Sometimes Serendipity Hits You On The Head

We had an interesting and fun day yesterday, though it started out in an ominous manner. The day before, Thu, was hotter than heck, though we managed to have a really nice day at home getting things done. But the heat was brutal.

Friday was slated to be more of the same, so I thought it would be a good time to hit the pool and try to coordinate with the Macks and see if they'd meet us, but as usual, it was impossible to get ahold of her. My fault, I should just call, and email always falls short. One day I'll learn.

Either way, I decided we'd go swimming anyway. We can't wait around. The first problem we ran into was that our plan clashed with mom's. There was this big concert happening at Dartmouth with the Sierra Leone refugees, which we planned to go to, but R's plan was to go to work then pick us up, leaving us stranded at home in the heat. I thought we should have the car and go swimming, which she agreed to, but had to get to work (I sensed initial reluctance on her part, and had to fight for our interests). I told her we could do it and the kids scrambled to get ready and we were off. No problem.

The plan was as follows-hit the Coop, then the library to do a little workbook, then to the pool, then perhaps the library, pick up mom, go to the concert, then the free BBQ, then home. Easy, right?

We got the library and did a quick workbook session, and while we were there we got killer new books. Score-ola! Lots of good new graphic novels for her and Mo Willems for him. Then it was off to the pool. We got sushi for lunch (I brought an ice chest) and got to Storr's Pond to swim.

I will say this-we are no longer going to swim at Storr's Pond. What a scam-$10/person, including kids. It cost us $30 to get in. I was shocked, the nerve. We simply can't afford that kind of dough just to hang out with the totally bitchen people of Hanover/Norwich. I am furiously thinking of viable alternatives, so stay tuned.

To rub salt in the proverbial wound, the weather was a bummer. Cloudy with a chance of rain. AND, we were early, the pool didn't open for half an hour. So we sat at a picnic table and ate our sushi and waited. The pool opened up and we swam, the kids had a blast and didn't miss a beat over the winter. They swam like fish. Of course we saw people we knew, saw the W's, and plenty of familiar faces. It was fun, but it was kinda cold. No sense in whining, though, and we made the most of it. The kids were turning blue but refused to quit.

Then the rain came, and we had no choice. It started slow then gradually progressed to the point where we decided to leave. Could be the last time we swim there. We decided to go the Montshire, and as usual it bored me to tears, but they loved it. I found myself dozing off on the benches, embarrassed by it, but unable to control it. I was exhausted. We think we saw the queen of the honeybee colony, however, which was way cool.

One thing I noticed at the pool and to some degree at the Montshire is that all of the super-progressive, knee jerk socially conscientious parents (like myself) were all talking about the free concert for Sierra Leone. It made me realize that it was going to be crowded-total bummer.

We hung out at the museum and waited for the hour to come to pick up mom and for the rain to stop, and by 4:00, we were ready. We went outside and just like that, the weather was fabulous. Clear skies, cool breezes, and no rain or humidity. Perfect, dare I say. I couldn't believe it.

We went to get mom and headed over to the show. It was crowded on the road but manageable, and we set out in the unenviable quest for parking. And wouldn't you believe it, but we had a CB sighting, while we were in our car, no less. I couldn't believe it, this situation will haunt us forever. We were waiting at the light and just to the side, waiting at the street corner, there she was, with that LWM kid. AB saw us first and smiled and said hello, so it was too late to act like we hadn't seen them. We were busted. CB said hello and of course A lighted up, and then it was all over. AB was clearly uncomfortable and hid behind another person, so there is something on her mind.

From that point on, A had her radar on for CB. I was dreading it. We walked to the show (BTW, there were an incredible number of people there), waiting for the fateful moment, which came almost immediately. Fortunately, we ran into the Macks seconds before, so we were distracted, but right after that, we spotted CB with that LWM. They were K&A, of the K&A scale fame. We were trapped, and A immediately tried to join them while the rest of us went and sat with the Macks. R told A to join us, which infuriated and frustrated her, but we held our ground. It was really crappy and uncomfortable early on. In fact, even Z-Mack seemed distant and pensive, which made me wonder if she was pissed.

At some point, I wanted to just leave, though I was struck by how many friends we saw. Long lost ones, too. Saw rock and roll DW and EW, later saw his wife and daughter, and whole contingent of people from our neighborhood, which was really cool. Anyway, as we sat and wallowed in self-pity, at some point we decided to get our act together and just deal with it.

Thanks to K or K&A scale fame. She was up there dancing with her girls, so we joined in, and that's when the fun began. The music was killer, the band kicked ass, really talented group, and so very tight. It was fun seeing live music again, and it reminded me of a Dead Show. All that was missing were the drugs, for the best, of course. People were dancing up a storm, and at one point it got incredibly hot, to the point where I felt like I was stoned. And best of all, we got to dance with friends and no longer had any more CB sightings, along with LWM. We were lost in our own gig. A hung with R-Mack, and AG-H showed up, a very good sign. Did I mention that he emailed me back? A huge event.

G from days past showed up and talked to A, and it was just a good time. It seemed like every time I turned my head, I saw a friend. It was a very cool vibe.

Afterwards, as the band was winding down, we decided to seek out the BBQ. We were the first ones there and were joined by the Macks, and it was a party. Very fun, we chowed, and again, we saw lots of friends. A huge hometown contingent, even A's guitar teacher was there, whom we see everywhere. We really like her.

Afterwards, we headed home. It was a really fun time. It went from hell to swell, and I think we lucked out. We know there will continue to be CB sightings along with LWM, and it's going to suck, but what are you going to do? We are uncomfortbale with the whole thing, but don't really see how it's going to work out. Not sure what's at the root of it all, but it is what it is, and we have to deal.

We saw the future governor of VT with her daughter, HW, and that was nice. Then it was to home, where we the kids had a quick bath, watched a little Star Wars and then to bed.

A really nice day, in the end. Lots of seminal moments. Change is in the air.

Until the next time, thanks for reading.