Another Unusual Weekend
Another weekend gone by, and another set of unique circumstances in our house. After one weekend spent on vacation as a family, then a weekend spent by myself while Carol went with our girls to visit her family on Long Island, this weekend was spent by ourselves. Carol and I traveled to Pittsburgh for the weekend, leaving our girls with my Mom.
For Christmas this past year, I bought Carol tickets to go and see P!nk in concert. There were shows in DC and in Philadelphia, but those shows were on weeknights. That would make things a little difficult for us with work the following morning... So we made a weekend of it, and just enjoyed the time together. We didn't have to cut anyone else's food. We didn't have to break up any fights. We didn't have to even raise our voice (other than at the concert of course). It was a relaxing, peaceful weekend.
First and foremost, the performance was amazing. And it was just that, it was a performance more than a concert. We also really liked one of the opening acts, Brandi Carlile. As we listened to her play her set, one of the lyrics from one of the songs bounced around in my head. She sang "You can dance in the hurricane, but only if you're standing in the eye." What an amazing picture that statement paints in your mind.
Little did we know, that we would be facing a crazy storm the night after we got back. That storm pulled down power lines all over Carroll County, leaving many without power for several days. Ironically, P!nk was playing in Washington DC and they were not sure if the show would go on because of that very same storm.
In my mind, the highlight of the weekend came on Sunday morning. After waking up at around 8, we walked down the street from our AirBnB to a breakfast restaurant that Carol had seen the day before. What made it stand out? First, there was a really long line to get in the day before, and secondly, they had a balcony that would allow us to sit out and enjoy the fresh air. We went inside and asked to sit out on the balcony. The employee that we were talking to said "There is a service charge for that." He didn't elaborate though... So Carol asked "How much is the charge?" he hesitated and said "Three dollars..." We both laughed and said, "OK, we want to sit on the balcony."
Why was this the highlight of the weekend for me? We sat on that balcony enjoying a delicious breakfast (which explains why there was such a line the day before) and sipped on our coffee for about 2 hours. Just enjoying being able to talk (without interruption) to each other and watching the people walking by. The moment was so peaceful.
This past weekend may have been the eye of the proverbial hurricane for us though... with fall sports kicking up and school right around the corner. We are preparing for the chaos to resume, but I am glad we were able to dance in the storm for at least one more weekend.
