it is all right.

one of the best parts of my week, is Monday morning. 

you heard it here. 

i love it. 

it is when the rest of the world seemingly goes back to work.
often groaning with to-do lists and expectations of productivity.

i feel for you all, truly i do. 

here is why i adore it so. 

my husband plays ice hockey with a group of older men and women. 

it is a standing game, unless there is no ice. 

there is only no ice when there are tournaments in progress. 

for these infrequent times there is a child  involved .

so there is representation from the lower age bracket of the house. 

either way, it has something to do with that great disrupter known as:

Ice HOCKEY. 

around this house, it is the thing. 

they seem to love it beyond reason. 

and i am happy about that, really i am. 

it takes them out of my hair for a solid few hours. 

it is usually very inconvenient that they use my car and keep me housebound
for these few hours.
as much as i have to process for my own world, i don't mind too terribly.
there is the big, juicy full figured quiet that is made in the vacuum
of their hockeyness.

the quiet left in their absence has its own particular purity. 

i can count on no one coming and going.
no doors opening and slamming behind.

the sun streaming in the windows is particularly beautiful... if it is sunny out. 

if it is rainy, i can hear its pleasing soft percussion. 

cold and raw? not a problem, it is cozy in here. 

just me and the dog.
 the soft snoring of his equally uninterrupted naps. 

so damned great.

sleeping beauty.

then they come home. 

all rangy from their exercise. 

needy of foodstuffs. 

wound tightly as their muscles react to the recent play. 

conversations about the other players ensue. 

and the eating. 

the need to embellish it all with auditory percussions. 

ugh. 

slurping . 

farting jokes. 

nodding off in front of the now blaring tv... turned on without any regard. 

regard for my precious quiet. 

the inevitable announcement, that there is no gas in the car.
the car i have not driven for days...

and the expectation that my debit card is ripe for the plucking. 

it is all so familiar. 

and full of life. 

and irritating. 

unconscious as all get out. 

i know that i am feeling like Stanley Hudson.

he is a character from the American version of The Office. 

once a year, all of the employees in the whole building enjoy Pretzel Day. 

it is a day set aside for each of them to have a pretzel customized to their own specifications. 

they can build it just the way they like their own pretzel. 

and it is free. 

yup. 

once a year... 

and as Stanley says, 

"Pretzel Day, it is all right". 

yup. 

Hockey Morning...

It is all right.