Familial Intolerance

 

 

 

Wasn't out of bed Saturday morning until 805am. Anita was already out on her walk but I'm pretty sure that David was still in bed. I felt pretty good, especially considering the 7 beers I drank the day before. Seven that is if you count the two I drank midafternoon in Yellow Springs. It didn't look very nice out, cloudy and cool - 48 degrees. And a check of the local radar revealed rain inching ever closer to west side of Columbus. After seeing that I knew I needed to get motivated for a run sooner rather than later.

I'm pretty sure that Anita was back from her morning walk before I headed off for my run. She shared that it was sprinkling on and off a little but otherwise decent. I did my usual weekend three miles and aside from a brief sprinkle or two I managed to remain dry. Yippie! Mindy whipped up a skillet full of scrambled eggs mixed with ham and home grown cherry tomatoes. It was pretty good. We went through two pots of coffee too.

Started raining around 10am - not heavy but steady. There was an occasional breeze too, which caused a major leaf fall with each occurrence. Each autumn there's that day when it seems like a turning point with our weather pattern. I think Saturday was that day. The afternoon's plan called for Mindy, Bella, Glenn and I to go to G.D. Olivia's 7th b-day party. At the same time, David & Anita were having lunch with his sister Kendra at Bravo's. Jacob, meanwhile, had a soccer game out of town and Jimaken kindly agreed to take him. He would be staying home from the party leaving with his dad around 330pm. His friend Jaeger was coming over, too.

We made loose plans to spend our evening at the Casino. From the sounds of it, friend Sean and his wife would be meeting all of us there, too. They were driving in from Indiana. The morning soon turned into afternoon. It was after 1230pm by the time all the kids and adults had showers. We didn't run out of hot water either. How about that? We left the house at the same time. Gave David a key in case they got back before us. It rained steadily through our drive to Ashley's.

Arrived very near 1pm. We hustled inside in an attempt to escape the rain all the while carrying Olivia's gifts. At the time, there were just a couple others already on hand. Mindy offered to help Ashley with any remaining prep. Don't think there was anything needing done, though. Lindsey and the boys were already there. Greeted Olivia with a big jump hug, which is how she always likes to greet me. Talked with Steven some, too, just before several others, including my ex-wife and in-laws, showed up. Al & Rosemary were more than pleasant, especially Al. Kelly on the other hand, not so much. Didn't say boo!

Soon Ashley's little house was overrun with party guests young and old. Ashley did a good job keeping the kids entertained amongst the chaos, especially considering the inclement weather which forced the party games to back covered patio.

I enjoyed a diet cherry 7-Up while watching a college football game. Can't recall who was playing. Mindy & I spent a large majority of our time in the living room with the grandsons and Al. As usual, Rocky and Landon were a little out of control. More than once we had to ask them to calm down or even stop what they were doing for safety's sake. Courtney & her boyfriend (not sure of his name) were there too. I took a little poke at Courtney by asking Ashley to introduce me to her friend. They had Avery in tow, G-kid #5, who we've seen only one other time. She's 10 months old, I believe. Cute! Everybody said that GD #1, Kaileigh, was coming but she never did show up. Our guess was volunteering at the OSU football game.

Typical birthday party: lots of people, food, games, singing, presents, and cake. We continued to offer assistance in any way we could, but it seemed that Ashley had things well under control. I won't mention names, but there were more than a few people there that could've used a wardrobe change, grammar lessons, and perhaps a comb. :) Oh well!

Had a nice chat with Ashley's life-long friend, Brittany. Sounds like she's doing well - working hard and going to school. Good job, Brittany! Shortly after the gift opening ceremony many guests departed. Daughter Lindsey left at some point, leaving her boys behind with Ashley. I'm thinking it was almost 3pm when we left for home. Like many, I was eager to get home in time to watch the Buckeye game.

By the time we arrived home the rain had completely stopped. If the forecast was correct, we would see partial clearing over the next several hours leading to sunny Sunday. Had just settled into the family room chair for kickoff when David and Anita got back home. Said their lunch was delicious. Enjoyed Bravo as well as Kendra's company. David and Anita quickly settled in amongst the rest of us watching the game. David was happy to learn that South Carolina lost their game earlier. Made mention that any day that OSU wins and SC loses is a good day.

The Iowa/Buckeye game looked eerily like the Northwestern game from two weeks ago. Our offense was good but our defense porous. We couldn't get off the field, allowing Iowa to make a few long, sustained drives down the field for scores. It was painful to watch. Urban Meyer has without a doubt turned us into an offensive juggernaut, but I don't think our defense has looked this bad - ever! I couldn't help it. I blurted out more than a few expletives on a handful of occasions. I was tired too, and even dosed off a time or two during halftime.

Thankfully, the Buckeyes came out ready to play in the 2nd half and drove for two touchdowns. In the matter of about 10 minutes they went from being down 7 to be up 7. However, we barely had time to celebrate. Iowa scored on their next possession, which was just two plays - the first a Buckeye penalty, and the second an 85 yard pass play for a TD). And similar to the NW game, our defense stiffened after that. We didn't allow another point on defense and scored 10. We won 34-24. Carlos Hyde took over again with some crazy strong runs to seal the deal.

After the Buckeye game ended everyone freshened up for a night out at the Hollywood casino. Dad was joining us, too, and showed up around 710pm. Tommy & Sean agreed to meet us there. Dad and Glenn drove separately. Parked in the garage, 4th level. Inside, we waited just inside the doors of the casino for everyone else. Within 10 minutes everybody was there and accounted for. We chatted and took a couple group photos then headed to the bar and O.H. Grill. Like the others, I was hungry. Wanted to eat before any gambling. With the exception of dad, who headed off to gamble, we got drinks and waited for our O.H. provided pager to go off.

There were 8 of us for dinner - the whole group minus dad. I ordered a 2nd beer then a Cuban for dinner. After scoping out their website earlier from home, we already knew that John Waite (former Baby's front man) was playing that night within eyeshot of our table. Cool! Always enjoyed his vocals. His performance started near 9pm which was smack dab middle of dinner. I don't think he played any new material. Instead, all of his old hits, which was fine by me. Googled his name to determine his age. Looks good for 61, at least from 100' coupled with the possibility of make-up and then stage lighting. :)

Dad found us in the O.H. just as we were wrapping up our dinner. Mindy gave him half her steak and then I piled on my fries. He ended up with a decent meal. We split the tab by couples. I added Glenn and Tommy to ours. Headed out to gamble. Before doing any of my own, I watched David plop down a couple hundo at a Black Jack table. He was up a little (about $50) but quickly down $75. He walked away, cutting his loses. I don't think I could ever do that, plop down a couple hundo. Just not within me. I brought $40 specifically for gambling, but just like the prior visits, I wasn't ready to let go of it. :)

Mindy & I eventually wandered over to the dollar slots where we both lost $20 in a hurry. That only reaffirmed my 'lackawanna'. Mindy wanted to play on but on the penny machines. She headed off by her lonesome. I found some of the others. Took about 20 minutes before we had everybody all together again. I was a little surprised to learn that Sean & Tracy had nowhere to stay, and were contemplating a 'cheap hotel'. Just the idea saddened me. Thought they were staying with Randy & Lisa Large - guess not. I offered up our place as an option. We didn't have either kid at home, so Bella's room was available. Sean & Tracy accepted. They followed us home. Mindy drove the Pilot.

At home Mindy headed upstairs to prep Bella's room for more overnight guests after having me carry up the air mattress still inflated in the basement from Bella's birthday party sleepover. While Mindy readied their sleeping arrangements, the rest of us socialized. When Mindy & I headed to bed, Glenn, Tracy & Sean were still up and out on the deck. Thinking it near midnight when my head hit the pillow.