Last night, a Monday night, I actually took Pam and Chitunga out to dinner to celebrate the culmination of our semesters. Tunga had his last exam (one of three this weekend), Pam turned in her 25 page paper (she got an A-), and I finished the last of my undergraduate/graduate projects. We needed a reason to celebrate.
I worked on grants all day, then stopped by Home Depot to do get more landscaping goods. I waited for the kid to get out of his last exam (much later than I anticipated), then we met Pam and Kaitlyn for dinner. It was a much needed, relaxed gathering over food.
I never do this, but Chitunga and I came home and we played cards. I channeled Casey and taught him Speed, 21, War, solitaire, and finally Pitch. Man, I miss pitch. He's a quick study, but he wasn't so sure about his thumbs or shuffling the cards. He was fast to pick up the games, however, and beat me at them all. Of course, he also lucked out winning at solitaire the first time, too.
Then, at 10 pm he announced, "It's time for bed. My summer shift begins tomorrow." His new schedule is 7 a.m. - 3 p.m., Monday thru Friday, throughout the summer. He was promoted to office manager and relocated to Bridgeport, a good hour in traffic closer to home. I asked, "Are you sure you'll be able to fall asleep at 10 pm?" (knowing that his typical retreat is 1 to 2 a.m.). He responded, "I have to get used to this routine."
And so just like that, snap, it's summer! I have 30 days to get ready for the summer institute and young adult literacy labs, he's full time, and the weather is bound to get nicer. Seems odd to think there will be space to think in my schedule over the next month.
It's all good. Last night, a Monday, we chilled out a bit - something very unusual for the two of us. He's such a phenomenal kid and all my frustrations with him - his work ethic - are ones that I own, too. But at least we got a night of cards in, and now I'm ready to challenge my mom and dad in a Pitch tournament.
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