Today was Super Bowl Sunday; and I’m
starting my update with that news because it means that football is finally
over for another season!
I know, that won’t keep Tim and the other
fanatics from living and breathing it between now and August anyway; but at
least it won’t be an every weekend – or daily – drain of teen resources that
can be better spent elsewhere.
Don’t give me that look as you read this in
our future some day, Tim. Some of us,
including Rowen, think that you’re nuts to pick major football event watching
over other activities – such as making out with your girlfriend. Before you try denying that, let’s consider
the evidence from today. You spent a big
chunk of the afternoon and all evening watching the game and most of the
festivities both before and after the match.
In your case, that was mostly done at your aunt and uncle’s home while
your house – and Rowen’s – was pretty much parent-free during all of those
hours. That seemed like a perfect
opportunity for some quality alone time with Rowen; but you picked the football
instead.
Don’t feel too bad – you’re not the only
guy making that choice today. I’m just
including that little bit of commentary for the future entertainment value –
though if you haven’t re-prioritized by the time you do read this; you might want
to think about it!
I don’t want to drag out the football part
of my report, and if you’re actually interested in the details; you can look
them up elsewhere. The only info I’ll
add is that the Patriots had a come-from-behind win over the Seahawks with a
score of twenty-eight to twenty-four; and most of the football fans at the Inn
seemed to be happy with the gaming action.
To be honest, I didn’t really care about the game at all – I just had
fun with Michael, Rebecca, and our families and friends while spending most of
my time at the Inn helping out with the lunch and buffet rushes.
There wasn’t really a Super Bowl party at
the Inn this year. Miranda had a
big-screen television set up in the dining room so that her customers could
watch the game while having their dinner, and most of the late buffet customers
stayed to watch the end of the game too; but it wasn’t a tickets-only, one meal
event this time. That made for a much
busier night in the kitchen and dining room, and with so many people staying
there late; the clean-up took a lot longer too.
Michael and I didn’t have zero play time today because of all of the
work; but he’s happily willing to put in the extra time now to have a bit of
extra money available for our March Break trip; and I’m good with lending a
hand so that I can hang out with him even if that is while we’re cooking and
cleaning for hundreds.
My day did start out with some fun – if you
consider a bit of light shoveling and some snow play as fun compared to our
usual Tai Chi work-outs. There wasn’t a
lot of snow to clear from the driveway and sidewalks, but it did need to be
done; and Rowen and I had fun with that alternate exercise program – especially
when Michael, Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden all came out to play for a little
while before breakfast too. We’ve had
light snow falling for most of the day too, and that wasn’t the only round of
shoveling that we needed to do today; but we only got a couple of inches total
snow, and it wasn’t a problem for getting around or keeping up with the
work. It also isn’t likely going to be
staying around long either; though the cold snap is probably going to last
until Tuesday instead of Monday now. It
is supposed to warm up enough that the snow won’t hang around long; so the kids
and teens should enjoy it while it lasts.
Other than the snow play and work, and
having our sleepover guests to feed and share bathroom time with this morning;
it was a fairly quiet morning at home.
The church service and Sunday school seemed a bit subdued too; but maybe
that was just the perception I got from being around my own family and friends
group. Some of them were tired out from
a day of shopping and birthday party fun – though again, I don’t need the
details about that from any of the particularly tired-out looking adults I’m
including in that thought.
I went on to the Inn with Michael and his
family after church and helped out with the lunch rush that was actually very
busy. At least one group of customers
had decided that having lunch at the Inn ahead of Super Bowl watching at home
was a good plan; and we had a full dining room from opening until shortly after
two o’clock. That was why Michael,
Rebecca, and I had shorter afternoon breaks than usual; and Michael and I met
up with Rowen and Tim at my house and used up all of that time doing our
weekend homework assignments. Tim didn’t
get his completely done then; but that was because he kept getting distracted
by the pre-game action on the television instead of doing his work.
All of that work and studying was the main
reason why I wasn’t on the snow crew this afternoon or evening; but Mom and Dad
managed to take care of that without my help – and the play time with Ethan and
Ehlana too.
The dinner buffet rushes at the Inn were a
bit crazy. The first wave started a bit
early, with most of those guests wanting to eat and then move on to Super Bowl
watching parties or gatherings. The
second wave that included most of the members of my family and quite a few of
the business owners and their families started at the normal time; but dragged
out for maybe an hour longer than usual.
That’s why Michael and I were busy in the kitchen pretty much until the
game ended. Rebecca was set free a bit earlier;
but that was entirely so that she could hang out with Lucas and his family while
they were at the Inn too.
It’s also why it was very late by the time
I got home after we finished all of the work and had the Inn cleaned up and
ready to go for the morning breakfast shift.
I didn’t even get started on my nightly computer studying and family
business work until after midnight; and that’s why I opted for some
time-phasing to help out with getting my work done tonight instead of staying
up all night to keep up with the workload.
I won’t suggest that was fun, and neither was the studying or work
tonight either. It was all just things I
needed to do before getting around to a last email check and this journal
update.
Even with using the time-phasing for a lot
of the work, it’s still well-past two o’clock, and after a long day at the Inn
too; I’m pretty much out of steam now.
We’ve got a busy week ahead of us; so I’d better wrap this up and get
some sleep while I can. We won’t really
be involved much in Grandma’s birthday tomorrow while they’re still away and
having fun in the sunny south, but that will still make for a fun start to the
week; and I’m particularly excited about ending the week with another birthday
next Sunday – mine! ;^)
With a little luck, some birthday alone
time with Michael will be an option next weekend too, and since that’s a very
happy thought to head off to sleep with; I’m going to end this little update
with that and hopefully take that thought with me into some very happy dreams.
Until next time...
...May the Magi Force be with you!
