Three Beautiful Things 03/18/16: Short Trip to Baltimore, Vitality at Silver Diner, Winding Down

1.  The Deke, Julie, and I piled into the Sube shortly after 7 a.m.  I dropped the Deke off at school and Julie I headed north on the Baltimore/Washington Parkway to downtown Baltimore. Our hope had been to arrive in time for coffee together before Julie went to her first session at the conference, but, alas, just as we closed in on Baltimore, the traffic got very thick, very slow. Julie and I took advantage of the congestion by having the conversations in the Sube we would have had over a hot morning drink and it was really fun. We bade each other farewell, both hoped it won't be too long until we can get together again and I drove back to Greenbelt, really happy and invigorated.  Julie, the Deke, and I had great time together.  I thoroughly enjoyed talking with Julie about many things regarding our lives since leaving Eugene, her steadfast and devoted care of her mother, and about the lives we lived back in the old days in Eugene and at LCC.  

2.  Upon arriving back in Greenbelt, I stopped in at the Silver Diner and sat at the counter. The Silver Diner has a large staff of young people waiting tables and providing other services and I had fun watching them joke with each other, help each other out, and generally do the things that help keep morale high on the job. A guy came in who used to work there and smiles and hugs broke out across the staff. I enjoyed my eggs, potatoes, sausage, biscuit, and coffee, too, but, even more, I enjoyed the ways these young people worked and treated each other.

3. I picked up the Deke right around 4:30. She'd been at school for over nine hours and she was ready for some relaxation at the Old Line Bistro and so we drove up to Beltsville, enjoyed some beer and snacks -- neither of us was hungry for dinner -- and the Deke wound down and we got to talk about some of the absurdity of the Deke's job and what's ahead this weekend and  Easter weekend being only a week away.  With spring break about to arrive, students only have three days of school next week, so, starting on Thursday, the Deke will have about twelve days free of her third graders' charms and intensity.