I didn’t play golf this summer. No JumboLove sleepovers and no walks to the bridge to watch the sunrise.
I missed graduation parties, block parties and music festivals. I haven’t met the guys for a beer at the Joyce or cocktails at Labarra. No FitzGeralds, No Shanahans, no margaritas by the pool, no late night gyros or steak dinners in the city.
Instead I’ve made countless pancakes and pizzas and snacks. I’ve watched shitty kid movies. Done loads of laundry and cleaned piss off the toilet seat.
All I got back was a bunch of “I Love you dads”… snuggles…. dumb questions…. And back rubs!
I’ve learned about Roblox and listened to riddles that don’t make sense.
I’ve watched breathing little heads with eyes twitching as the sunrise brushed their faces. Blankets pulled to the chin and feet sticking out the other end…
As I enter the last week of July 2022 I don’t regret what I’ve missed, but cherish what I’ve nurtured…
It was a gift not having to say, “alright… get your crap together. It’s time to take you back to your mom’s house.”
I got up at four o’clock this morning and blew up 18 balloons and put them on the floor next to Hazel’s bed… which is my bed because that’s where Hazel wanted to wake up on her birthday.
The taste of a china balloon factory permanently on my lips and tongue.
Enjoy this stormy, moody humid Sunday…. It’s going to be a distant memory very soon…..
……And Lenny Bruce is not afraid!
