It's Cold; It's Hot

The worst part about being somewhat forgetful is the inability to remember to pay essential bills and stuff getting cut off. I really need to get a bunch of stuff signed up on autopay so I don't have to worry about remembering to pay it. That way, incidents such as yesterday, when the gas was turned off, don't happen again. It was really cold last night; it actually snowed outside, so inside without heat was not all too comfortable. Yeah, we paid it, but by the time we did, it was too late to have it turned on yesterday, so it'll be back on today.

It took some time to decide where to start since the last blog dealt mostly with where the timelines are going, so I figured I would do the present today and go from there on the others as well. As I said yesterday, we're working through illnesses that likely came from meeting with my side of the family, but the Socialite, unlike the other three of us who got hit, bounced back in record time, complaining just today that she can't go to school.

This is a plus with our children. They love school. Even Rock Girl, who is in third grade, hasn't tired of school yet. She doesn't hate going. She's bored, but she enjoys going; she just needs more stimulation. We tried to convince them when she was going into kindergarden that she should be in a higher grade, but they wouldn't listen, and then her second grade teacher asked why we didn't bump her up a grade. Can I understand the eye-rolling of the teachers? Sure. EVERYONE says THEIR kid is the smartest in the world, right? Well, we just have a test to prove it. Hah!

Now, you know how women can always get guys to do what they want by mentioning it? Jeff Foxworthy spoke of this. She says, "I'm cold," and before you know it, you're up adjusting the thermometer. Or in my case, "I left my book in the kitchen," and I'm the one making the trek across the house to fetch said book without another word spoken.

There is a geek extreme to this phenomena. She got her book and opened it up. Well, in the front cover there was a list of books and it appeared that this book was actually number 2 in a series, but she thought it was number one. She commented on this and I looked at the list. It was in alphabetical order. She said the others were always in book order, so before I know it, instead of putting the 4 Saw movies in chronological order (scene by scene; it's fun), I'm on Amazon not only confirming that her book is indeed book one in the series, but making a list in Notepad of that series, the following series, and two other series by the same author. I'd noted about twenty books before I finally figured out that I'd been had. I turn for this comment, and I hear...

"I love you, honey."

God, life is good.

Transitions

After what happened in high school, it won't be until until a homecoming game four years later that we meet again. So I figure I'll continue the narrative of my own life during the years without the Queen and call them "The Silent Years" since nothing of note really happened other than my growing up just a little bit, and being mostly stupid and getting myself into debt. The Queen had her own mishaps and trials during this time as well, but to include that in the tale of us would be a bit silly. In addition, I don't want to go on and on about this silent time when you might be more interested in the actual story of us meeting at that homecoming game and growing from there. Frankly, I like that story a lot better, but things do happens during the silent time that play into things that happen then, so I also don't want to leave that part of the story untold.

So here's my compromise. This blog will now split from two timelines to three. I still plan on covering the present day and all the wonderful drama of our current life; I'll have the Silent Years covering that four year period where we weren't together and actually dating other people to our own detriment; and finally, the Love Story will continue four years after high school where we re-meet and everything takes off. I'll also note that I remember that period a whole lot better since I wasn't trying to block it out.

So three directions at once from here. After high school, I went into the military for a couple years and the Queen went into college, graduating only weeks before we re-met. The Love Story continues just prior to a homecoming that neither one of us intended to be at. And the present day moves on with everyone being completely sick (except for Rock Girl, but we fear her time will come).

Yup, I'm sitting here, hyped up on Mucinex wishing the cough would just go away so my chest will feel better and not so tight and painful. My nose is running, and fortunately, I'm past the headache that killed me over the weekend. I had gone in on Saturday night to work, but I got steadily worse as the night wore onward. I slept for eleven hours on Sunday, skipping church entirely, and then still didn't go in on Sunday night. Even now, two days later, I'm not back together.

The illness actually began with Sassy Pants, and really, we suspect it originated on Thursday night when we saw my mother. My father didn't come because he had bronchitis, and my hope was we could all keep our distance enough so we didn't catch anything she might be carrying. Well, after she hugged Sassy Pants, Sassy Pants was the first to fall ill. Since Sassy Pants demands my personal attention ALL THE TIME, I was next. Thanks to my proximity to the Queen, she was next, and last night, the Socialite complained of a headache. Little by little we're passing it around to each one of us so we're all getting sick a little at a time. Oh, and my mother? She was diagnosed with the flu on Friday. This would be one of those times where the Queen could "I told you so" me since she recommended against going to dinner on Thursday night.

Oh well. As long as we all get better before next week, so the Queen can do her bunco thing, then life will be ok. That reminds me, I need to put the Christmas stuff away...

A Not Entirely Futile Week

After a long bus ride, we were finally in Washington, D.C. For me as well as a lot of the kids in the band, it was my first time being there, and we were all very excited. The week was planned out to see most of the main historical sites in D.C. From The Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument to the houses of Congress to the Smithsonian to the Capital itself and even other places like Union Station. It was an awesome trip.


I was with the Queen in almost every single one of those places, and curiously (with the exception of one point in my memory), Crackhead was no where to be found. You would think that would give me a hint. If I had been then as I am now, I would have definitely made a move and history would have been different, but I was a big chicken...a big introverted chicken, as a matter of fact. I thought I was talkative, and I was still considered quiet.


On the whole, I admit that I don't remember the trip too well, but here are some of the highlights. One of the most defining characteristics of Washington, D.C. is the Washington Monument -- it's that super tall obelisk that sits across the mall from the Lincoln Memorial. Well, you can see this thing from practically everywhere around town, which spawned a reference to National Lampoon's European Vacation.

"Look, it's Big Ben... Parliament. Look it's Big Ben... Parliament. Look, it's Big Ben... Parliament."

When we were in that mall area, though, we spent the afternoon there together. A problem I had the entire time we were there was that I kept forgetting my camera. This was not a problem she had, but she did have another minor issue. We had done a full band picture in front of the Capital which illustrated this minor issue perfectly. You see, for the full band photo, they had everyone line up in height order from shortest to tallest; can you guess who was at the front of the line? Yup, the Queen was the shortest person in the entire band.

This means that the Queen was too short to take the shot she wanted out of the windows of the Washington Monument. I was about a head taller than she, and still am, so she had me take some pictures of D.C. out of the windows of the Washington Monument. I was honored to help her out.

There was a short span of time when Crackhead did track her down, and they held hands as they walked by the Vietnam Memorial. It was one of those little that I no doubt made larger since she was holding his hand, but it was still there, and served to make me step back a little.

Not that there was reason to, mind you, since she made multiple moves to show some level of attraction for me. She leaned over me on the bus on multiple occasions. She got this shirt from the Smithsonian that had the planets on it, and I was compelled to comment on exploring the universe -- she found it amusing. And at one point, we had a meal so hideous that we chowed down on goldfish crackers once we got back to the bus.

But one event that stuck in the minds of several was on the bus ride back home. She had stood up on her seat to get something from the overhead bin, and the bus had hit a bump. I reached up and grabbed her hips, and she looked into my eyes. She noted that BG and Rox saw a spark right there, and even the Queen saw something in that moment. She also noted that when she was sleeping next to me on the bus, it was the only time while riding the bus she had a restful sleep.

So the groudwork was there. It was all a matter of my speaking up and saying something... but I didn't. I was a big chicken. Things would have gone dramatically different if I had, though. The connection we have would have been realized much, much earlier.

But alas, the US we became would have to wait another 4 years. During that time, we would both be tried by the worst of people either one of us could wish to be in a relationship with. During that time, we would find people that had qualities we liked and qualities we just couldn't overlook.

What placed the final nail in the coffin for me and the Queen during the high school time frame was at the Band Banquet, which was held in the high school cafeteria and which the Queen did not attend. Every year, they gave out an award called "The Crowbar," which is a tongue-in-cheek award for the couple who they were unable to "pry apart" during the course of the year. As irony would have it, the award was won by the Queen and Crackhead. This amused her greatly, but hurt me because I failed to make that one move that would have won her for me at that time. Sure, I got her later, but Crackhead hurt her in the meantime, so in a fit of "if onlyness," I know that if I'd only said something, her life could have been that much better.

I say that now, but I was also a mess at the time, and I undoubtedly could have screwed it all up, so who knows? Maybe the years of trial between then and 4 years later helped to form a more perfect relationship. We'll never really know. It all worked out in the end, and for that I'm happy.

I wish I remembered more, but I guess I blocked it. Too painful, you know? However, before this chapter closes, I do have to mention one more thing that was caught on video tape and gave Darth Vader much amusement after the Queen and I were married and we saw the tape. At graduation, I was able to sit with the Queen again, and being the glutton for punishment I am, I was more than willing to be close to her. At the end of the ceremony, when we were walking up the stairs, I apparently tried to say something to her before she broke off, but she turned on me, and spoke not a word in parting. Video shows I paused for a moment before walking up the stairs and out of her life for the next 4 years.

As I said, it all worked out in the end, but at the time, it really sucked.