Ugh.

We didn't get out of bed until NINE AM today. I'm still tired, and it's raining. I have the vague feeling that Charles slept better for the first half of last night (perhaps because his first sleep session was closer to three hours than two), but the last half was not so lovely.

We had friends over for dinner last night, and Brandon stayed late to keep me company, which was wonderful. One of my friends brought her 4-year-old son, who used very sound reasoning and debate skills to convince us all that we should each be able to have another cookie at dessert. He also fed Buster full of treats, which resulted in Buster needing to go out at 2:30 am, a full half hour before Charlie woke. Damn! I needed that half hour!

Today we drive to the beach. I was going to go down next week, after my dad had surgery, but he will no longer be having his prostate removed to treat stage 1 prostate cancer. The drunk driver who hit him 35 years ago strikes again. As it turns out, there is far too much scarring in my dad's pelvis to allow for surgery, so it's on to radiation, a far less savory or effective treatment. Charles and I figured we were needed at the homestead to cheer everyone up and to instate a brutal training regimen to get my folks in shape so dad is better able to fight this. Also, I am tired of tax season, and I think I will really like being with people all the time again.

And so, wish us luck as we take off. I'll never be able to fit everything in the car that I want, but I think we'll do okay.

Look, Charles and Brandon match!