not bad for a thursday

it was a standard thursday
well, maybe it wasn't
maybe it was a thursday plus

did the standard routine
morning with the boys
a quick walk in the woods with the dogs
a little more than letting them lift their leg and drop their load
then on the bike
not enough to get a workout
just enough to break a sweat when I stop

rolled out of work as the whistle blew
go into the gear and onto the bike with maximum efficiency
thought I could sqeeze in a quick one before heading out with the wife
with the wife without the kids.... almost a date

felt pretty good on the bike
not fit
not fast
just feeling good
feeling that natural rush of riding a bike
decided that my short time on the bike could be best spent hitting a quick section of hills in Rock Creek Park then the hill in front of my house leading me as close to 6 as I can reach
rode the bike path and the eroding earth along side of it on my half a decade old jamis cross bike
dumped off the path and into Rock Creek on the road
just as I started the first hill I saw a familiar face
one of the members of my mountainbike team was doing some hill repeats
he slowed
I turned around
I joined him for a few hills
as expected he humbled me
no excuses... he is faster and I am slower
he was out there for more hills after my quick two
as I still had to walk the dogs before lisa and I left for the movies

got in the house
lisa was already at home entertaining dean and grant
she offered to walk the dogs
allowing me to watch the kids
turns out GI Joes and Power Ranger action figures are more interesting than dad
so.... I actually just "watched the kids" as they played

time passed and the attention of the boys moved from the fantasy to reality
the reality was were all very hungry and the pizza man had yet to arrive
time was passing for our departure to the movie
for a 7 pm show it was already 6:30
lisa still out with the dogs
pizza man still on the streets
so to entertain the boys we all went out front to wait for the pizza man

with children distraction is often the quickest route to diffusion

we sat on the cold concrete stoop and looks at the planes flying in the distance
and scanned the immediate sky for bats
dean and I talked about the bats being nocturnal
dean added that owls were also... nocturnal.... not struggling at all with the word he just learned
grant content to sit in my lap and listen
occassionally interjecting

lisa came home
put the dogs away and joined us on the cold concrete
almost as lisa sat down the pizza arrived
I corraled the boys inside beckoning the need for help to set the table
just as we set the table and handed the boys some pizza the door opened
grant hears the noise of the door and then the voice... grant then asks.... soledad her again
yes...
that is one smart little monkey
at two his speech is only surpised by his understanding

with soledad to watch the kids we made our escape
amazingly enough we were able to get into the auditorium before the pre-film comericials played
the pizza was consumed on the road

lisa and I settled in as the lights dimmed
no time to people watch
the banff film festival at the national geographic was about to start

the setting took the same course it has taken for the last 7 years that lisa have gone on a date to see some of the Banff Film Festival as it tours through National Geographic

the movies were great
a wide range of movies entertaining and inspiring the body and the mind

the pizza tasted great on the drive there and once we got home

eric not only goes up and hills
eric works at chain reaction
eric was the one who humbled me on the hills

a fairly standard thursday
well, actually it was a thursday plus