Friday night found the three of us piled in the car and headed for Eugene. The hotel where we stayed was hosting all of the football players and their families. When we checked in, the lobby was full of excited kids, ready to play and/or cheer on their team the next day at the State Championship games. People, if you never get to experience the particular joy that is spending a night in a hotel full of teenagers count yourselves very, very lucky. That evening, OH went to go meet with the other coaches. OC and I were alone in the room - but we were not to be left alone.
The first thing OC did when we got to our room was to check for a Bible. She said, "Now where is the Bible," and set about opening drawers to look for it before we had set our things down. That set the pace for the evening, as we got to commune with the other guests shortly after that. First there was the curiosity of the people in the room next door, who decided it would be fun to investigate their neighbors by knocking on the adjoining room door. At 9 pm. Good times, good times. I responded with, "Can I help you?" Which was met with silence, and then the sound of their door being closed and locked. No reply. Then, at around 10:30 pm, a knock at our room door which I decided to ignore. OH had a key, and if he forgot it he would say something. It wasn't OH. The person(s) kept knocking, the persistent little buggars. So I got up and it was...more teenagers! Teenagers that, after I opened the door, politely said, "Oh, sorry." Yep. 32-year old woman in her pj's, irritated that you roused her from bed while her 4-year old slept, not who you were expecting? Didn't think so.
It really wasn't too bad. There were no more interruptions that night. OC and I got to sleep rather late, OH got in even later, but we were all ready for the game the next day. Long story short: we lost. It was very sad, because they are an excellent team with a good attitude. We lead in the first half, but in the third quarter things seemed to fall apart. There were penalties, and inconsistent playing. We lost momentum, and lost the game 17-13.
I sat in the stands with OC and my father-in-law. It was fun (except for the losing part)! It was cold! Even though we had dressed warmly, we enjoyed the extra layer of OC's fuzzy fleece blanket with the jungle motif as we chatted. FIL is an interesting guy. He does horse logging, or used to. It is exactly what it sounds like: logging with horses instead of motorized equipment. This allows him to go in and cause less of a disturbance to the ground and surrounding area, to use fewer fossil fuels, and do more selective logging. It's very hard work, and he's got the backaches to prove it. Nowadays he runs the business side of things, makes contracts for work, schedules jobs, and takes care of the cows and fields of hay at their home.
We talked about skiing, football, relativeness of direction depending on whether you're referencing rivers or cartographic points (on which we agree), upcoming vacations, OH, OC, and more football. Afterward we went out to lunch at a brewery. It was a lovely day. I enjoyed spending it with family, and supporting my husband who has worked so hard throughout the season. It's too bad it came to a loss, but I have to say they played well. It wasn't lack of talent in playing or coaching, it was just the way it worked out.
That being said, let me do a little happy dance, because I get my husband back! Yay! Football season is over for the year!!!
Now, we get to use all that free time to finish our own remodel. Our contractor is in Mexico for a week. Did I mention that our contractor is also my brother in law? No? Well. Who am I to begrudge a person a vacation? It's not the vacation. I look at the calendar, see it is December, and remember how this was supposed to be done in October. It's cold outside, we are crammed into the tiny spare bedroom sleeping on a futon, and we feel highly motivated to have this job completed. We seem to be alone in this supposition. I'm 32 years old, which is too damn old to be sleeping on a futon on any kind of a regular basis.
Sunday, we pilgrammaged to Home Depot and bought many, many things: trim, paint, electrical supplies, and I don't even know what else. OH got started measuring, cutting, and priming the trim. Tonight, instead of being inside by the fire watching Jeopardy and The Simpson's, we will be outside painting under the bare bulb in the outbuilding, with a milkshed heater to try and achieve a decent heat and humidity level for the paint, which we will be lucky to achieve. This is after working all day at our full time, regular jobs.
Holiday News: The Christmas tree is up! We went to a nearby u-cut place and cut our own, hauled it home, and had the thing decorated all in less than 2 hours. OC kept exclaiming, "This is going to be the best Christmas ever!" Her enthusiasm is infectious, and I dare say I felt ever so slightly jolly, even though I tried to fight it. Just kidding. It got me into the holiday mood. She was so excited, over every ornament.
Last night, I was a baking fool. I made white rice blueberry muffins, and then some chocolate & peanut butter chip cookies. OC helped me with the cookies. She is quite interested in cooking and helping me in the kitchen. I love the opportunity to teach her, I just think I need to be more patient. Sometimes I don't slow down and think about how she can help. When I do, she relishes the tasks and the chance to be with me. That won't last forever, (once she grows up and realizes who she's dealing with! Ha ha...ha.) so I had better avail myself of every opportunity to spend time with my daughter. She so often complains that no one plays with her, and this would be a great way to spend time together while also getting something done.
OC will be home most of the week. She was scheduled to go see her dad beginning on Sunday night, but he called and cancelled due to work. The last time he visited OC, either in person or by phone, was August. I don't understand how you could be away from that girl for so long, but, I don't claim to understand the man. I had waited to tell her about the upcoming visit until hours before he was due to pick her up in order to minimize the chance of her being disappointed, but it didn't help. I had told her in the car and when we got home about 15 minutes later, there was the message. She took it pretty well. We've been talking about how daddy has issues, and they have nothing to do with her. She really absorbed it, because when we talked about it one morning and then we talked again that afternoon, she repeated back to me that afternoon exactly what I had said that morning. She is one smart cookie. OH wants to adopt her, and I'm all for that. I have no idea what is involved, rules and requirements and that sort of thing. I wonder if her bio dad will agree? I can't imagine, nor do I know what he is thinking. Now he wants to pick her up Thursday night, and have her for one week. I have no way to know if this will actually happen or not.
I'm so glad I have OC. She is an amazing, smart, adorable, warm, humorous, and sweet light in our lives. You have to hear the girl talk, she's so funny! She tells daddy, "It's time for your inspection," and proceeds to wail on him with her little fists. He plays with her by wrestling and boxing, and she knows it's play and that it's only to be done with daddy. We just laugh because, where did she come up with that bit about an inspection? OH says all the time, "I just love that little girl." I think he's proud of her, for the inspections, among many other things.
I want to give her the best family life that I can. I think OH is fabulous with her. He is not her replacement father, he is her father. He is there for her every day. He treats her like she is his first child. Not only that, but his family treats her like she is their first grandchild. These people are wonderful. No need to tell me how lucky I am. Believe me, I know.
Yes, we will definitely do more baking together.
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