This Saturday, I started my day by going on a bike ride with Bill. He is supposed to ease his way back into biking, and what better way than to go with me on a paved trail? We took my standard 13 mile ride, though I ended up riding home alone, since he wanted to do the loop section of the trail a few more times without me to slow him down. He didn't say that, of course, but that is the truth of it, nonetheless.
When I got home, I took our youngest, Will, out for some practice driving time. He has his permit and needs to clock some time behind the wheel. That might sound stressful, but actually we had a fun time! He is early in his training, so we stuck to country roads with little or no traffic. The view was fantastic and the weather was perfect for rolling down the windows and letting my arm rest out of the window. And it was great to have some one on one time with Will!
When we decided we were done driving around for the day, I took Will to Shakey's Pizza for lunch. This place is a throwback to the old pizza parlors I remember as a kid. Actually, it is probably the same chain! This restaurant chain has been around since 1954. With all-you-can-eat pizza buffet and a game room complete with air hockey table. The only difference are the big screen TVs that were playing college football. When I was a kid the technology didn't exist to plaster the walls with flat screens.
As soon as we got home from our mom/son adventure, we all suited up and headed to the pool. The rec center will be closing down the pool in just a week or two in order to install the bubble over it. When it reopens, it will be enclosed for the winter. That will be great for my swim training, but not for the simple luxury of basking poolside. So we have to try to soak in as much last minute summer as we can!
After the pool, we did a quick grocery shopping run before Bill and I went to a family reunion of relatives on his mother's side. We couldn't stay long, however, because Will was expecting friends over for s'mores and such. It was good to see some of Bill's cousins that we hadn't seen since his grandmother's funeral. It is always better to be able to visit and catch up with each other at a back yard gathering than over a gravestone. Neither of the kids wanted to come, and I can't really blame them. While it was good for Bill and I to visit, the kids would not have enjoyed it. There weren't any kids their age there and they didn't know any of the ones that were there.
Once we were home, I spent the rest of the night playing taxi service to Will and his friends. There is a local gym called 'Gymcats' that opens its doors for open gym from 8:30-10:30 pm. This isn't a gym like the rec center or Gold's Gym. This is a gymnastics gym with all the spring boards and soft landing places that are just perfect for a group of young men who like to practice parkour skills.
Parkour is ... well, it is easiest if I just cut and paste the Wikipedia definition here...
Parkour (sometimes abbreviated PK) is a method of movement focused on moving around obstacles with speed and efficiency. Originally developed in France, the main purpose of the discipline is to teach participants how to move through their environment by vaulting, rolling, running, climbing and jumping. Traceurs (parkour practitioners) train to be able to identify and utilize alternate or the more efficient paths. Parkour can be practiced anywhere, but areas dense with obstacles offer many different training opportunities.
There you go. That's parkour. Will and his friends have been into is for a couple of years now. As I said, a gymnastics gym is the perfect place for these boys to go practice throwing themselves over obstacles in a safer way, since there are soft landing places ... just in case.
In between running the boys there a back again, Bill and I watched a movie called Ondine. It was strange and interesting. I liked the ending.
And there you have it. My Saturday. I didn't get the laundry done. Or any other house chores for that matter. That's OK. I still have Sunday and Monday to deal with the house.
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