This apparently has been an all coasters, clown, and concerts content blog this summer and I’m sure that’s annoying to some people but we have been having the best time and, KNOCK ON WOOD, but I feel like I am finally starting to be myself again. LAST NIGHT I EVEN WENT AND GOT MY HAIR HIGHLIGHTED. Do you know when the last time I went to a salon was?? It was October 2023 – two days before the Afghan family moved next door, knocking over the first domino is a series of stressful events that included Barb dying, Drew dying, Chooch going to college + insane financial aid fuck-ups that literally had me aging into a sea hag seemingly overnight.

But this summer, I have let myself have fun again and it has been nice but there’s also that scary nagging feeling in the back of my mind, warning me not to get too cozy because who even knows how long it will last.

Anyway! All of this is to say that Henry and I have been living the lives of 20-year-olds all summer and it has been so much fun (and exhausting, admittedly). Let’s talk about that while looking at pictures from our last weeknight trip to Kennywood on Monday (the final weeknight of operations for the season — HATE that summer is coming to a close!).

 

When I started going to therapy, we talked about how finding a new hobby could help me during this empty nest transition. My therapist said it could be a good chance for me to finally start doing the things I couldn’t do when I was being a mom. But I never stopped doing the things I liked to do just because I had a kid. I’m not saying I put myself first! But I was always of the belief that a woman could have a kid and still maintain her own identity. So, I still went to concerts. I still went out to dinner with friends. I did art (I don’t anymore, but that’s not because of mom obligations).

I couldn’t think of ANYTHING “new” that I wanted to do. Anything I had been putting off trying. And I kept getting more and more depressed. Logging off from work and moving from my work desk to the couch, night after night. Then we had a series of events to go to around February and it kind of added life back into me. Forced me to get dressed and leave the house. So then I started thinking that perhaps the key is to just plan one work night a week to go out and do something because not only does it break up the week, it gives me something to look forward to when all I do is stare at engagement letters all day long.

But the best part of that is that we have accidentally found new interests in doing so! Because if there weren’t any bands that I liked coming to town in the near future, I started going directly to venue websites and clicked around on events pages, looked up bands I hadn’t heard of and if I liked them enough, we’d add that event to the list.

Same with movies/film/theater.

If it hadn’t been for this motivation, we never would have become Glitterbox fans!

After work Kennywood dates have been part of why this summer has been so much fun, too! Look at this cutie shot of my forever favorite, Phantom’s Revenge! God I would love to have a birthday party where we just marathon the shit out of this thing. WE COULD ALL WEAR MATCHING SHIRTS. I’ll come  up with something embarrassing for all, don’t worry.

(Look at me planning a pretend party in my peabrain.)

^^THIS COULD BE YOU AND ME ON THE PHANTOM!!

This view never gets old.

(Also, as I’m writing this, I just found out that Chooch got the co-op he wanted! It’s doing something with the UPenn football team. I don’t know but he’s very stoked and it’s the only co-op he had set his sights on for this year.)

(He applied to others, of course, but this was the one he wanted.)

I have good NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS to report for once!! Domestic Abuser a/k/a Landlord’s Son moved out!!! A really nice (so far) Filipino family has since moved in and they are a breath of fresh air. The mom has spruced up the front yard and is giving the Squirrel Hating Wife of HNC some competition in the green thumb arena! They have festive string lights up on their porch and the cutest t-shirt-wearing Chow!

I overheard HNC telling the mom all of his house-related woes, like how the kitchen ceiling leaks when it rains and the landlord won’t fix this and that and she was probably thinking, “Great, thanks for telling me this NOW.”

Henry said he couldn’t remember the last time he rode the Swings!? There was a young guy named JT who was manning the ride when we went on and I liked him because he asked, “IF YOU’RE HAVING FUN CAN I GET A WEEEEE” and you better believe I WEEEEE’d my face off.

We sat here and had a cookie break. This time I didn’t play games and got a chocolate chip cookie for myself. I was in a much better mood this time around!

I made Henry ride the cars with me and I waved to all of the kids we passed. I got snubbed once but I think they felt bad so they initiated a wave the second time we passed each other. “Happy now?” Henry muttered from the BACKSEAT.

Yes, actually.

The sky was doing some adorable things on this evening. It was so pretty but it was also making me sad because it was really feeling like it was out last Kennywood trip of the season even though we will probably try to sneak in a Sunday visit here and there. There’s just something so fun about going on a work night. It’s like, what are you doing at an amusement park on a random Monday night, don’t you have adulting to do??

Actually…no.

I can’t remember the last time I stood in an actual line for Thunderbolt. It’s always like this when we go!

 

OMG we were in line for the Turtles with the sweetest lady who was so stoked about everything at Kennywood. When we were in line, she kept asking me, Henry, and the young couple in front of her if we rode the Thunderbolt, the Old Mill, etc. She was very adamant about finding somewhere to get popcorn too and you know what? In all the years I’ve been going to Kennywood (i.e. MY WHOLE LIFE), I don’t think I have ever gotten popcorn there and actually couldn’t help her out with that inquiry! Somehow it came up that the guy in front of her is a cook at Jergel’s and I wanted to be like, “THAT’S WHERE I GOT THE SHIRT I’M WEARING, AT KURT TRAVIS’S SOLO SHOW THERE LAST SUMMER!” and Henry was like, “Damn, we should have asked him if he was there the night we had to evacuate when they smelled gas!”

Then all 5 of us were assigned to the same Turtle which was kind of awkward and uncomfortable and everyone avoided eye contact except for the Happy Lady who was “wooo!”ing and chuckling through the whole ride, living her best life. It was really sweet.

When the best ride in the park is a walk-on….

As I’m typing this, Chooch is on the train back to Pittsburgh with one of his Drexel friends! They’re going to the Dominic Fike show tomorrow night and staying at Chooch’s friend’s house (his friend Daniel’s parents moved to California after they graduated high school and gave the house to Daniel, who lives there with some friends who are all attending Pitt. WHAT A FREAKING DEAL!! Anyway, why would you choose to stay at your parent’s house with your college friend when you could stay at a parent-less Pitt house? I get it.

(I’m making him come here for a little bit though because I have been telling Penelope he’s coming home so he needs to see her!!!)

I just hate so much how quickly this summer has flown by. I still have one more park to recap from my birthday weekend and that was three weeks ago already!! On my walk this morning, I saw kids walking to school and it made me say “UGH” out loud. It’s just never long enough, especially when fall always feels like it’s only a week long and then WINTER.

Don’t think about it, Erin.

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