Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Opening day at Safeco Field and Fleetwood Mac

Only 9 more sleeps till my vacation!  The excitement is building.  There is still no bathing suit in sight nor have I had time for a haircut.  However, I do have an excuse.

So, you know how I have been trying to get divorced for a number of years now?  Well, I guess there was a reason why there were always delays.  Out of the blue on Friday I received a phone call from him with the offer to take me to opening night of the Seattle Mariner's baseball game in downtown Seattle on Monday.  He would pick me up early from work (thanks to my afternoon "meeting") and we would head to the border.  He promised me dinner, great seats and a fun time.  Since I was taught to always accept gifts with graciousnes, I humbly thanked him and accepted his offer.  I never let on how really excited I was.

I love going to live games and baseball is at the top of my list.  I used to take my oldest daughter down to watch quite often and we would sit in the stands cheering and enjoying the hot dogs thrown at us by the talented vendors.

I must explain where Fleetwood Mac comes in.  Many moons ago, He and I were once again off on a "reconcilliation vacation".  My parents were babysitting my children who were young teenagers at the time (who in their right mind would have left them home alone at that age?) and he and I headed south for a stop in Reno and Las Vegas.  It was supposed to be 2 weeks of talking and trying to work things out.

Shortly before crossing the border we had already stopped talking.  Shortly after crossing we stopped at a gas station.  I wandered inside to buy some water and happened to see a cassette tape of my favorite album of all time - Fleetwood Mac - Rumours.  I bought it and promptly inserted it as we drove away.

A curious thing happened.  Round about track #3, I fell asleep.  I slept for about 90 minutes.  When I awoke, something different was playing.  He and I started talking.  It was quite pleasant for about 2 hours and then we both fell into old habits.  He popped the cassette of Fleetwood Mac back into the player to hopefully shut me up.  I fell asleep again.

We stopped at a motel that night and got up early to hit the road again.  Again, after a restful night, we had a very pleasant couple of hours.  Old habits die hard with us.  As the arguing intensified, he again popped in the cassette of good old Fleetwood and once again I promptly fell asleep.  Hmm, he started to see a pattern developing.

And so it went - for 2 weeks - every time we began to argue, the tape came out.  It was like a magic sleeping pill.  Usually, I did not mind.  It was exhausting always being right and arguing with someone so used to being wrong.  Sometimes, it is just hard to be me and I needed the rest.

So, fast forward a decade or two and as we crossed the border last night I heard the familiar strains of heavy drum beats and realized he had popped a CD (we have since upgraded) into the player. 

Me:  We haven't argued in years.  Why are you playing this now?
Him:  I figured you are in such a good mood that maybe you would be able to stay awake and would like to hear the whole album this time.
Me:  When did you start eating smart pills?
Him:  Right after you moved out.  I could finally afford them.
Me:  Did you want to argue for old times sake?
Him:  Not really.  Just trying to see if you were paying attention. 

He was right.  Times have changed and I was in a very good mood.  I stayed awake and heard the whole album 3 times between the time we left and the time I got home - just before 1am this morning.

We had a great time at the game and on the trip itself.  Funny, when you let all the crap and baggage finally go, all that remains is the good times you had and that in reality, the good did outweigh everything else.  Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for us.  However, it is enough that we can actually enjoy one another's company and each of us walk away without the aid of a walker, ambulance or police escort.  Good times!

Our seats had us located next to this man who hasn't missed opening day in 10 years in Seattle.  He hadn't missed opening day in Los Angeles in the preceeding 20 years.  However, upon further discussion, turns out he only went because of his wife.  He would rather be fishing.  This sounded vaguely familiar to me.  I moved over a seat so that my ex could sit next to this man.  Twenty minutes later after my return from the ladies room, I could see it had officially turned into a Bro-mance.  Oy Vey!  Could I imagine the chances of us sitting down next to a guy who worked in the same industry and loved fishing and dogs as much as he did?  Add to that that he has a wife who is more interested in sports than he is and POW - bromance it is.  I think he found his soul mate.  When we left the game early - 1/2 inning to go, he was dissappointed that he did not get his new friend's phone number.  Ah well, we are returning to watch 3 more games.  I will have to keep my eyes peeled for him.

So, now with only 9 more sleeps till my ship departs, I guess I should really buckle down and get a haircut and a bathing suit.  Not to mention, I have to bake another birthday cake this weekend.  I wonder which I will forgo doing in favor of the cake.

Stay tuned for more.  I am sure when I update from the ship you will want to stay tuned.

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