Rockin’ Codgers

Last week my son and his family flew from Seattle to Detroit to visit Al and me. It was so fun to spend so much time with them. Breakfasts! Dinners! Baseball on television! Owen, Owen, Owen:) The first night, I picked them up at the airport, made dinner for us, and fed Owen chicken and string cheese. He played with his new toys and the other unbreakable things I had left around in my child-proof sweep. Then Owen had his bath and bedtime in the nursery nook I made in the guest room.

Al missed all that having gone to the Rolling Stones concert and not returning until 10 am the next day. No, I did not know he would be out all night. He usually comes home. About 5 am I went looking for my phone and there was a mostly inscrutable text about lost keys and dead phones. So. I texted the number (not Al’s) many times and made many calls but to no avail until maybe 7 am when Al called and explained his story which has nothing to do with other women and is complicated and a little tedious.

Saturday my family and some friends came over and wow was I knocked off my feet. I have been crutch-less for 11 days and so thought I could handle a big bash, but my feet, legs, knees, and entire body ached by the time everyone left. Worth the long happy day. My little Owen is a joy and none of my family had met him yet! I love my son beyond words and I had to hold myself back from grabbing him and hugging him too much. But I got in quite a few and goes without saying Owen was hugged almost constantly. Al worked his butt off for the party and our special day on Friday (we got to babysit all day!) with Owen too,

Now I am home alone. Al is helping his dad move and the kids are at a lake house up north. I could have gone but I needed a day. My editor sent me a few scene adds and on top of the writing I needed to rest and recover and have done that. Donna is coming over for lunch tomorrow (plenty of left overs as we always make way too much food) and I will be happy for a girlfriend day. In the middle of all this joy and the Al hoopla we lost a good friend, one of Donna’s oldest friends and somebody special to me. The kids had plans the night of the service so Al and I were able to pay a visit to the funeral home and that toast at dinner with many friends to our dear pal. Too sad. 58 years old. Cancer sucks.

Today I watched a movie about Al Pacino as an aging rocker ala Neil Diamond (so, really not a rocker at all) who gets a letter 30 or so years late from  John Lennon in response to his first interview. It would be like me getting a letter from Erica Jong, except Al Pacino’s character was rich and famous. So, really not the same except artist gets letter from idol. Pacino decides to change his life and become the man and artist he always wanted to be. I think I have mostly done that. I mean, honestly, I didn’t have a choice to sell out, haha. Which it turns out is probably good. Annette Benning was in the film. What movie is not made better by her in it???

Then to cleanse my palate I watched Montage of Heck, the Kurt Cobain doc on HBO. It made me cry. They had family video of Kurt at his first birthday and Frances Bean on hers and on Saturday Owen had a pre-birthday cupcake as his first birthday is in just a few weeks. Owen’s first sugar looked like Elmo, which his mom decorated, although I made the cupcakes. And the potato salad. Al made ribs. Aunt Louise brought copious amounts of dessert. Much wine and other spirits were imbibed.

I was thinking if Kurt had lived he’d be a bit of codger now. Look at Foo Fighters. I have finally forgiven DG. If Courtney can forgive him, I can. I was 36, Mike’s age, when I first saw and heard “Smells Like Teen Spirit” on MTV. I asked Mike if he has found any new bands or is that going away for him too. I still find them, but less and less. Mike says same. Al just keeps listening to the same ones from when we were kids. Owen seems like he might be a drummer as his favorite toy was a spoon and a Tupperware container that he banged on every day.

This post is a montage of me this week. So many things with Kurt in his early years reminded me of my life when I was that age. That angst he captures so well in Teen Spirit. I’d recommend if you’re a rocking’ codger you look for Kurt’s doc, but be ready with tissue. I can’t figure out if music and writing saved him or killed him or if he just had low serotonin because of the heroin. Courtney gives her opinion. Watch it and tell me what you think.