rochelle, stopping for ice cream. Sitting in the parking lot, we watched some trucks travel down the country road, and wondered where they were going. Julie'd never been down that way before, so I started the engine, and we went on a little adventure.
Turns out there was a big industrial complex down the road a few miles, and a couple distribution facilities. We followed one road until it lead to one of the numerous small towns around here...and past an old bar that brought back some good memories for Julie, from her childhood. The bar had a fish fry every Friday, and they had some of the most amazing catfish. We kinda wondered if it was still the same, after all those years.
As it got darker, we were driving down country roads, not seeing much, but just enjoying the little adventure. It made the weekend complete, that little trip, I feel.
See, that's the beauty of life. Those little trips, those small adventures, the times you get to spend with that special someone. It's not a big thing. It's nothing vast or earth shattering (or ever blog worthy, really), but it's what's important. Spending time together. Doing something a little different. Being silly or stupid.
Don't look at the detours and traffic jams as inconveniences. Look at them as opportunities. A chance to try something a little different. It might be a small thing, but it's the little things that make life worthwhile.
4 comments:
Although I don't care for catfish, I will say that getting "lost on purpose"...those little detours, as you noted...are part of what make life sweet.
And many congrats to the grad! Beautiful picture, too...*nod*
Glad you had the chance to "detour" ... enjoy those little moments, because in the end they define how your life is going to be.
And really, Eric, you are not as anti-social as you think!
Congratulations to Jessica! A big milestone for her...way to go!
And as far as the ex thing goes, don't sweat it...just remember you all have a common interest--the kids. That's more than worth getting along and getting to know each other. It will get better.
Congratulations to he beautiful graduate!
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