Today is officially my day to chill. I do have to work a 4 hour shift tonight, but not until 5 p.m., so I'm not too worried about it. It has been a really busy 2 days and I'm worn out. I haven't been sleeping well for quite some time and last night wasn't much better. I kept waking myself up talking and yelling in my sleep so my poor husband probably didn't get much sleep either. 🙁
Despicable Me 2 was cute. Zachary really liked it. I felt like it was dragging on and on, but it was because I was so tired out. Otherwise it was a decent movie. I love Pixar animation films and that sort of stuff. Next I want to take him to see Monster's University, the second movie of Monster's Inc. I loved that movie when it came out and I was in college. Still love it.
We were REALLY early for the fireworks show. So we decided to do the shops downtown, and unbelievably, almost everything was closed! I was really surprised and disappointed by that. But we grabbed dinner at a really good burger joint and headed down to the park to get a good spot to watch the fireworks from. We ended up being on the end of a dock, hanging our feet off the end and watching on the river. (They shoot them off only a little ways away from there.) I was worried about both Zach and Aaron ~ Zach because it was his first time and he doesn't like loud noises, and Aaron because of his PTSD from being in Iraq. We haven't gone to see fireworks in a decade.
We sat on that dock for nearly 3 hours before the fireworks started. By the time they started I was really frustrated and bored, having spent so much time sitting in one place doing nothing. We did have a good game of "I Spy" with Zachary for quite awhile, but that got old quickly. So instead we just sat quietly and enjoyed the wonderful breeze and the view.
I could tell Aaron was very nervous and tense because he was terse and easily irritated. At one point we got into a small squabble because of it, but I let it pass as quickly as it came. There was no point in arguing because I understand anxiety all too well.
When it was finally time and they shot off the first firework, Zachary didn't even cover his ears! I was so shocked! He was too mesmerized by the colors and the size of them to even bother being scared by the noise. He jabbered the whole time about how awesome they were and what they looked like instead. His joy was contagious. I took Aaron's hand and held it, and he smiled. He really braved it out so that his son could see real fireworks up close for the first time. I could tell he was uncomfortable but was trying to enjoy it anyhow. I was so proud of him.
When it was all over we slowly made our trek back to the car and then fought with the traffic jam. I was pretty impressed because we made it out of the mess within 20 minutes and were on our way back home. As soon as we got back Zach flopped in bed and that was it for him. Aaron and I did our nightly routines (except for showering) and crawled into bed ourselves. What a long day!
On a completely different topic, I went out on a limb and texted my friend Michelle this morning. It helped a lot to talk with her about things and see where we stood. It seems we're okay. I was very honest about feeling like I was losing them as friends and how much that hurt me. She reassured me that it wasn't the case and that they just needed some time to be a family and refocus on what was really important in their lives ~ each other and the kids. Today she's seeing a lawyer and she's really nervous about it. I don't know what will come of it but I hope it's good. She said she'd call me later on today and I hope she does.
I'm going to spend the rest of my day reading and being a couch potato. Zach can play on the computer, the Wii or his DS or watch tv for awhile, and continue his work on his monumental pillow fort in his room. I'm going to feed the birds and then throw in a load of laundry so I have clean pants for work tonight. But that's about it on this end.
I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th and are spending today relaxing. Thank you all for being such good friends!
