I say odd because my husband has an out of town conference this week and my oldest is leaving today to visit with my parents for a few days. His girlfriend is on a family vacation and he felt he needed something to fill the time.

Anyway, my weekend was not bad at all. Friday, Ash and I met up with another couple at one of our favorite places for lunch. I took zero photos, of course, but we had fun. We both know the guy who owns the restaurant and he was there so we chatted a bit. Once we got home, Ash and I bowled a little bit (we have an arcade controller that is just bowling) and then Isaac wanted to swim and he convinced us to get in. It’s funny; I love having a pool and taking care of it and watching the kids swim but I rarely get in. Well, I did that day! We had fun out there until it finally got too cloudy. I left to pick up my daughter from camp and we watched movies in the evening.

Saturday, Ash and I got up at the butt crack of dawn and got out to the trail by maybe 7:15 to begin our fifty miler. Last week’s ride was really hard. I felt so bereft of any energy at all but then this week, I felt great. It wasn’t easy by any means but we made it just fine. We rode 25 miles straight, which gets us to a big gas station called Rocky’s. It’s not just a gas station; it’s THE place the country folk go to for their ice before heading out on the water. So they have normal gas station fare, along with an entire section for fishing equipment and a huge deli counter where they serve hot breakfast and lunch. Their biscuits are to die for!

We each ate one, and I also had a hash brown. We took a minute to cool off inside and then got back on the trail. 15 more miles until we hit Savannah’s. We’ve been eating breakfast there but timing this week called for lunch. I had a piece of fried chicken and some okra, while Ash had mac and cheese and green beans. Not bad! It’s funny how when you’re a runner, you don’t need much nutrition while running; not unless you’re doing hundred milers or something. But cycling? You are depleting calories so quickly, you have to eat. And you can; you don’t feel gross. Eating plus running = sloshy stomach. Anyway, after the food we only had 10 miles left and they felt a whole lot easier than last weekend’s 10! We got home around 12:30, showered, I hit the store, then I sat. I did nothing else for the rest of the day! I mean, aside from movie watching, making some food for the kids, etc. I did make pizza from the Publix pizza dough. I’ve been experimenting with different sauces and this week I used Rao’s along with fresh mozzarella I shredded instead of bagged stuff. It was a lot better! I even put spinach on my portion; yum!

Sunday morning, Ash did his 20 outside but my undercarriage was still hurting too much so I opted for the indoor cycle. We both got our rides out of the way early. In fact, by the time we were both done and ready to do something else, it was only 9:45. I wasn’t sure what Ash would want to do for father’s day so we ended up going to Total Wine and then Publix and he wanted an augmented Thanksgiving meal. I made the mac and cheese, cornbread, and green beans I typically do, I eliminated mashed potatoes, and substituted pan-seared chicken. Since Elliot had to work, we saved that for about 4 pm and beforehand, had some eggs and bacon around 11. It was a nice day all in all; we bowled a bit, I did laundry, then around 3 we began watching a movie and I rolled into the kitchen to make dinner. Elliot came home with food from work so he didn’t even eat. Ugh. Oh well. As a family we watched Onward, which we hadn’t seen since 2020. I pretty much cried my way through the entire thing. LOL. After that, we sat down to play the family version of Cards Against Humanity. I don’t remember who won but I know Ash said he really enjoyed his father’s day.

So yes, this week shall be weird; I’ll be alone a lot of the time and I had a really weird shift: normally I crave those days alone. I always get a lot done and it’s refreshing. I find myself dreading them now. Maybe because I’ve been home a while now without the on-campus days and maybe because since school got out, at least one or two kids were around. I am sure I will survive but it’s a very different emotion for me to not want to be alone and well, I don’t like it!