it was a good day...

it was a good day
actually it was a good weekend
no events of consequence
just time well spent

friday evening after a solid afternoon ride with cargo mike I gathered with the family for dinner
the post dinner routine of wrestling and reading was void of homework
as it was friday night... first graders do not get homework over the weekend
so after the last round of wrestling and the last chapter of captain underpants we gathered around the warm glow of the big blue box
the gods must be crazy entertained all ages

saturday had the original plans of meeting some families downtown for lunch at union station then the air and space museum
when these plans colapsed I was pleased to simplify things by having the kids just get dropped off
which was a relief... corralling parents can be as difficult as corralling children

so two kid's from dean's class were dropped off
this is what is known as a playdate
lisa and I each kept a hand in the mix while having the other hand free for whatever we chose
I joined the boys on the back deck with my repair stand

the boys played with the variety of costumes and a collection of swords I had pulled from the basement to lure them outside
I broke up fights and tried not to be an over involved referee
in between damage control with the kids I got my franken fixie ready for some paint

max had done what appears to be a very solid repair job on the break to this early 70's Colnago with campy dropouts and campy parts
now it was up to me to assemble things
since the area that was repaired was bare steel it was needed that I paint

my intentions were humble
while my efforts were even more humble
the cold air was giving me some hassle with the tape
then when I started painting things some moisture in the tubing started to drip down the tubing as I painted things
since there had been no real investment in the project
I continued the task that had not involved any prep work
sure a swipe of a wire brush
but no sign of sand paper

I removed the cranks... but I left the bottom bracket
I took off the wheels... but I did not remove the chain
the front brake came off... but I did not take off the handlebars

the frame was finished and back in the garage before the parents were over to pick up their kids

there was still some time to ride before the evening's event
but I opted to hang with the boys
trying to be a cool dad I thought I would expose them to some Bruce Lee
there were moments where I felt that Fists of Fury was more graphic than I had recalled
it is hard to measure what is age appropriate
these are different times
the last star wars or any of the harry potters would be far more scary

saturday closed up with an evening out with lisa in baltimore
an old friend turned forty... many old friends gathered to celebrate this
dean and grant got the treat of two fun young women as babysitters
apparently there were games of memory and candy land
along with stories made to order

woke this morning thinking I was headed to a kid's birthday party
a phone call told me otherwise
a parent in the neighborhood offered to bring Dean along so we could be free to dodge the suburban soccer plex and cake with too much icing

before the afternoon party we still had the morning
since my afternoon commitment was canceled
I had the energy to get the boys out in the am
being that I had already walked the dog hiking did not seem like such a creative option
then I recalled wanting to check out the Sticky Fingers bakery up at Park and 14th

the weather was warm
the boys were stoked at the notion of a bike ride to the bakery

lisa and I walked and ran along side the boys
issueing orders all the way
stop at the corner
stop before the alley
listen for traffic
don't run into the people on the sidewalk
slow down
come back

no one got tired

sure there were some complaints about being thirsty
but I am known to be a complainer

the trip to the Columbia Heights border achieved so many tasks
we got out of the house
we got some exercise
we got to see some action
we killed some time
the kids got to ride their bikes
the kids got to ride their bikes that they never rode to before
we got out of the house
lisa went to the grocery store
while dean, grant, and myself went to Sticky Fingers
then we all went to Nash's Sports to get a gift for the afternoon party
they had a good price on adult soccer jerseys of various nations
but the dc united shirt may have been more than need for a gift at a kid's party

we got home a few minutes before dean's ride arrived
just enough time for lisa to pack the gift
while I instructed dean on a card
the sharpie, the folded green sheet of paper, and the star stencil came together well

while dean played soccer and got the maximum in turns on the climbing wall I assembled the franken fixie
time well spent

it was a good weekend for all