Dear Kid,

To recap the weekend.

The Bengals. Painful. Just painful to watch. In case you missed it (be thankful), there was fighting—as in it looked like a hockey game broke out on the field (no, I don’t think it looked like mixed martial arts). People were ejected. Commentators had explosive coronaries.

Speaking of painful to watch, I was on TV (I do not like to be in front of cameras). David (from La Terza Coffee) and I got up at (insert ungodly hour of the morning) and went down to WLWT to talk about the Cincinnati Coffee Festival. Dad said we were awesome, so I’m going with that. Of course, we were followed by puppies (seriously—tiny balls of fur were showing off their adorableness before their adoption event) and it’s pretty much impossible to compete with puppies.

I did not adopt one. But it was a struggle.

I’m going to be on TV again today on a different channel with a different coffee vendor. Hopefully no puppies and no struggling to walk away without taking one home.

Equally as difficult was sleeping. There was a storm. Complete with warnings (Flash Flood Warning, Severe Thunderstorm Warning, Tornado Warning, Unhappy Puppy Being Walked in the Rain Warning—you name it, we were warned).

On the plus side, it was clock changing weekend. I love having an extra hour. I usually spend it doing something wildly self-indulgent. This year, I spent it watching the Bengals implode. That was not self-indulgent. It was more ex-dulgent.

Also on the plus side: snoring Puppy. It is one of the most wonderful sounds in the world. And since he snored on and off all day, it was more than enough to satisfy my extra hour happiness quota.

Hope you enjoyed your extra hour.

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

Once again, Monday has rolled around. Which means it’s time to dive into our normal Monday routines.

So. Monday. We meet again. We will never be friends—but maybe we can move past our mutual enmity toward a more-positive partnership. ― Julio Alexi Genao

The problem with today is that it follows a day from which an hour was unceremoniously removed. (Maybe there was a ceremony. If there was, I wasn’t invited.)

Lose an hour in the morning, and you will be all day hunting for it. ~Richard Whately

Which means that in addition to the standard Monday-ness of the day, I’m extra tired because (of course) I removed one of the hours normally reserved for sleeping rather than one of the hours normally reserved for being awake and eating meals.

I’d like mornings better if they started later. ~Author Unknown

Perhaps you were clever enough to get to sleep early last night in order to be ready for the beginning of the week. I was not. Between snuggling the Puppy, listening to Pi practice different accents (NOT something to add to her skill list), and the aforementioned eating, somehow I was up later than I’d planned to be. Watching NCIS reruns was not really optional.

If each day is a gift, I’d like to know where to return Mondays.

Here’s hoping you have a most wonderful today.

Love, Mom

P.S. Happy Pi Day! (No, I didn’t forget. Read about it here and here. And here.)

Dear Kid,

I may never be warm—or even tepid—again. Between last night’s game (frigid) and today’s JV game (about 10 times colder), my core temperature has dropped to “frozen solid” despite a great number of hot beverages and handwarmers.

The great news is that last night was a solid shut out over the Comets. And while today’s game was a solid loss for us, we can say “Eh, it’s JV. It doesn’t matter” like we actually mean it.

And so the High School football season ends for the Aviators.

Remember that Daylight Savings Time ends tomorrow. Technically, it ends at 2am, but that seems like a ridiculous hour to repeat.

Many, many (and many more “many”s) moons ago, my friend Susan (not someone you know) taught me the trick of changing the clock during the day.

Her rationale was that it was her hour to use and she was going to use it the way she saw fit, not just fritter it away in the wee hours of the morn when no one was paying attention.

For her, the clocks generally changed sometime in the afternoon and she would always find a specific way to use the hour (even if it was for raking leaves).

I think this is brilliant (except for the raking leaves part, because as I may have mentioned it is sub-arctic weather here).

I’ve been thinking about how I’m going to use my hour this year.

I might use it to do some cooking. I thought briefly about using it to clean (I know, hilarious idea). I might use it to write a blog. Or, as with last year, I might use it to squeeze in a visit to the gym. Booker has assured me he is going to use his hour to nap, shed, and then complain about not being fed on time.

How are you planning to use your extra hour?

Happy November,

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

I love Daylight Savings Time. I love it in the spring when we get more light at the end of the day. I love it more in the fall when the clocks go back and we get an extra hour.

According to the Official People In Charge of Such Things, Daylight Savings Time ends at 2am. That’s fine if you’ve agreed to meet someone for coffee Sunday morning or if you need to be at a bus on time. Years ago (see: Dark Ages) I decided to hoard that extra hour and use it during the day when I could enjoy it.

So that’s what I do. It’s my own annual version of a Happy Hour.

This year, Dad used his hour to watch the Jets. Booker used his extra time to rip all the stuffing out of the Blue Owl and trot around the house grinning and holding the defunct squeaker like a prize possession. Pi and I used our extra hour to go to the gym before it closed (and to pick up the stuffing Booker left everywhere).

In some of my regular hours I read the newspaper. Have you heard of Apple Picking? Pay attention, Oh Best Beloved—this is important.

Apple picking is a new crime wave hitting the country, where thieves snatch cell phones and iPads because they can be quickly resold for cash. There is very little risk for the thieves of getting caught at this point although law enforcement is working (diligently, no doubt) to make this a less attractive crime. In particular, the thieves are targeting people with earphones since they (correctly) assume that earphone wearing people are already distracted.

Hang on to your iPhone and all other important stuff.

Love, Mom

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