Beautiful day

OKAY, after that last post filled with angst (jeez, I'm beginning to sound like one of my teenagers!) we're back in the land of reality. But seriously, folks... sometimes I don't know what part of what B comes out with is B, and what is the PD. This last bit seems like it was the product of him being frustrated with me, and another one of those depressive episodes that he slides into from time to time. I just need to learn how to recognise them, I guess, and then I won't be so hypersensitive. When we revisited the issues du jour the next day (after we were both feelign better), the conversation sounded much more sane.

Some of this comes from my extreme fatigue. I worked all of last weekend, plus Tuesday, which everyone else got off as a holiday, painting Christmas windows down at the museum. I think they came out okay, if I do say so myself. They seem happy with them at the museum, at any rate. And thank heavens they're done. There were two realistic portraits, plus one HUGE set of window borders. All in all, about 16 hours worth of work. So, like the slacker I am, I took today off to compensate.

Of course, it was a great idea anyhow, since B and I went out of town last night to go to a concert and didn't get back until late. I had to talk him into buying those tickets, and it was the greatest thing we've ever done. Long ago when we were talking about all the things we regretted in our past lives I asked him to tell me what he wished he'd done instead. One of his biggest regrets was that despite the fact that he LOVES music, he's gone to very few concerts. He's had the opportunity and the desire, but each time a good one came up, his ex told him she'd spent the money elsewhere (and we won't even go INTO that subject). And as she wasn't interested in going to the events with him, it was never a priority to save out some money for that sort of thing. So over the course of the years he's missed out on a lot of things he would have loved to see.

About a month ago he was listening to NPR out in his 'man-cave' and came in mildly excited (with B that's about as much as you can ask for!). Chris Botti was coming to one of our nearby cities, and tickets were on sale. We got online and found them, sure enough. The concert was being held in a converted ice arena, and there were several levels of tickets, ranging from the ones way in the back in the nosebleed seats, for $40, to the ones on the floor up front for $65. He looked at me with such a hopeful-puppy look that I just melted. Of course we were getting tickets!

"Aw, go ahead and get the good ones!" I said, "Have you ever sat up front?" I'm ahead of him in this game; my ex was a big concertgoer, so I do have several fond memories that I choose to keep from those years. I also know the good places to sit.

"They're more expensive." he said doubtfully, glancing at me as if I was going to put the kibosh on it.

"So what?" I pointed to the date, and then slid around behind him to give him a hug. "Happy anniversary." I whispered in his ear.


So, last night after work we got dressed up, fed the kids, and went off to the concert. It was FANTASTIC. If you don't know Chris Botti, go here. The whole show was wonderful. He's not only a great musician, but they put on a really good show. Chris is a jazz trumpeter, and while that sounds really boring, it's actually great music. While it was hard for B to sit for the two hours that the show lasted, we had a wonderful time. We came home with Chris' new album, and just really felt renewed by our evening out.

On the drive home, I was bubbling over with energy, as I always am after a show. "Ooooh, oooh, I liked X, Y and Z!" I exclaimed. "What did you like the best?"

Not missing a beat, he said "Going with you."

Say it with me now... "Aaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwww..."

It was so nice to spend those few hours in the car, talking about work and kids and hopes and dreams and just the scenery around us, laughing and chatting. We get that so seldom. And then at the concert the seat next to me was taken by a rather large lady who spilled over into my chair, so I spent the two hours sitting sideways towards B. It seemed like the most natural position was to put my arm around the back of his chair and snuggle into him. And lo and behold.. his hand came sneaking over from its position on his lap (when it wasn't clapping for the music) to slip into mine. I was in heaven. Good music, wonderful man, great time.

And when we got home, we walked into the house to find everyone asleep, the dishes done, the counters cleaned, the garbage taken out, the floors vacuumed, the entryway straightened, the coffee put on for morning, and two clean towels laid out in the bathroom for us to use. WOW. I woke the sleeping child on the couch from beneath her blanket of dogs and thanked her with a kiss.

And today we slept in, and we're lazing around like it's a Sunday, with nothing but an appointment later in the day and a trip to Lowe's on the horizon. It's a beautiful day.