The Year I Traded Beer and BBQ for Balloons and Babysitting (and loved it)

Had I started this blog a year ago, the tone would have been much different and I would probably be spending the deleting those posts out of embarrassment. It would probably be more entertaining but in a more reality TV train wreck kind of way.  My life has taken a lot of turns since Memorial Day Weekend 2015 found me drinking by the pool, then drinking at the bar (and pretty much just repeat that for 4 days). Memorial Day Weekend 2016 found me with a much different perspective on life. The same perspective that led me to create this site and it's companion sites of which I'm starting to lose track (just kidding, they are Build A Biz Backward, Roguish Advice, and Rogue Weight Loss. You should really check them all out!)

Unfortunately, the weekend started out on a pretty bad note with me getting sick either from the flu or from sugar withdrawal due to my changes in diet. The sickness would limit the chances of Jenn and I taking a trip anywhere too far. On my way to campus to do homework Friday morning I heard about the Cave Creek Balloon Festival and figured it might be entertaining and I had a feeling even if I hadn't gotten sick we weren't going to be traveling far. I text Jenn and said "hey want to go to a Balloon Festival in Cave Creek tomorrow?" without hesitation or even a follow up question she responded "Yes let's do it". I have to say I love that about her.

I spent most of Saturday morning and afternoon trying to kick whatever demonic possession had taken over my body, imprisoning me in my apartment out of fear of getting too far from the bathroom. Once I finally felt good enough to give it a shot, we headed to Cave Creek. This was my first trip to that area since moving to Arizona. As we drove into Cave Creek I found myself wondering 'Does DMX still live here? If so, is he looking to put together a new Ruff Ryder crew?' But I guess I'd have to work on popping wheelies on a motorcycle to qualify anyway :(

The Balloon Festival was pretty cool, but I just wish we could have actually seen balloons take off and land. Still I loved seeing them because I've always wanted to ride in one. It's strange because I want to fly in hot air balloon but Jenn is scared of the thought, yet she has sky dived before and wants to go again and I'm terrified of that thought. Anyway, balloons were cool but the food lines sucked and we spent about an hour of the 3 hours that we were there standing in line to get some fries. So here's a pic of the good part of the festival to help me forget about the lines:

The babysitting came the next day. Memorial Day circa 2015 me was someone no one on Earth would let babysit their toddlers. Memorial Day circa 2016 me, however, is a responsible adult who is capable of watching a 6-month old and a 14-month old, with Jenn's supervision of course. Okay, she pretty much did all the work but I was there for support. We managed to keep them safe and return them in one piece to their respective parents. Sadly, I failed in my mission to get either of them to say "Randy" as their first words, maybe next time. My favorite part of this experience was when the 14-month old was sipping away at his bottle and suddenly passed out next to me. I'm pretty sure something similar has happened during a past Memorial Day, but the bottle wasn't full of milk and the person passing out was closer to 360-months old.

The question I'm sure some people are pondering is 'do I miss the old lifestyle at all?'  If you think I enjoyed that lifestyle, then I guess there's no way I'm going go convince you I don't miss it. But the real answer is I never really liked it, so I can't say that I miss it in the slightest. I honestly can't say I understand how anyone who has a stable relationship and is surrounded by people they care about would ever long for their wild and crazy party days. One is fulfilling and the other is empty, at least in my experience.

Last year I found myself in my apartment complex pool on Memorial Day night, surrounded by people I really didn't know having what I considered to be fun mostly because of the drinks we had that day. This year I found myself in my girlfriend's apartment complex pool, surrounded by her and her family, looking up clear headed at a clear sky on a gorgeous night and thinking 'this is the life'. Oh...and it didn't hurt that I had a belly full of steak, I guess I didn't completely trade in the BBQ portion of Memorial Day.