When 5:00 Rolls Around

I do believe Friday is my absolute favorite day of the week. It holds so much possibility in its hands. At work, everybody is happy. Genuinely happy to the point of almost giddy. Friday is dress-down day so everybody comes dressed in t-shirts and jeans and smiles. I sit by the entrance so I am a witness to lots of coming and going. People who typically don't look my direction give me cheesy grins on Fridays.

It's a fabulous day.

One thing I absolutely love about my job is that when I am home, I am home. Fully present. No spinning thoughts rolling through my head regarding things undone at work. No scouring the Internet for inspiring lesson plans. No grading. Literally the moment I walk out that door? A whole new life begins. No blending of boundaries. No expectation. No infringement on my time.

Ah. It's a beautiful thing.

And so, once I got home, Roy, Jace and I went out to eat. We took our time, talked and laughed, enjoyed every second. And then we came home and did the standard golf cart ride around campus. The sun was just beginning to go down as we headed out on our usual route. It's such an old-people thing to do: riding slowly, taking in the surroundings, breathing deeply and pointing at various things: Oh look. The Bradleys are having worship in their house. So sweet. Leave the bunny alone, Stripes. The football field looks so good, Roy. Ah--look at the kids all dressed for Vespers. They look so good...and on and on. Last night on our little venture we ran into John and Karen. John is the new maintenance man on our campus and ... oh my word...they are the nicest couple in the universe. They just ooze kindness. And so they popped on the back and together the four of us wound around campus, checking things out and chattering the whole way. We were all smiles and laughter and I felt a tinge of sadness as our ride came to an end and we dropped them back off at the starting point so they could finish their walk.

When we came home, I made homemade ice-cream and it was delectable. I have one of those little ice-cream makers that makes just about 1.5 quarts of ice cream on a good day so it's enough for everyone to have a bowl, but not enough for leftovers or even big bowls. Perfect. Savana and Guerin came home just in time, and so we all dined on ice-cream topped with strawberries and chocolate sauce. 

And then for the cherry on top, Darian and I skyped until her phone died. It was a long conversation filled with her latest thoughts on her major and other things that I suppose I shouldn't write about on a blog. But gosh it was fun spending my evening with those I love the most.

And so now here it is--two whole days ahead of me for my liking. Two days filled with so much goodness: a good-bye potluck lunch for sweet sweet Lillian whom I adore and a motorcycle ride down long winding roads and the yearly meet-and-greet picnic at the Williams' pond and some laundry and cleaning thrown in for good measure.

 And that is why on dress-down Fridays everybody is alive with vibrant smiles and words of cheer and faces filled with the promise that awaits when 5:00 rolls around.