Prologue
What the hell is that tagline? First, some background.
Yesterday I attended my first high school graduation since I left Athol High School. My new school graduated “a small but powerful class” according to our principal. Yeah, they laid it on pretty thick last night. But, I suppose that’s fair. This crew of seniors did have their last year and a half of high school more or less cancelled or “postponed”. Postponed until when, I’m not entirely sure. Honestly, though, that is neither here nor there. I met about 20 of the seniors either by having them in class or meeting them through their siblings or friends.
And, so, like the last graduation I attended, I had a vested interest in this one. Speaking of that last graduation, one of those graduates contacted me last week or the week before because her husband was playing one of the local establishments. We couldn’t make it that performance. However, another popped up for this most recent Thursday. I promised to stop in for that one. I did, we visited for an hour, and it made me feel a bit better about this year’s seniors graduating. As a teacher, you know that you only rent the kids for four years at the most, but it still hurts to lose them when they leave.
So, what’s the point? You must be new here. It often takes me some time to actually get around to the point of a post. It’s either endearing or infuriating depending on your viewpoint and how much time you have to spend here at the page. Okay, from here I can go one of two places. Either explain the tagline or continue to stall. Of course, there’s only one logical choice. Once upon a time…Okay, I kid.
The Prompt
The Prompt (from here): Often, our blogs have taglines. But what if humans did, too?
What would your tagline be?
I enlisted the advice of a trusted associate and they suggested the tagline in the title. I promised to use it without context or explanation, so there you have it.
The Adventure (Part 1)
The day started with catching up on Magic the Gathering quests. I wasn’t able to play last night because I got in late from the graduation and was spent from all of the emotion of the night. While I played, I watched some of the Euro 2020 futbol tournament. Christine came up with the idea to go kayaking. She made an appointment for an end of school year massage, but had a couple of hours before she needed to leave, so she figured we could take that time to go to the lake. Aiden and Quinn went to a friend’s house. Liam hung out at home with the dog. And, I sat on the couch and tried to find the motivation to load my kayak onto the car for our adventure. I honestly have to say that it could have gone either way. I wanted to kayak, but I also wanted to sit on the couch and play MTG and watch the futbol. Which impulse wins? Stay tuned!
The Adventure (Part 2)
As you can see, I chose kayaking. Or, did I? *insert spooky cliffhanger music* Maybe this is an old picture. I suppose you can verify that by checking the image properties. How invested are you in proving me a liar? I mean, you know that I will eventually reveal that I ended up kayaking, right? Or, will I? *insert spooky cliffhanger music* I will. I’m usually bad at keeping secrets. Though, I have kept secret where Christine and I are going on our 20th wedding anniversary trip. I slipped earlier and told her the state, but not the actual destination within that state. Maybe I’ll keep you in suspense until the finale.
The Adventure (Part 3)
Okay, you win. Or do you? All right, I give up. I can only take a joke so far before I get sick of it. Among other reasons, it’s why I never became a stand up comedian. So, yes, I chose kayaking. I tied it on the roof, pulled out of the driveway, and passed Christine on her way back to the house? Why, I wondered is she driving back home? I figured we would just meet at the lake. Perhaps she had no faith in my follow through. To her credit, she does have 25 years of experience of me flaking on commitments.
The Adventure (Epilogue)
After setting up my kayak, I went to pick up Christine’s from a friend’s house while she talked to those friends. I avoided them again because I’ve been avoiding them for the better part of 6 months now and it would honestly be more awkward to just walk up to them and say, “Hello, fellow humans.” Then again, that is an odd way to start a conversation just in general. Either way, I told Christine it was because she only had like an hour and a half to kayak before her massage appointment. More than a modicum of truth in that, but not the whole truth. Oh well. I enjoyed our time together and got to tell her all about the stories from graduation the night before. Parents and teachers. We just talk constantly about our kids.
The Adventure (Post Credit Scene)
All in all, I spent four plus hours on the lake. Most of it was spent being blown around by the wind and unsuccessfully fishing. However, I deliberately rowed into the far cove to try to fish there and then to my other favorite fishing spots. No fish at any of them, but one of my turtles friend hung out on his favorite branch, allowing me to get a picture. Turtles have great significance for me as my father loved turtles and their symbolism. So, any time I see one, I take a picture. Because, you neve know.
Epilogue
I successfully included the tagline without context or explanation. We made it outside for the better part of the afternoon and early evening. Honestly, I only came home because Christine texted me that she went to Crazy Noodle in Amherst after her appointment and got me Pad Thai. They make the best Pad Thai I’ve ever tasted. Then we watched the new Disney+ movie, Luca as a family. Well, Liam went up to his room to chat with friends, so it was most of the family. I finished out the evening by getting frustrated at the hockey game and then switching over to the watch the Sounders score two unanswered goals and win their game. All in all, today was a great first day of summer. Sure, I have to go in on Monday to finish clean up and such, but then I’m done. And, we’re off to Florida on Wednesday/Thursday. Maybe my tagline should be, “Endless Summer”. Nah, that’s been done.