Today was the first time I played tennis in 10 years. It was the first time Sam had ever played. We play 4 sets against each other with one dead ball and one we found in the street. Who won? Who cares. It’s a story we’ll remember for years.

Getting away from the rut is important. Different thoughts are created when you’re not mindlessly commuting and serving your customers. Such as, “this is nice. Why don’t I do this more often?” Looking around the residences of Avalon, and the people who don’t appear to be working, you can see a slower paced, easier, lifestyle. Where the pickleball courts are filled with the elderly at 10 am and Uncle Bill’s pancake house has customers at 11am? Seriously, what kind of a time to eat is that?

The activities throughout the vacation have been aplenty. JC and I watched the debate last night and his lines were, “answer the fucking question!” “You already said that, get back to immigration!” “It’s 3v1.” And who could forget our round of golf at Shoregate with our annual visit to Marge’s diner for breakfast. We still have a visit from the Shee and a nice dinner out to look forward to before I have to make it back to the mundane. Plus, the biggest entertainment has been our sister’s son, Jude. He’s a blast whose demeanor goes from 0-60 at the loss of an animal cracker. I also won a K gambling on Sunday that I’ll write more about later and I almost picked up a 50 year old at the Stone Harbor Tavern.