a perfect day

some days are perfect.
just perfect.

this is our 'vacation' weekend over
here. day trips for a few days. just
bein' together and takin' a break.
a time where josh took off of work,
the guys excused themselves from their
dad, and i claimed a weekend without bob.
an intentional, let's take some time and
be together.

and there's something about that effort,
that creates this magic feeling. this feeling
of it all being a treasure.

we found ourselves hangin' out on a little
stone wall overlooking the mountains yesterday.
it was so windy in this particular spot, it
really felt like it would blow you over.
we sat there facing the wind and one of they
guys noticed you can see it coming before it
gets to us.

we watched.
sure enough.
thru those trees down there....
then thru that row of trees...
then this field here....
and then whooooooshhhhhhh right up to us.
wheeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww........

it was so cool.
this intrigued us all so we sat and watched it
for a bit. and laughed as it hit us.

i was sitting next to zakk.

i pulled out an empty match box outta my pocket.
was teasin' him about burning something (he's my
pyro) and i slipped it open.
empty.

'why are you carrying an empty match box?' he asked
me. mister logic at work.

i smiled, didn't miss a beat and told him that sometimes
my soul got tired and when it did, i tucked it into the
match box.

he crinkled his face, tilted his head, looked at me
and said 'for real? i can never tell with you.'

i burst out laughing.
no, zakk, i'm just teasin' with you.
and i laughed and laughed.

in a little bit, bob called to check in.
i told him the story.
turns out he didn't know if i was kidding or not either.
i laughed and laughed again.
this totally delighted me.
how weird do they really think i am???

thought i'd try it out on josh and yo.
josh believed me, and thought it was a pretty cool idea.
yo was the only one who knew i was kidding.

that tickled me all day.

we went down to the gallery and yo loaded in his art.
i had to go take an inventory of my own stuff with zakk.
we were gonna leave the room, but i said we had to wait
for the ooohhhs and ahhhs for when they saw yo's work.
sure enough.
ohhhhhhh.
ahhhhhhhhhhhh.
i smiled at zakk.
okay, lets go take an inventory.

i walked by at one point later.
zakk was helpin' yo make it perfect.
josh was taking pictures of the display.
my entire heart smiled.

we wandered, we goofed, we took pictures.
we talked of life. we told yo how proud we
were of what he was doing.

as we drove up the highway not far from home,
we passed a subway sandwich shop.
i looked over.
i can never look at this place without a feeling
running thru me.

i had stopped there years ago with josh. bought him
a sandwich as he headed back to work and i headed
back to the hospital around the corner. years ago
bob had been in the hospital. and i thought he was
dying. it was a really scary time.

i looked at the shop as we drove by. the memory
crept over me. how far we've all come since then.
how much happiness we've had since then. gratitude
filled me.

i was in the front seat at this point.
it's a mustang. these guys have long legs.
seein' 6'4" yo smooshed in the back is a little tough.
but they rotate seats often and always insist i get
some front seat time.

i was in front goofin' with the music with zakk as
he drove. one song was playing that tickled me to
no end. i threw my head back against the head rest
and laughed. as i did, i saw the sky. i saw the moment.
everything stopped for a second.
and i saw the gold.

it doesn't get any better than this, i thought.
this is magic.

i went back to goofin' with the music.

when i got home there was an email from a friend.
he had been at the gate on skyline drive.
he was the one you pay and get the map from as
you drive in. he's our buddy.

he dropped a one liner. sayin' that when he
saw us pull up in the car, we reminded
him of the book 'where the wild things are.'

i laughed.
yeah. a lotta big goons smooshed in the car.

it was a perfect day.