I’m on the couch, Saturday morning, 11:16AM. N and S are next door, playing with Max, and T is off at Jaden’s cottage. M is shopping. When did the house get so quiet?

This was a busy but gratifying week. Thursday was long but necessary. At 10:30AM we attended N’s kindergarten graduation ceremony. The parents gathered on folding chairs in the gym. I’m always amused by the people (fathers, 90% of the time, with a smattering of moms and grandparents) obsessed with documenting the event with expensive camera equipment and such…seriousness. They move from spot to spot with their tripods and determined visages with a great sense of purpose. It’s kindergarten graduation, people. Anyway, we took some pictures, too, but I mostly stood in the back whispering “please don’t do anything weird, N, please don’t do anything weird, N” over and over to myself like a mantra. He sat on the risers during the songs, but hey, I can respect that. One can only handle so much stimuli. N also spoke on the microphone, saying “We hope you have a great summer.” Awesome.

(Slight sidebar…I’m listening to Eels on random, and their cover of D. Johnston’s “Living Life” just came on. God, I love this song.)

After the graduation ceremony we took N to Target for legos then return home, ate lunch, and dropped N off at the neighbor’s so we could return to school for T’s fourth grade promotion ceremony. Let me explain. Our district’s elementary children proceed to middle school after fourth grade, so the elementary schools make a big deal out of the move from fourth to fifth. The kids sang songs, etc. and everything was fine until they played a powerpoint of pictures of the entire year with Green Day’s “The Time of Your Life” as the soundtrack. Ladies and gentlemen, the collective floodgates opened. Moms cried everywhere. In order to avoid an annoying former student I cut out early and waited in the car. Later T and I bought video games at Best Buy before his baseball game. Long day, but a good one.

Yesterday morning I played hoops then hit the office for a couple hours before a meeting with the dean before hitting lunch with Corey. My God, he took me took the best Italian deli I’ve experienced for a long time. The space is tiny, every inch of shelf space crammed with some exotic olive or whatever. I had a top notch eggplant/artichoke salad. We sat outside and ate at a sidewalk table. Here’s a pic, although I lifted the pic from the web, to be clear…I didn’t take the pic myself. Oh, the deli’s name is Glorioso’s…highly recommended.

http://www.citydictionary.com/Uploaded/Images/Gloriosos-20080706033026.jpg

Last night we hit the first outdoor concert of the year here in Port. We had a great time. See below for pics. Jim from over on Chestnut St. got me slightly drunk. When we returned home I watched some of the Brew/White Sox game and the heart-stopping ending of the Pens/Red Wings game. I love when the Red Wings lose. Then I read Walser and feel asleep. This morning I slept until the decadent 8:30AM. How did that happen? T and I switched out the storm and screen windows in the kitchen before he left.
N’s on the couch next to me. He’s playing Star Wars on DS. I may haul the and his brother out for an adventure soon. Life is good. Have a lovely Saturday.