Days of Summer >> 8/2/16 (Alex meets Bellingham)

1. 8/2/16
1. Woke up at 7:20, went downstairs. Alex’s door was closed, and with a sigh of relief went back to sleep. Got back up at 8:10, went down, same result. Messaged her to call me upon arisal and went back to sleep again. Had a dream about getting woken up, then awoke to the news, not entirely unexpected, Alex had been awake for awhile.
2. Hustled downstairs and started prepping oatmeal. Alex chopped apple at our absurdly high tall-family counter.
3. Oatmeal was tasty, sat outside and chatted for a bit. Quick shower, then we were off.
4. Alex drove to Galbraith and we set off through twisted trails curving dustily through verdant forest. After a steep climb, sat on the overlook to Bellingham.
5. Wandered, near-aimless, through more paths; somehow we came out near where we’d entered (after braving a tight gauntlet of blackberry). Talked of many things, Alex’s attempts to reclassify relationships and rethink marriage among them. The new Israeli desalination plant came up in passing.
6. Walked back to the car through neighborhoods, talking houses and recalling moves past.
7. Downtown to the Bagelry! Yay for vegan cream cheese and soup (though my salami sandwich was excellent). I stifled the small part of me that wanted to go meta, try again to understand our past relationship.
8. Went to Henderson’s. Found a really neat architecture book “I” would like. Think Alex enjoyed it.
9. Thence to Grandma’s house. Played a little tetherball while we waited for her to come back from Walgreen’s. Then went out on the paddleboat. Went almost all the way around the coast of basin 1; at the end, we started singing :)
10. Two hours later, arrived back at Grandma’s. Parked the paddleboat and took a plunge. Swum for a good half hour. Alex taught me better floating form--I think I might actually be able to float now, despite being densitally challenged. The lake was serene. Ended up being the first time Alex had gone swimming this summer.
11. Walked along the Fairhaven boardwalk. Super pretty. Somehow the conversation never really faltered, the inexhaustible back-and-forth of our messages not drained by the faster pace of face-to-face. Made it to Fairhaven, stopped at Rocket’s (two donuts, one vegan, for $1.15, which Alex paid with a 80% tip :)
12. Returned along the boardwalk, stopping to stare into the orange clouds that fringed the treetops of the Lummi land in the distance. Eventually pulled Alex from the sight :D and we went to dinner at a half-vegan place I’d never been to before. The food was OK, paid the 4’s price :D
13. I finally had to go meta. I found a good framing and went with it. I had known it inadvisable to start that conversation so late, and we analyzed into the evening. I tried heroically to acknowledge the oversimplifications of all the models I tried to fit; Alex stepped carefully and gracefully to save me from my own questioning, and in the balance there was conversation. Drove back to home, but I realized that Alex also had some questions, some understanding she hadn’t quite worked out yet, so I directed her Subaru around some of the country roads I’d been biking on and we finished the conversation in satisfactory manner (no crisp models, sorry, but we went one step more meta and reached the wider Perspective, which, in a complacent sea of context, envelops both detail and fleeting consternation.
14. Alex dropped me off at home, I waved her off to Seattle in traditional homeschool fashion.
15. Returned to family, goofed off a bit, watched an episode of Once (confusing and chock-full of relational oversimplifications). Watched some sweet Primitive Technology youtubes (guy makes a forge bellows from clay and sticks).
16. Wrote this log and hit the hay. Going into work tomorrow because we just got surprised with a presentation to the engineering VP on Thursday (two days notice??). Night all!