Recharge

It's mornings like this when I'm glad I live so close to Alki beach.

Had our celebratory dinner with Raechelle at the California Pizza Kitchen at Northgate last night, but Rae was so frazzled from work that it was somewhat less celebratory than we both would have liked. Still, the food was good and afterward we went to Display & Costume to browse Halloween costumes and decor. I got a pair of little ghosties to hang from the porch roof with the skull lights (more detailed pictures coming at some point). Then we browsed the Christmas section and let ourselves become lost in that warm holiday feeling that comes from looking at beautifully decorated trees and white lights and crystal snowlakes. Turns out, Raechelle and I have the same holiday design aesthetic (classic/Victorian decor, reds and whites, white lights, no blinkies, etc). Go figure. It's been a long time since I've even wanted to decorate for the holidays, and I'm pretty much the first guy Raechelle's been with who has been into the holidays enough to want to decorate.

Even with the nice diversion of D&C, the energy was definitely low, so following a quick stop at Staples for school notebooks, we went home so Kayleigh could do her homework and I could fill out a gajillion school information forms and releases. Tyler complained of having no clean clothes, so I had him get a load of laundry together, then suggested we go to Target to get him some new track pants (you know, the kind that actually fit his rapidly expanding-in-all-directions 14yo frame), but he declined. He then waited until 9PM to make his own dinner, so there was a bit of conflict and lecture about time management. I hate having to give those lectures, but until he gets it, lecture I will. I tucked in the kids and fell asleep as my head hit the pillow at 10:30.

Woke up at 5:59AM from a disturbing dream (been having a few of those in recent months, all part of getting my past baggage squared away). I hate abrupt awakenings - the ones where you sit bolt upright, heart pounding, adrenalin surging. I don't remember what the dream was about, but at least I know it's a symptom of PTSD and can talk about it with the counselor. Came upstairs to find the remnants of Tyler's dinner project: an open can of tomato sauce, the lid to said can of tomato sauce on the opposite counter, splats of tomato sauce all over the freshly cleaned stove top, and the pot from the pasta dumped on the sink, half full of water (and the rest of the sauce dried to the top). So Tyler awoke to another lecture. That's gotta suck. I would hate to have me on my ass all the time.

My standing offer to the kids is for a one-way ride to school, as it allows us more time to prep in the morning. And my kids totally need that extra time (although they are slowly getting more of a handle on time management). Dropped Kayleigh at her school, then took Tyler across West Seattle to his. He fired an opening salvo of criticism regarding the notebooks I'd purchased, and my response was swift, surgical and left no room for argument. If he declined to go shopping for clothing and supplies when I offered, then he has no right to complain if I got the wrong stuff.

Silence.

Maybe he got it? Hope springs eternal.

After dropping off my surly boy at high school, I found myself so close to Admiral Way that I decided to recharge. I found a shady little spot by the Alki Tully's, grabbed a coffee and headed down to the beach to watch the fog burn away and the ferries go back and forth. It's so peaceful there in the mornings, as traffic (of both the wheeled and foot variety) is extremely sparse, and one can actually hear oneself think. I hadn't been to Alki on a quiet morning since last summer, so this was definitely what the doctor ordered. Feeling much more serene and energized, I returned home to take care of doctor appointments and financials (Q3 reporting is almost upon me).

Looking forward to a fun weekend. Zombie double feature on Friday night, trip to Bellingham on Saturday, and the 49ers play the Hawks in Seattle on Sunday. Hopefully our boys won't suck like they did last Sunday.