Thursday, May 13 2021

Dear Journal,

Good morning, everybody, and happy Thursday. I hope you're having a great day so far. While getting the pictures together for today, I came across this one. There's no story around this image - just our family standing around the sink after we disposed of some extra dry ice that Hy-Vee packed with our puff pastry.

Isn't dry ice awesome? It makes me wonder why we bothered with things like homemade volcanos and big jugs of oil, water, and food coloring. Dumping some dry ice in our sink was a hundred times easier and a hundred times cooler. Some of the crystals even got stuck in our drain, and throughout the day when I'd visit the sink to run some water, a surprise smoke cloud would form around the kitchen.

But enough about dry ice! We've got a journal entry to write.

Sip. How did yesterday go for you? Yesterday was Wednesday, meaning it was mine and Rodney's second ice skating lesson. But just in case you forgot, Rodney carried his skates around with him all day. The little red cardboard box was within his arm's reach, even while watching TV on the couch.

I felt responsible to temper his expectations a little better this time. I explained that even though he got new hockey skates, they wouldn't magically make him skate. He still had to learn and practice. "We're going to get a little bit better each time," I said.

"Yeah," repeated Rodney. "A little bit better."

We parked at the rink. Arriving there a little too early, we had some time to kill. So I put on Rodney's favorite CD, the soundtrack to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Holding his little red box in his lap, Rodney bobbed his head and yelled CAN'T STOP ME NOW along to the refrain of the first track.

Wearing his new skates, Rodney oozed confidence. He stood by the rink door as a troupe of Madison high school figure skaters was exiting. He waved and greeted each of them, holding out his leg so they could marvel at his new footwear.

We took the ice together. Rodney braced, then realizing his feet felt more secure, he relaxed.

We learned how to glide. Rodney took fast tiny marches, then froze his feet. Yes. YES! I'm doing it, he whispered behind his mask, each glide sending him further and faster than the last.

Rodney was doing so well, I took a spot along the boards and let him glide around on his own for a while.

Practice ended unceremoniously, and we slipped out the back door together. Rodney and I followed the narrow sidewalk along the building to the parking lot. Out of nowhere, Rodney stopped, knelt to the ground, and pumped his fist.

"Yes! UGH. I DIT IT - I SKATED," he growled, taking a quick power stance in the grass.

When we got home, Rodney bolted into the backyard to tell Marissa about the class. Marissa had been in the kitchen since we left.

"I'm making beef wellington," she said. "You know, something _simple-."

Far from simple. Marissa made individual beef wellington portions. A small seared filet topped with mustard and a mushroom and white wine filling, all baked to a crisp in a little puff pastry ball. It may have been the best thing Marissa has ever made in her weekly dinner slot.

We put the kids to bed and caught up on chores. Things started to wind down for the night, and I went downstairs into the studio gallery to check if Marissa was ready to pour a drink and watch a movie.

"I just have a few more things to do," she said. "I'll be up in a minute, then we can get cozy and watch a little more DBT."

"DBT?" I repeated. Marissa smiled, and I realized that she abbreviated our movie pick. "DBT? What does that stand for? Why can't I remember what movie we're watching right now?"

I found the answer moments later when we were settled in on the couch. "Drillbit Taylor. D-B-T." The joke really took hold, and the two of us began to laugh a little harder.

"Finally we can settle down to watch some DBT," I said.

"I've been thinking about watching DBT all day," said Marissa.

"Classic us," I echoed. "You can always find us watching a little DBT in the PM."

The genius of the joke is that it pulls you into a different world where the pleasant but extremely forgettable Owen Wilson movie Drillbit Taylor is a staple in our movie collection. In this world, we watch and reference Drillbit Taylor so often that we needed to abbreviate it.

So what's left to say? We finally got to kick back, relax on the couch, and put on a little DBT. That's all we've been trying to do all day. Life is hard enough as it is. At the end of my day, I don't want to do something stressful, tiring, or something that takes too much concentration. Sometimes you gotta just pull up a chair and treat yourself to a little DBT.

Thanks for stopping by, friends. Have a great Thursday. Treat yourslef to some DBT today.