2 Ended Candle Burned

This past week my 2 very best friends came into town to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. It was absolutely wonderful. This is the first time that the 3 of us have been able to get together in about 4 years. It was the first time that Dr. B-Dawg (I have decided that B-Dawg was a bit too disrespectful, he has his PhD in physics after all) was exposed to Little Man. It was a great .

The week of enjoyment started out Tuesday afternoon. Both Wifey and Capt. McArmypants got into town within a 30 minute time span. Tangent: Okay, I understand that airports in the US were all built prior to the terrorist events that occurred on 9-11. So, I understand that the terminals are set up for friends and family to wait for passengers at the gate. But since that is no longer allowed, is there any way that the airports could somehow let people waiting for passengers know when flights de-plane? I got really tired of getting excited that the people exiting the concourse were from my wife’s flight, when her plane had not even landed yet. End Tangent. Anyway… the late nights with friends started Tuesday evening and finished early Sunday morning. Unfortunately the mornings with Little Man did not take a significant break on Wednesday through Sunday as well.

Around 5 days of little sleep tends to make one rather tired. Today, more than the typical Monday I am tired to the point of distraction and maybe distortion. The candle was definitely burning on both ends. I hearty shout-out to Wifey for letting me get an extra bit of sleep here and there, but all-in-all I did amass a rather significant amount of sleep debt over the holiday. I probably won’t be well rested again until 2007. Good times.

The festivities were tempered with how much Dr. B-Dawg, Capt. McArmypants and my lives are different. We are all in radically different stages of our lives right now. I am in a wonderful marriage and father as well as professionally being a low level manager. Dr. B-Dawg is in a relationship that he is very happy about and doing individual lab research at a rather large university. Capt. McArmypants is un-abashedly single and not interested in a relationship, a prosecuting lawyer for the Army’s JAG corps, and deploying to a combat zone in early 2007 to do less prosecutorial duties. Clearly some differences going on there.

I found myself having some difficulties balancing what I perceived as my familial duties and truly allowing myself to interact with my friends. So, to my friends I say, “I’m sorry for not engaging like I should have.” I found myself on the outside looking in a couple of times, and it was completely of my own doing. I think it wasn’t until Friday that I really allowed myself to be part of the group. It might have been sleep deprivation that finally made me jump in, but I cannot be certain.

To recap:
The candle is well burnt on both ends
Tomorrow’s 20 Questions is about Little Man
I haven’t been drunk in a long time
Late night drinking + early morning wake up by Little Man = really really tired SRH
Luckily I was not hung over
Much
I am really close to changing Capt. McArmypants’s name to LL Cool G
He knows why
Hint for those of you who aren’t Capt. McArmypants, it is not because of similar physique
Not in the least
Only got my hunter to level 12
Not level 20 L
I forgot to mention on Thursday’s post:
Cranberry Salad
Dinner Rolls

Day before the feast

Ah, the day before the feast of feasts. The day that is spent running arund to various grocery stores in search of last minute ingredients. I love this day. So far I have been to 2 grocery stores and a spice store. That’s right. A spice store. Looks like I will be attempting an eggless dairyless pumpkin pie tonight, and then trying to get my Hunter up to level 20. It is a hard road I travel.

Little Man was absolutely ecstatic about his mama coming home, and only a little confused as to who and why Capt. McArmypants was here. All he knows is that “Uncle Capt. McArmypants is silly silly." We have no idea how many times he will be uttering that throughout the rest of his life. Really kid, you don't know the half of it.

I am not at work today, so that makes me happy. This post is going to be rather short, because Little Man is now up from his nap and terrorizing Uncle Capt. McArmypants. I think I might just wait a bit to increase McArmypants’s agony…

To recap:
I will post tomorrow, but most of you won’t read it
B-Dawg gets into town tomorrow, even though today is his birthday
Happy Birthday B-Dawg!
My post tomorrow will basically be a menu
Mmmmmmmmmmm menu
I need a shower
I have no idea what we are having for dinner
Probably something with chicken
Maybe steamed chicken
Mmmmm steamed chicken

Good Friends

They say that some of one's best friends are made during college, and they are right, whomever "they" are. The only problem with that statement is that it really sucks after you are done with college. For three reasons.


Firstly, after school the circle of friends will inevitably disperse, then the visits become more in-frequent, it becomes more difficult to meet up, most of the visit is taken up simply "catching up," etc... Secondly, the patterns of activities that one was capapble of whilst in college and only 18 to 23 years old are vastly different than the activities one can attempt when one is 30-ish. It really does emphasize the passage of time. Thirdly, after visits, it is sometimes difficult to get yourself back into the everyday routine, since you have been, to some extent, on vacation from your current life while your friends were here.


All in all the visits can become bittersweet.

On the one hand they remind you of the good times and good friends that you had while not having as much responsibility, but, on the other hand, they can also remind you of things that you do not have anymore.

On the one hand, it is nice to have your life go back to a sense of normalcy (you don't need to ask if anyone wants a drink or is hungry or if they want to have some chips, everyopne knows how the shower works and where the towels are, etc...), but, on the other hand, after the visit is over, you are left wanting more.

On the one hand, you have a reason to clean the whole house, but, on the other hand, you have the necessity to clean the whole house.


Now when family visits, that is a different story all together. More like a small time in Hell or at least Purgatory. There are many reasons for this as well, and I am sure I will go into them as the week progresses and the impending family visits occur for turkey day.

So in summation...

friends coming to stay = good and fun

friends stay ending = bittersweet

family visiting = Hell and/or Purgatory