busy weekend

It was a week of stress but I had the weekend to look forward to. It was the weekend before Cyndi's birthday. We had tickets for the Isotopes game on Saturday night (Little League night & fireworks) and we were all signed up for the Run for the Zoo the next morning. As the weekend was approaching, however, the weather forecasts were predicting thunderstorms to hit just when the Isotopes would take the field, threatening not only the cancellation of the game but also the fireworks, so there was a new, though milder, worry.

The weekend started mid afternoon on Friday. Somehow, a case was positioned for settlement and opposing counsel and I were confident a final document could be signed Monday morning. So off I rushed to Jackson's school for the first graders' year-end performance.

The theme of the performance was bugs. Poems about bugs, songs about bugs, bug costumes, bug props. Jackson had volunteered for three speaking parts, and he was spectacular. It was so fun to watch him. He stood out on the risers, so animated in his expressions, his singing, and his performance in the chorus of students in front of the crowd of parents. All of the songs had an accompanying pantomime. While many of the young students stood still, with their arms at their sides, and then, say, pointed in the air hesitantly after the cue in the song, Jackson was swaying on his feet to the music, singing with spirit, smiling with joy, with his gap from the missing front teeth, telegraphing the finger point with an ever-rising spiral that ended with the sting of a bee high in the air. His joy reminded me of his piano recital, when he skipped down from the stage to his seat.

Cyndi had made a reservation at PF Changs that evening. I shouldn't like that place, the observed dress code of the crowd waiting well over an hour for a table is often way too scruffy and there's always the skepticism that accompanies a popular franchise, but we love it. What a contrast to the Friday before, when we ended up going downtown and eating at McGrath's in the Hyatt. I'm sure Cyndi made the appointment so we wouldn't be stuck with that sort of option again. McGrath's was a complete disappointment. The food was food-service-distributor quality and the wine was supermarket middle shelf, circa at least ten years ago. As insults adding to our injury, the tab was $100 and we witnessed in horror a disabled man fall down the steps into the dining room. We could see our food sitting at the pick up station for about 15 minutes before it was served. The place was largely empty. The bathrooms were a mess, and an attendant placed a cone on the wet floor instead of cleaning it. All this in Albuquerque's premier downtown hotel. At PF Changs, we had lots more food, it was tastier, the wine was good, and we paid less. We also saw many friends there, as it turned out, and that added to our enjoyment.

Saturday morning there was a cool crispness in the air. Drops were already falling. There was a slight breeze. I mowed the front yard. The boys and I went to get haircuts while Cyndi went with her friend Mary for a pedicure. Jackson and I planted more flowers in the pots and beds before we piled in the car to get our race packets and then a much needed trip to Costco. At the race expo, Jackson talked with the lady from the zoo who was showing an armadillo and a bird. He recognized her from his field trip a week before. We picked up our bib numbers and both of the boys and Cyndi got race shirts. At Costco, there were the usual items--two loaves of bread, two gallons of milk, three liters of wine, a case of "chocolate milk in a box", a watermelon, a pineapple, creamer, and a tankful of gas--plus extras for Cyndi's Cinco de Mayo birthday party: Hornitos reposado tequilla, a case of Mexican beer, enchiladas, and taquitos.

Then it was off to batting cage practice, followed by a game. Jackson did well again. He got some good hits, and he alternated between center and short stop. Rylee was the batboy again. In the third inning, the wind started gusting and in the far distance there was lightening. At the top of the fourth, the team coaches called the game without waiting for any official word, just a moment before it began to downpour and even hail. At home, we made some bratwursts and beans. Ry napped. The rain stopped just before gametime.

We drove to the stadium, found a parking spot closeby and then found our seats behind the home team dugout, glad to see we were underneath some cover if it rained again. It was cool. We had jackets. The boys had their gloves, and for several innings jumped up and down excited about the game, hoping to catch a foul ball. Jackson went down behind the dugout, hoping for a tossed ball after the Isotopes ran off the field. The Isotopes didn't do well that night, and there were an unusual number of flubs--fielders crashing into each other and several dropped balls. The Isotopes never scored and were soundly beaten. Ry got an Isotopes cap. We went to the queue for the children to run the bases after the end of the game, thinking that would happen before the fireworks. But the fireworks came first, with Cyndi left alone in our seats. I was sorry about that. It was a very good show. Jackson watched, orchestrating the fireworks, while Ry was a bit intimidated by the booms. Then the boys got to go down to the field, both running hard around the bases.

Sunday morning was cool. We found a parking place relatively near the start of the race near the zoo entrance and brought a jogging stroller for Ry. There were over 9,000 people signed up. (I assume that was for all three events.) We went over and over the instructions for Jackson exactly where he should meet us after the finish line if we became separated in the crowd. We were in the only race that allowed strollers, a 5K along Tingley Beach and through the old country club neighborhood. It was a mix of runners and walkers. Jackson tried to find some friends from school. We saw a couple of his friends finish in the prior race. This was Cyndi's first race, and she was anxious and thrilled. She had been training for this one. We were about half-way back from the start, and we decided she should move up and run by herself. At the start, it took Jackson and I, with Ry in the stroller, several minutes to get to the starting line after the race began. Jackson didn't hesitate to run ahead. This was a tremendously momentous exercise of independence. Somewhere around the first mile I finally had an opportunity to jog with the stroller. About halfway, Jackson found us. He was walking and chatting with a lady. He got in the stroller for about a quarter of a mile while Rylee ran next to the stroller. Then Jackson took off again.

Meanwhile, Cyndi was running a good race, probably about a very respectable 9- to 10-minute pace, well below her training time. Somewhere along the way she saw an old friend and they ran together. He pulled her at the end, coaxing her to up her pace for the final leg, and her clock time was a little over 31 minutes--less when you factor in the time for getting to the start.

When Cyndi saw Ry and I before the finish line, she was beaming. Ry ran a bit again at the end, but he tired quickly. We crossed the finish line and waited in the spot for Jackson and he strolled in, red-cheeked and exuberant. There were some post-race ice cream bars, bagels and oranges, and we spent a few minutes inside the zoo before deciding to drive down to Belen. On the way out, we saw a downtown Mexican food place, Cecilia's, and decided to stop and eat. I think it's fair to call it a "hole in the wall". We found out it had been featured on a food channel show, and the food was tasty and authentic, with delicious, hot chile.

We visited Poppa and Grandma for a bit in Belen and then returned home. Ry's ready to go to an Isotopes games again. He added, "but there's not a game every night." Cyndi's ready for another run. I'm a little stiff.