Change of plans!

I mentioned this weekend was supposed to be gloriously “wide open”, with no plans. (Well, I actually did have plans- they included yard work, catching up on a few work tasks (since I took Thursday afternoon off), and cleaning out my closet.)

Saturday was a very productive day for all of us- lots of yard work happened (even Ethan helped- he cut the grass AND helped Ivan spread mulch) and I got my work tasks caught up. I replanted some flowers that a chipmunk and/or rabbit ate….grrr….and finished weeding some other flower beds. Ivan trimmed edges and hauled mulch around and dug out some huge prickly weeds.

On Sunday, Father’s Day, the plan was that Ivan and Ethan were going to go back to Chicago for another soccer game- this time for a Club America game (a pro team from Mexico City) versus the Pumas (another Mexico City team).

Club America is Ivan’s “TEAM”. He watches every single game on TV, religiously. This would be the equivalent of me watching the Green Bay Packers, or the Milwaukee Brewers (if I were a die hard fan). It’s pretty rare for Club America to be playing in Chicago; obviously, they normally play in Mexico, but they’re doing some special “capital city” tour around the U.S this summer, with games in Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas, etc.

Anyway, they were playing in Chicago yesterday. Ivan bought tickets just the other day, planning to take Ethan, plus one of Ivan’s friends and his wife were supposed to go along.

I was going to stay home, have some alone time, clean out my closet, and be here when Asher got home from swim camp (his friend’s mom was bringing them home).

Well, at the last minute, his friend had a conflict come up and they couldn’t go. So those extra tickets were just going to go to waste….Ivan said, “Well, I guess you’re going to have to come along after all!”

But I really didn’t want to go!!! I honestly just wanted to get my closet cleaned out. We’ve been so busy lately; I just needed some time/space. And he understood that, so he wasn’t really pushing it, either. He didn’t say much, but I could tell he wished I would go with them, though.

About 30 minutes before they were going to leave, I looked outside. It was a most beautiful sunny day. It was Father’s Day. Ethan was super talkative and excited about going to the game- had his Club America jersey on and everything.

I had a little moment of clarity and thought, “Am I seriously going to skip out on this fun opportunity to stay home and clean my closet?!!”

I mean, really. Yes, I do need to clean my closet. But, it will get done eventually. And in 20 years, I won’t remember if I cleaned my closet on Sunday or on Wednesday. But maybe I’ll remember this special Father’s Day with my husband and 13 year old son.

So I said, “OKAY, okay, okay!! Wait- let me shower quick!” 45 minutes later we hit the road and headed back to Chicago. Kind of funny, because we hadn’t been there in years- and here I was, in downtown Chicago twice in a single month. 🙂

Since we were just there, we didn’t even spend that much time downtown. Just an hour or so walking around and hanging out. Ethan said he wanted to go back down by the “tall buildings” for a little while though, so we did.

This time the game was at the SeatGeek Stadium, which is not right downtown. It’s a much smaller stadium than Soldier Field- only holds 28,000 people, compared to Soldier Field’s 60,000+.

The place was packed with Mexican fans!! I swear I think I was the only non-Mexican person there. 🙂 Even Ethan is a Mexican citizen. 🙂 Ah, well, I consider myself close-enough to Mexican. I speak Spanish and love spicy food, so I have the most important elements covered. 😉 Ivan says I’m Mexican by marriage? Haha.

We had much better seats this time and had great views of the field.

It was really fun!!! I kept thinking, “I’m glad I came.” 🙂

On the way home we stopped for, of course, MEXICAN food at some random place I found on my phone, about 20 minutes from the stadium.

We got home around 11 pm. Asher got home around 5:30, and fortunately, Ivan’s brother went over to hang out with him until we got home. He’s totally fine home alone, but it was kind of a long time. So his uncle went to keep him company. Asher quickly told me a little about swim camp (especially a detailed recap of the cafeteria food options) before we all crashed.

Whew. An unexpected, fun day. The closet is still not clean, but, oh well. Penciling it in for Wednesday evening while Ivan takes Asher to volleyball!!

Daily Gratitude:

I am grateful that I decided to go along. As we were driving, Ivan reached over and squeezed my arm and said, “I’m really glad you came.” That made it feel extra “worth it”. 🙂