Nocturnality

I’ve experienced a sea change of sorts which I blame directly on two factors: Red Sox fandom and retired life. The Sox are in the midst of probably their most successful west coast swing ever which means games that don’t start until after 9:30pm on the East Coast. During my employed days this would be a recipe for frustration and only a few innings to watch. Being now, unencumbered by the need to arise at, well, any proscribed hour, I’ve watched all of the games in their entirety. I haven’t gone to bed before 1am on each of the past three nights. Last week’s binge watching of the entire Game of Thrones contributed to my change of hours as well.

Last night my Favorite Panamanian joined me a little after 10pm. This had given her the requisite time to conclude her nightly ritual of hours long calls with friends and relations. She usually comes down long enough to bogart some of my snacks, complain about my movie choices, and then retreat upstairs to pray (usually about me, I’m sure). This time she stuck it out with me through the entire game. We’d switch over to check on the Celtics occasionally, until one of the NBA’s trademark non-calls frustrated me back to baseball.

The Sox rewarded us with yet another win. The West Coast has usually been the graveyard of hopes for most Red Sox teams but they’re now six and 0 this time, getting some uncharacteristically good pitching. It was a cool time as we ended up kidding with each other for the entire time. It’s a good idea to marry someone you can spend three solid, platonic hours on a couch with and enjoy their company more than what you’re watching. Forty years has given me the needed practice. I no longer shush her when a pitch is about to be delivered (hard lesson learned there). With both Boston teams victorious, we arrived upstairs for bed well after 1am. Here's where the fun started.

We were both very tired and expected to be sound asleep in short order. An hour later I turned over, wide awake, and found that she too couldn’t sleep a wink. It was a very weird result. It’s almost like our bodies said, well, if you’re going to stay up this late, we might as well make it an all-nighter. How I would have welcomed this occurrence back when I had to study in college or serving as the overnight duty officer in the Army. We both eventually drifted off, but the up side – no need to wake up at any hour and black out curtains. Retired life is growing on me at a rapid pace. Go Sox!!!

Before all our late night shenanigans I made the weekly run to the grocery store (another result of the pandemic where this became my sole duty, still trying to figure that out).  While there I made a Facetime call back to the Favorite Panamanian to confirm which type of a certain item I should buy (yet another marital lesson learned). A few minutes later I heard family members talking from my pants. When I put the phone away after the earlier call, I had inadvertently placed a call to the Family First Friday group. A very confused set consisting of the ABFA, Wingman, and Great Aunt were wondering why the call had been placed on a Wednesday. While on the call we learned BR3 had picked up a case of alleged conjunctivitis and was home “assisting” the ABFA with life. Meanwhile the BRS accompanied her dad to the grocery store which she apparently loves doing. My Favorite Son reported she is quite an accomplished shopper (abuela’s genes exerting themselves again) and picked out a treat for the long suffering Riggins while they were there.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                        

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Soxfather - my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course