Different
In the past when I would go on a trip or vacation I would take a lot care to try to accurately recall any and all pertinent details of the time. I’m not doing that anymore. We are relying on good old fashioned memory and my ability to go back in and add things later if I forget something.
I took off Wednesday to give me plenty of time to prepare for the trip. I actually spent most of the day doing non-trip related things other than dropping off Elsa at Ali’s place during the afternoon. I even got a lunchtime pickleball session in. Packing was done in less than a half hour and as is the norm, I packed more than necessary, just in case.
My flight was very early Thanksgiving morning, 7AM to be exact, meaning I needed to try to get to the airport a little after 5 which put me on the road from my house around 4:30AM. I used air miles I had banked for this flight. Not only did I use them, I used a lot of them to upgrade my flight to Dallas to first class. I was in the first row of the plane. In retrospect it wasn’t really worth it. Yea I got as nice meal but otherwise I didn’t experience anything better than if I paid $75 more for an exit row seat.
I arrived at the Dallas airport a little after 9AM local time. As I walked towards baggage claim from the corner of my eye I saw people waving against the glass. I laughed when I turned and saw it was Torrin’s family. I gave everyone a hug when I cleared the door. I had to be light with Damon as he apparently sustained a rib injury in jujitsu class that was very painful.
Damon showed me his latest project, a covered rear patio. He has the overhead section of the project almost done. I could hardly believe when he said he did everything I was looking at over the course of two weekends. He was a general contractor who built homes for years so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised but I still was. He can build/fix pretty much anything. I feel I am relatively handy but compared to Damon it’s not even close.
We wound up having a very traditional Thanksgiving that was filled with football, food, and family. They prepared a nice piece of salmon for me in lieu of a turkey. The meal was topped off by a massive selection of deserts. I also drank a massive amount of Cayman Jacks along the way. I am almost certain I reached double digits. As last time I was there I slept in the top bedroom which doubles as the kids classroom and video game headquarters. I got some play time in with Griffin and Emily.
On Friday we made a trip the National Video Game museum. Torrin is very familiar with how into video games I was as a kid growing up and the place was only a half hour from their house so it was easy to do.
The place was super cool, filled with tons of games, consoles and computers that I owned or used before. They had tons of working units that you could hop on and play various retro titles. At the end of it all was a large arcade again filled with the classics, each only costing on 25 cent token to play, like the good old days. It was very much a throwback experience that I enjoyed along with everyone else.
During the afternoon I offered to help Damon with putting up more outdoor Christmas lights. He had already put a bunch up himself but he had a lot more lights to get up there. Our biggest task was setting up the largest hanging tree you see in the picture. That took some careful engineering and beanbag tossing to make happen. When I was there two years ago I think I helped with some lights as well. It was cool to pitch in.
We got to do a little PEV riding during the afternoon as well. I hopped on my old One Wheel XR which I gave to the kids last year. Damon rode his V11 EUC he bought from me and the kids were both on their e-bikes. We rode around the nearby park which also has a couple pickleball courts. It was a fun little ride.
Saturday was Emily’s birthday, the first one that I was actually present for. She turned 17 which seems impossible as I can clearly holding her in my arms as a little baby what seems like not so long ago. We went to the movies around noon, we saw “Next Goal Wins”, a feel good type movie about the American Samoa soccer team.
For dinner Emily wanted to go to a hibachi restaurant where they prepare the food right in front of you utilizing a lot of Japanese flair. I had not been to one of these style places in a very long time. It was entertaining with good food to boot. Everyone seemed to enjoy the experience.
When we got home Emily’s last wish was we play more video games, one of her favorite hobbies. I played a bunch over the three days I was there with the kids. Of course they killed me in pretty much everything we tried but it was still fun to bond with them in that way.
My flight out was a little after 8AM Sunday. I felt bad having to get dropped off there a little after 6. The whole family crawled out of bed to see me off at the airport though which was very sweet. I thanked them for everything and gave everyone one last hug. Hopefully the Earth doesn’t need to go around the sun another two times before I see them again. It’s amazing how much 14 year old Griffin had grown since I saw him last. I swear it looked like he popped up almost a foot.
My flight back had a gate change and a minor 30 minute delay but otherwise was smooth sailing. I had the front bulkhead seat behind first class this time so comfort was still not a problem. The roughly 3 hour flight passed by pretty quickly as I half napped through a lot of it.
After grabbing my truck it was off to pick up Elsa. She only got to see Ali this time since Shugs was out of town which was unfortunate for both Shugs and Elsa. Elsa got a good report card and as usual was reluctant to get in the truck to get home.
Once home I started laundry and shot to the grocery store to get the few items I needed for the week. I tended to various small things during the afternoon before the Eagles/Bills game came on. That game was insane.
The Bills were controlling things for the majority of the game, running the ball at will with their QB making the Eagles look bad. However in the second half the Eagles came back from another 10 point halftime deficit and had a late lead, that they again gave up. They got the ball back with little time and managed to get to the Bills side of the field in makeable FG range until they took a couple penalties that pushed them back to the point where Jake Elliot had to try a 60 yard attempt. The conditions were bad, it had been raining the entire game. I thought there was no way he could make it. He did. He drilled the ball low and fast, it cleared the crossbar with room to spare, sending the game into OT.
In OT the Bills won the toss and drove straight down the field, threatening to get a game winning TD. The defense manages to force a field goal instead which put the pressure on the offense. The had to either kick a FG or get a TD for the game to continue. They went the latter route. When Jalen Hurts ran in for the game winning TD I yelled out loud in a house where only Elsa could hear me. I could not believe they found a way to win that game. Maybe the have the magic again this year, just maybe.
I took today off as well. I normally like to have the day after a trip clear although in reality my new living situation hardly requires it. In the past I would be scrambling to do yardwork, clean the pool, and handle the myriad of other tasks my old life demanded of me. Instead I came home to mowed grass, a clean house and very little resistance to inserting myself back into normal life.
I had said that my hope was the trip would help shake me from some of the dark thoughts that were floating around and it did. Seeing family is a good reminder of what it’s like to be with people that just have your back because they love you, always. I need to keep making the effort to focus on future success instead of past failure.