MissingtheMatinee

Thursday I did something I had not done in months, I actually allowed myself to sleep in.  Naturally I awoke to this voicemail from my Mom: “Hi P.J., we’ll be heading out to Midland for your cousin’s wedding between 3 and 4am so make sure you get a lot of sleep this afternoon.” Wonderful.  I had volunteered to ride down early with Mom so she wouldn’t have to make the 6 hour drive by her lonesome, but a 4am departure time was not something previously discussed.

Unable to nap my mother and I both woke up at 3:30am on Friday to start our trip with only 2 hours of sleep (she had work until after midnight).  I drove, she rode, and we both tried to keep the other awake.  My mother, sleep deprived and in need of conversation, did something very silly and asked me to tell her all the things that had made me fall in love with my ex-girlfriend.  I, being sleep deprived and in need of conversation, did something even sillier and actually answered her.  In case there is anyone in the universe as dumb as I am let me just say this is not the mindset one wants to be in as they make their way to a WEDDING!

We arrive in Midland and after a series of mayday phone calls opt against finding a hotel and sleeping straight off and instead make our way to the church.  We’re shown the facility, and the bride gave us her “vision” for the decorations which my mother and I began putting together…while everyone else went home to rest. So still on 2 hours of sleep my Mom and I spent the next 5 hours cutting, pinning, carrying, and tying.

It was close to 5 in the afternoon by the time we actually got checked into a hotel room and I had the car unloaded.  We both put our heads to a pillow in our beds and realized in the same moment: “We don’t really have time to sleep before the rehearsal dinner, do we?” “Nope.” Wonderful.  So she took a shower and I went to the hotel “gym” to work out (an eliptical, a treadmill, and a TV tuned to SportsCenter is hardly a gym).

I was excited about the rehearsal dinner if for no other reason than it was another opportunity to play with my 1 year old cousin Kenny.  The guy really is the cutest kid in the world and he’s always my little buddy at these family events.  I love him and he loves…my beard apparently.  See, I shaved off my facial hair the day before my trek began and the transformation was too much for his 13 month old mind to process.  The guy didn’t recognize me once all weekend. Lame.

Other than that the rehearsal dinner was great: great food, great family.  Around 11pm Mom and I finally got into our hotel beds for some sleep.

Wake up, work out, eat breakfast, then it was back to the church for more decorating as the rest of the wedding party was off doing I don’t know what.  I will not get into all the design difficulties Mom and I had to overcome in order to get the reception area in line with the bride’s “vision,” but lets just say they were abundant.  My brother and sis got into town around this time and we all got ready for the ceremony.

Like the dinner the night before, the ceremony was perfect, you can tell those two kids like each other somewhat.  I was happy it went so well and I was even happier when me, Mom, and sis decided to skip the reception and get an early start home.

I was making awesome time driving back.  I calculated that I could be back in Denton with enough time to get myself a drink before last call even though I was still wearing half a suit and had potato sacks under my eyes.  That’s when God said “Ha!” and my sister’s car got a flat on the side of the interstate.  Of course, since it’s my sister’s car the spare is also flat.  Thanks to the kindness of a good samaritan with an air pump and some passing family we were able to get back on the road, but my dreams of a nice beverage to end my evening were shattered.

Frustrated, tired, and a little uncertain about our replacement tire the three of us rode in silence for a long while before my Mom gave her review of our weekend getaway, “Well…that was good.”

Aaaah…now that we’re through sorting all the things I did, I am happy to report about the things I’m doing.  Positive things. Creative things. Life affirming things. Spiritually fulfilling things. Things that I can’t really go into too much detail about.

I guess the most exciting part about realizing how unlike myself I’d become these last few months is the joy in rebuilding. PJKv5.0, stronger, better, faster, and both Mac and PC compatible.  Basic things from my daily routine have been returning and it has made a palpable difference in my attitude and outlook.  Something as simple as making the bed in the morning has raised my spirits better than all the anti-depressants ever bottled ever could.

The plan as of right now is that I will be staying in Denton for a little while.  After I get some money saved I hope to enroll in Texas Teachers and take the first steps toward my teaching certificate.  On my days off next fall I’ll start substitute teaching while I begin applying for grad school.  If I’m accepted this time out, awesome! If not, then Texas will get a new favorite high school English teacher in the Fall of ’10.

Don’t worry (not that you would), I’m still writing during all of this.  I’m being assured that the western anthology OUTLAW TERRITORY, featuring my story “We Meet at 12″ with art by Will Simpson, will be released soon…though I can’t help but notice people get quiet when I ask for something a little more specific.  There are some other writing goodies just now starting to appear like lights at the end of the tunnel and you can rest assured that I’ll be here wasting bandwith about them once anything is for certain.

Thanks so much to anyone who bothers to read this thing and to my friends and family for stomaching me through this period.  I don’t know where the P.J. you know and love (like? tolerate?) disappeared to, but I’m happier than anyone to find him coming back.

Uh…it’s me checking in.  Life has been rough as of late and continues to get rougher.  Hopefully, I’ll be able to channel everything going on into some beautiful piece of literature……….or at least some more of those whiny emo poems I know you all love so much.

The good news is as of May 16 I will officially be a COLLEGE GRADUATE WITH A BA!!!! Wooh!!!! Things will definitely be on the rise by then.  I hope to have some announcements soon and at the very least an answer to the question: “Hey what the hell happened to that western thing you were supposed to be in?”  Until then lates…