Your Private Sky

I woke up to the most glorious sound on Saturday morning: thunder! Rain! Two things I absolutely adore, and Lord knows our town needs them.

I went back to sleep and stayed there for a while before waking up and saying goodbye to the little girl. She was going to be with her other grandparents for the weekend. It’s sad, but we do have to share. The house was so quiet. Yvette and I are the ones who usually keep her on the weekends, and it’s been almost a month since we haven’t had her — for better or worse.

I made a couple of sausage and egg breakfast tacos, and slowly we all got ready. Teegan and Yvette took off to look for some swim trunks for Teegan’s Spring Break vacation down in Mexico. Apparently, it wasn’t quite the season for swimwear yet, so they went to five different places before finally giving up and ordering online like civilized people.

I went and ran my own errands — Sam’s, HEB, and Market Street. I didn’t get much, just the things we needed.

I was in the mood to snack and wanted some kind of dip. Yvette reminded me to make some buffalo chicken dip. I used to make that for our work potlucks back when we actually had those — a thing of the distant past. Anyway, I made it, and it was just as big a hit in my household as it used to be in the office. I was impressed and vowed to make it more often. No reason not to.

I started a new graphic novel by Alan Moore titled The Courtyard. I read part one and was immediately hooked. It certainly has some H. P. Lovecraft vibes to it, which I damn near worship. How could this not be up my alley?

After putting the story down, Yvette and I cozied up on the couch to start a new show, Untamed. Primarily starring Eric Bana and Sam Neill, it follows a murder investigation at Yosemite National Park. During the investigation, secrets come to light and the past comes crashing into the present. There’s much more going on than meets the eye. We ended up burning through the first four episodes that night and finishing the series on Sunday afternoon.

I recommend the show. It’s on Netflix.

That was basically my weekend.

Then came that motherfucking time change. I hate it. Monday was a real bitch to wake up for. It was so damn dark going into work and so damn bright getting off. My whole system was out of whack. I was a sloth throughout the day. Why do they do this to us year after year? Why?! I have not heard a single person in my life give praise to the motherfucking time change. It haunted me all week.

Tuesday was special. We were supposed to have some severe weather. They hyped it up all Monday evening and Tuesday morning: large hail, seventy-five-mile-per-hour winds, and a possible tornado. That’s some heavy bullshit for this early in the year. We haven’t even reached our bad weather season peak yet. Not by a long shot.

As a preemptive measure, the campus decided to close down early. This has never happened before. Impending doom or an overblown reaction? At the time I didn’t know, but it did feel a little ominous.

Usually when bad weather hits, it hits right around five o’clock. We’re rushing from our office to our cars while thunderclaps and lightning strike all around us, dodging hailstones as we zigzag across the lot. That’s what I’m used to dealing with — not being sent home early.

I didn’t know what to do with the rest of the day. I basically had half a day off, and the sky was clear. Well… almost. One little cloud in the sky.

So what did I do with my half day?

I prepared dinner. I baked spaghetti squash and made meatballs. I went and picked up a couple of good beers for the coming storm. I went to the pharmacy. I went to Hobby Lobby. I went grocery shopping. I even did some yard work. I was far more productive than I ever would have been at work.

When the weather finally started to turn, it got dark and cold. It looked menacing. The thunder. The lightning. What we actually received was only a little rain and some wind. Areas around us had it much worse.

Still, I was happy to have at least had an exciting evening. The impending DOOM was on hold for another time.

I will say this, though — our dinner was delightful.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday I was busy as a bee. I was running all around town trying to catch up on all the shit I couldn’t do because we had been sent home early on Tuesday. I was happy with this. It meant I was out of the office and burning up the clock. Work is rather enjoyable when you have a steady amount to keep you busy.

The week sure blew on by. Friday evening Yvette and I had a dinner and movie date. Dinner at Casa Jalisco. Damn fine. The film was called Reminders of Him — a movie Yvette wanted to see that looked cheesy to me at first, but after reading a review it seemed rather interesting. The movie actually had depth and I was impressed. I love the lead actress. She is usually seen in a horror film so it was nice seeing some of her range.

It was a great evening with Yvette.

That got me thinking about time.

So six years ago this week we entered the global pandemic known as COVID-19. Hard to believe it has been that long. I will certainly say a lot has happened in my life within those six years. A lot. The world changed, and so did I.

It really doesn’t feel like that much time has passed though. Honestly, I kind of miss some of what was going on. It was a scary and exciting time to be alive. All that uncertainty. I remember being sent home from work and told, “Until further notice, do not return.” What a time to be alive.

In the intervening years, some major changes took place.

The pandemic happened. I was sent home from work for months. Fear and panic spread across the globe. Wearing a mask was pretty much required everywhere. Social distancing was in effect. Death tolls were rising at an alarming rate. I remember watching the numbers climb. Eventually, a case was reported in our town. Local panic. The world as I knew it changed. I took a lot of very long walks to keep my head straight.

President Trump lost reelection. Insurrection Day followed. The Orange Man was to blame — sore loser, that guy. Then we had Sleepy Joe in office for four years. It turned out he didn’t do much, but at least he didn’t start any fucking wars.

After a long time of social isolation, my family traveled to Florida. It was a weird trip — the first without my father along for the ride. My now ex-wife was a fucking mess the whole time, and her bitch sister came along too.

Shortly after, I got a divorce. A messy divorce. It went on for too damn long, partly because I was stubborn and wanted her to be the one to do the work since she started the process. In retrospect, I should have just filed.

In the meantime, I drank. I spent a lot of time making friends at the bars. I was kind of a mess.

Eventually, that was over. I started talking to other women. There was one I was really interested in, who eventually became my wife.

During the week of Halloween 2022 I hit my head and had an intracranial hemorrhage — a brain bleed. My diabetes got the best of me. I don’t know if it was from a high or a low, but either way I was a fucking mess. I looked like a car wreck victim, according to the ER tech. I was on a ventilator and in a coma for a day or so. The ICU is not a place for me.

After I got out, I was sent home from work again — this time for a month. I couldn’t drive for four months. During that time, I fell in love with Yvette.

I had been interested in her for a while. We had secretly been going on dates and talking on the phone at night for some time already, but seeing her there in the ICU really sealed it for me. She was there for me when I was released from the hospital. The rest is history.

That summer — only half a year after my ICU stay — I fucked my back. I knew it immediately. I couldn’t walk without excruciating pain. I was worried I might need a cane. I went to the doctor. My back was fucked. They set me up with six months of physical therapy. Eventually, I could take the stairs again.

That Halloween, a year removed from the ICU, I proposed.

A year later, in 2024, I married Yvette.

I now have a house that is full. I have two grandchildren. I have love under the roof. I had been missing so much that I didn’t even know that I needed.

Now our Dear Leader Trump is back in office. Our country is at war. People have come and gone in my life, but overall I am in a better place. I am happy.

And somehow… it still doesn’t feel like six years have passed.

Happy Friday.