Weekend plans and a close call

It’s a low-key weekend for us, as we have no major plans...and I’m good with that!

A visit to my Mom’s tomorrow to visit with her and do a few things for her. I’m happy to report that she is doing well and enjoying her new church, and she is still keeping in touch with her friends at the other church. I have asked her to not make a big lunch for us (we’ll see how that works out!), because in the evening, we’ll be watching the Notre Dame-Michigan game on TV (it’s in Ann Arbor this year), and having a ton of snack food for dinner. I got several more things today, and Ken’s Mom sent some yummy appetizers over for us—bacon-wrapped beef medallions and bacon-wrapped shrimp. Key word there: BACON! Anyway, it’s going to be a ton of food, and I probably got too much, as usual. It’s always fun to do our snack food football evenings, though, and this is our first one of the season!

This game is bittersweet, because it will be the last meeting between ND and Michigan for the foreseeable future. I have no idea what took place behind the scenes, or what negotiations took place in cigar-filled back rooms—like college football is mob-era Vegas. Probably more like it all happened in pristine, sterile lawyers’ offices! But for whatever reason, they are not continuing one of the greatest rivalries in college football, and I’m pretty bummed about it. Many of my fellow Irish fans are bummed about it, too. We’re not that far away from each other, so whether the game is at ND Stadium or at the Big House, it’s packed with fans from the other team. There have been some great games over the decades, and it’s really a shame that this is stopping for now. I hope they get back together soon. We’ll be reunited and it’ll feel so good!

Sunday we’re just sticking around here, barbecuing some ribs and enjoying football. This might be one of the last weekends we can barbecue, so we wanted to make sure we do that. Not giving up hope for subsequent weekends, but the weather this weekend is supposed to be great, so we’ll take advantage of it while we can!

The close call came tonight when Ken was on his way home from his Mom’s place. He got sideswiped when going over some railroad tracks. He called to let me know that he was okay, but he might be a while, as he waited for the cops. The guy in the other vehicle hit and run! BASTARD! A couple of witnesses saw what happened and were kind enough to stick around and tell the cop what had happened and give their names and numbers. Thank you, Citizens!

I was reassured to know that Ken was okay, but when he got home (sooner than expected), I skedaddled out to look at the car...and holy shit. Really bad damage. It’s amazing that Ken wasn’t hurt, and I am so relieved that he is okay. It could have been so much worse, and I’m still feeling weird and agitated. His poor car! But cars can be fixed or replaced, and what a relief that he wasn’t hurt. He took his shirt off out on the deck, and a few pieces of glass fell out of his shirt. He had no cuts other than a tiny one on his hand—thank you, Ford engineering!—and he took some Advil when he got home in case he has some muscle issues, which he probably will. You tense up from something like that, and he already had a headache from the tension by the time he got home.

SO...good outcome to what could have been something very very bad. Heavy sigh of relief!