9 out of 10

That is the rating this past weekend gets. And the only reason it's not a whole 10 is because we were babysitting rambunctious little kiddos, which entailed sleep deprivation (since when do little kids wake up at 5:30? I slept until 9 or 10 AM at that age). Of course, it was technically my fault for not going to bed until really late both nights....

But it was worth it.

One or two posts ago I was complaining that I never have Friday night dances to go to. Well, that was a slight understatement because once a year I do get my dance, and it is, in my experience, the best kind: a barn dance. Every time the M's have one I gush about it on my blog afterwards and usually end up listing it as one of the highlights of my summer. This year was no different, at least in the sense that it was just as fun. However, it was slightly different because we got Mik, Josiah and Jared to come along. The more the merrier? Yes.

I believe I danced just about every dance between 8 and 11:30, with the exception of one or two during which I got caught up  in conversation with people. Aside from the fact that it meant I had to explain my future to well-meaning moms, it was quite enjoyable connecting with all the people I used to hang out with a lot. I find it mildly depressing that I can't get the three circles of my friendship life to intersect often, with one or two groups always getting left out if I focus on one. That, along with about 10 other factors, like dad's business, my hopeful writing career, and not having a GPA to worry about, caused me to...dun dun dun dun....get a Facebook.

Yes. After all the rants about it I've posted on this blog (I considered adding links to them in this post, but it would take too long to fish every single one of them out since I'm not a faithful tagger :P); after all the time I've spent gagging over it; after all the time I've thought it was so stupid and conformist and filled with narcissistic drama kings and queens; I got one.

I think that after spending over 5 years indignantly and rather arrogantly ignoring it, it's going to take a while to get used to. Also, from now on I might think of life as "before I got FB" and "after I got FB."

But then again, also maybe not. All I've done is do what millions of other people are doing, and have been doing.

Anyway, the barn dance made for a good evening. We drove the few miles home (it's like the only social function I don't live an hour away from), and proceeded to stay up late talking about anything and everything, since Mik and Josiah were spending the night (along with Jared and the bambinos). But it made me realize how much I miss quiet, deep, late-night conversations. My Jennifer and I used to have them frequently, but someone decided to get married and leave me all alone..... ;)

Saturday afternoon was the grand letdown because everyone left except for the babies. It really wouldn't have been bad, because the hammock was calling my name, but every time I'd be joined by 3 others, or get tipped out.

Sunday was church, of course, and the H's afterward, of course. Both pleasant and relaxing.

Monday morning, after a glorious 10 hours of sleep, Mom asked me if I wanted to try running. I decided yes, it was time. It was 3 and a half weeks since I had torn my medial collateral ligament, exactly 3 since I had had, by doctor's orders, to sit on the sidelines and watch everyone run the Bob Bridgman memorial race without me. So my knee wouldn't be able to cheat me out of the race entirely, the plan has been to run the course as soon as I felt able. So I drove over to MU with Mom and we mostly ran, partly walked (when I said I could feel my muscles atrophying as I laid on the couch I wasn't kidding) the 3.1 miles. Since the course was backwards this year, it was interesting having the mile of hill at the beginning instead of the end. But it was still hard! Thankfully my knee only gave me trouble for the downhill. I was somewhat surprised at that. Several times while dancing Friday I freaked out internally because I could feel the MCL pulling as I'd skip or swing, so I wasn't sure how well I'd run. But it looks like things are on the mend, and I should get back into a running routine. As long as I'm not lazy.

Speaking of actually doing stuff and not being lazy, Maryah finally persuaded me to join in on the recital she and her musically gifted friends have once or twice a year. I said okay, as long as it was a duet, she on the piano, me on my beloved double bass. That I really should play more often, get better at, and get lessons for. But haven't. Anyway, we tried doing Paradise first, because as everyone knows the bass part is just epic. However, not having the other instruments was proving difficult and, though cool, the bass only comes in a few times and is exceedingly repetitive. Not exactly recital material. So we switched to one of my other favorite songs to play with, Constellations by Jack Johnson. I had to mix it up a bit to make it work with the piano, but it ended up being quite successful, and I am very impressed with Maryah's piano playing flexibility and capability. That was yesterday evening. The recital was today. So was it last minute? Yes. But it was fun. I should do stuff with people more often.