Friday, August 07, 2009

The Joy Of Friday Night

If you are a person like me, a person on the 9 to 5 treadmill of daily work, there is no feeling like finally getting home on a Friday Night. You've survived another week of work demands and the prospect of getting to sleep in on Saturday seems like a great gift. At my age I rarely do anything exciting on a Friday night. In my youth I couldn't get out on the streets fast enough. Those were days of endless energy. These days I can barely maintain minimum life support systems. Staring into space and breathing...at the same time...can sometimes seem like a great challenge. Although I look forward to Friday, it is a difficult time to get through during the day. Going out to lunch with my friend Wendy, or other friends on occasion, is usually the highlight of the day. The remainder of the day is difficult. Most of my staff works at home and I rarely see them. Many of those in the office only work half days on Fridays. The exception to that is the management. We are expected to work a full day whether we need to do so or not. Of course, some would say management works half days everyday even though we are there all day. Needless to say, Friday afternoons are a ghost town in my office. When the imaginary whistle goes off in my head at quitting time I practically run out of the building. Today was no exception. Waiting for my wife outside of her office is also challenging. The meter maids walking up and down the streets ticket cars as easily as shooting fish in a barrel. I am always on alert for their bright yellow shirts. I spend at least part of my waiting time playing hide and seek with them. Today I eventually found a hiding place in front of the local County Attorney's office where dead beat dads were running in and out dropping off their past due child support payments. Eventually my cell phone rang. My wife was out on the curb awaiting her chariot. We then met my son for dinner. Now I am in my room with some Sly and the Family Stone jamming in the background. A late evening cup of coffee sits beside me. Hopefully, this jolt of java will keep me awake until bedtime. I am giddy with joy at the prospect of sleeping in a few extra hours in the morning. Tomorrow afternoon my wife and I, along with our son, will attend a seminarian's picnic with the Archbishop of Louisville. I think that's my only commitment for the weekend. I hope so. A day of complete rest and relaxation of Sunday would be an added joy to the weekend.

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