Tender Moments…. Oh and Poker.
February 19, 2006
Well the overnight away was awesome, except we forgot the camera. Oh how I wish I had it for this trip! We left after lunch yesterday and travelled about an hour out to our friends’ house. Tom and Daren have been best friends since they were 6 years old. When we all get together, it sometimes feels like we’re all 6 years old again. We spent the night eating Chinese Food, drinking, and playing poker. Michelle is due with their first baby in the next few weeks and we talked alot about that. It brought back memories of when Daren had so diligently painted both Dylan’s and Thomas’ rooms before they were born. I hand sewed curtains for Dylan’s room as the reality of a new family member set in. Those days seemed so full of simple pleasure and since Thomas’ arrival the fun has only compounded. Well you know that. *wink wink* Oh and yes, we did name Thomas after Tom. They share alot of similar characteristics. Smelly farts, big burps, they both dress well, and neither one of them can play poker. Ha.
Thomas and Dylan had fun last night too. We ended up bringing Ruffy and she and Kady (T&M’s dog) ran after each other through the house, circling Thomas in search of toddler crumbs and often spinning him like a pinball in a pinball machine. He, squealing and running after the two mutts, was out like a light by 6:30. Having missed his nap due to the excitement of driving (!) and attempting to sing along with all of us in the car, he was completely pooped by dinnertime, and it was a struggle to keep him awake as long as we did. The car ride certainly was a treat. Dylan had control of the MP3 player, which was plugged into the car stereo and we rocked it out to a crazy mixture of tunes I had thrown together months before. “This is How a Heart Breaks,” by Rob Thomas, was one of Dylan’s faves, as well as “Hey Ya,” by Outkast. That child’s ability to retain lyrics is uncanny. He knows every word to every song on that Mp3 player and I’m sure there is no less than 170 songs in that little peanut of technology. The best is listening to his country twang when he belts those babies out to Tim McGraw and Garth Brooks.
Once Thomas had gone to bed, the guys *taught* Michelle and I a few things about poker. In fact, they wouldn’t stop talking and giving advice, that pretty soon, Michelle and I had outplayed their asses and they were finally silenced. They chalked up that first loss to beginner’s luck, and began giving unsolicted advice once again. Because Michelle and I were quite random in what we were betting on, this kept both boys on their toes as they continued to brag about their World Poker Tour they were going to go on and of course, get rich from. Game #2 ended with Michelle and Tom duking it out and she won again. Clearly, Michelle should start her OWN World Poker Tour. You know, if they have daycare.
Today, the drive home was similar to the drive there, until I turned around to see Thomas’ head leaned onto Dylan’s shoulder, his eyes shut and his cheeks red and mouth lax. I looked at Dylan, he looked at his little brother, then smiled back at me. I glanced behind my own seat, to see Ruffy’s head on Dylan’s right arm, her eyes also shut. Dylan looked at her then back at me, and I could tell he knew he was surrounded by love, and that he was proud to be the one his little brother and sister leaned on.
