After having breakfast around 10 am, and loading the boat up on the dock or something, everybody just kind of hung around. Court and Christine got officially engaged, which I knew was coming. But after a few hours and nothing too exciting happening, I felt a little restless. A boat went out and they took off before I could grab a seat and I decided to get away for a while. I took my Ipod and went off by myself, first to the front yard and eventually to my "bed", where I caught up on my sleep. I remembered feeling that old feeling. Retreating to isolation and grabbing sleep. It's like Johnsonburg, Idaho Falls, Pawley's Island, Lake Geneva, and Tijuana all over again. I listened to Blueshirt Banter radio where I got a kick out of Rick Carpiniello telling old stories. But I was so mentally out of it, I actually skipped lunch. I guess that's a sign I'm not feeling too great. But I was scared that I was blowing the weekend. And it was amazing considering how good I felt that morning. I had felt like I was really progressing and growing that morning, and a just a few hours later, I felt like that scared little boy again.
Eventually, Court and Bobby grabbed me and we walked to a field and kicked the soccer ball around. I don't think I had touched a soccer ball since Ecuador in 2004. Not the most accurate kicks, but I guess I got through it. And man, did I sweat! Then Jared and Josh showed up and we played keepaway. Josh, in particular, was brutal to play against. He had some mad dribbling skills. But when Bobby tried to get fancy, I was able to take the ball away most of the time. Hey, I primarily played defense for 8 or 9 years.
So we went back to the dock and my feet and ankles were not feeling too good. I noticed Steve getting the speedboat ready for tubing. They may have already been doing it in the morning, but I wouldn't know. Though I was a little uneasy, I volunteered to go first along with Joe, and it was my first time trying this. Now Joe apparently had been doing this for a while and he asked Steve for a challenging ride. Steve obliged and my eyes bulged. I'm thinking what the hell am I in for. I guess it was an omen when it took me 3 or 4 minutes to get in the damn tube, which was embarrassing enough.
So we started with Kelsey at the back of the boat taking photos. Somehow, that gave me incentive to act a little more confident. We started out and on the second turn, I knew I would need a ton of strength to get through. Steve loved to make these sharp turns, sending Joe and I bouncing off the water like springs. Midway through, I yelled out to Joe "If one of us doesn't come back, I hope it's you!" But I was holding on pretty well and I was feeling pretty good. This was fun, a ton of adventure, and a decent challenge. So I showed off for Kelsey a little. I stuck my tongue out, then I took one hand off the handle. I think that's when she turned behind her and said "Dad, crank it up." Two minutes later, on hard left turn, I wiped out. Five minutes later, the ride ended and at thee end, I wiped out yet again, crashing upside down into the lake, leaving me a long ten-minute swim back to shore. As I sidestroked back, I wondered why I wore a white mesh shirt, seeing that it was now covered in black muck.
Here's what scared me though. As great as the rush was, I found myself thinking about wiping out twice. I knew that was not the right thing to do. I mean, I made a lot of successful turns and I know other people wiped out too. Maybe I should have tried it again. But instead I tanned on the dock.
Later on, we all got ice cream at this plant shop/trading post/convenient store. They even had Hot Pockets, which I made sure to mention to Alex and Amy... What was cool is that the kiddie size is $2 and consists of two scoops. I had orange/pineapple and enjoyed it very much. I would have selected a cherry flavor, since we were in Michigan. But of course, the only cherry option had chocolate as well. NO GOOD!
After getting back, everyone started to look a little tired. But Jared and I rallied the troops and we played sand volleyball. Of course, on the way back into the house, I slammed my right big toe on the ledge, busting it wide open. So we played long six games and I played with a bandage on my foot. Somehow, I don't think open wounds like sand. I had some solid serves, though my jumping wasn't great. For three straight games, I played in the front court with Steve and Josh. I guess they have that father/son dynamic. Every time Josh set the ball, I knew Steve was getting the chance to spike and not me. I didn't mind, I just thought it was ironic. Court and Jared played very aggressive for their team. For ours, Bobby took three games to put a serve in play, Kesley hit some great shots, and Steve loved launching these serves way up in the air. With the sun setting right in our faces and the wind blowing moderately, they must have been brutal to return. We won the first 3 games before, before they won 2. Finally, we played 4-on-4 and we won the last game. We walked 10 minutes back tot he house.
Now covered in muck and sand (got a few dives in there), I really wanted a shower. As Amy saw me come in the house, she somehow figured out what I had in mind. She beat me out. But that was fine. While most everyone else played Aggravation, I welcomed the feel of soap and water.
We had dinner around 8 p.m. and I must have had three plates of baked pasta and salad and three pieces of garlic bread. And since we had well water, I drank a ton of that H2O right out of the sink. I guess that's what happens when I skip a meal. As I was walking back towards the attic, I passed a computer and noticed a slide show of photos from the last two days. I started sifting through them. Kelsey showed up and we looked through a few of them. Why does someone else's silver shine so bright?
A little later in the evening, we took this slow barge boat, or whatever it's called, on the lake. It was just a long, slow cruise on a deck-style boat. Jared brought his Ipod and he and I "sang" some Queen songs. "Bohemian Rapshody", "We Will Rock You" and I think one other that I can't think of. We then did Dream On, thought it was a little late in the evening to hit those high notes. About halfway through "Love Shack", B-Jeff decided he had enough and told us so. We got quiet. Had one more molasses-ginger cookie after we got back, probably my fourth of the weekend.
So at the end, it was myself, Court, Jared, and Kelsey lounging on four separate recliners, footrests elevated, facing each other. We sort of wanted to play a game of some type, but no one was really willing to organize anything. Anyway, we all hit the sack. But on the couch, I saw a copy of Saturday's Detroit Free-Press and looked for a Mets score. These geniuses didn't even have the scores of the 7 pm games! Now if the California games are missing, I can understand. But to just have the one afternoon game's result in the next day's newspaper is just emBARRassing. As it turned out, it was probably for the best that I didn't know anything that was going on.
After waking up kind of early the next morning again, I went back to the dock to enjoy one more sunrise and revel in the sparkling water on the lake. After eating some sort of egg casserole and baked granola, we had a brief worship service on the back porch. After that, we all headed out back home.
I guess Court wanted to get back for Bible study and softball. So I went with him, Christine, and B-Jeff. Speaking of the latter, he and I had some really good talks that weekend. He is a wise dude. The drive up took 8 hours. The drive back took maybe 4:45.
It's now been 9 days since our two day trip ended. It feels like a lot longer. There were a lot of fun moments. I would like to think it was a good thing that I came. I guess other people can have opinions about that one. I really wanted to not think about certain kinds of expectations or hopes on this trip, but it was a struggle at times. I think I've identified a few issues I want to be better at. Acceptance still seems to be one of the big ones. But trying to get it through other people's approval is so fruitless. A chasing after the wind, as Ecclesiastes might say. And to have character and attitude that does not depend on circumstances is so important in this cruel, unjust, cynical world. I hope I can reach that point one of these days.
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