Falling Into Hibernation

Somewhere between 12:30 AM and 1:00 AM Saturday morning I made the transition into hibernation mode.

I played in my last golf outing of the year on Friday grinding out 36 holes of golf up in Keene, New Hampshire. As I drove alone, north, in the dark morning, I fondly replayed the events of the past summer. The end of my 70 minute ride culminated in a dark, looming, Mt. Modadnock being silhouetted against a bright, misty sunrise, igniting the first trees of the annual autumn blaze. I got out of my car and stretched. I went to the clubhouse of the Bretwood Golf Course and waited for the men to show up. They came from all over, Boston, Manchester, Rehoboth, Acton, Holyoke, all corners of southern New England 16 in total. As we teed off the weather turned. The sky became overcast and spit out raindrops sporadically. The cold penetrated my multiple layers of golf gear for the first time since early last spring.

The day was enjoyable. The golf was mediocre. Three good shots followed by a bad shot, followed by a horrible shot, followed by a miraculously lucky shot. After 18 holes we ate lunch and switched up teams. By days end we filed away enough laughs, bloopers, fairways and greens to carry us until our next outing in the Spring. Our foursome finished first, so we headed straight for the bar and grabbed some drinks. As the other groups trickled in and the drinks flowed on, the room got louder, bordering on boisterous. We payed out the winners who, in turn, bought more drinks for the losers. When we wore out our welcome we headed into Keene to the local brewery for a few more. Around 8 PM I headed south to attend a benefit for a co-worker whose dad is sick in Brazil. After a few drinks there I met a friend at a bar down the street from my house to watch the Red Sox. I stumbled in the house between 12:30 and 1:00 AM., drunk as fuck. I didn't even see the end of the Sox game.

I woke up Saturday morning hung over for the first time in a long time. My wife took the kids out for gymnastics, errands and visiting. They were gone all day. I lay in bed all day, covers up to my chin, watching hours and hours of college football, listening to the wind outside, waiting for the toxins to dissipate. When I arose from my self imposed tomb I went out into the cold fading sun lit afternoon. Squirrels danced through my yard looking for winter sustenance. I did the same driving to "The Hangar" for some boneless chicken wings. After stuffing myself, I took a nap, in order to rest up for a night of bumping and grinding and puking. Not me. I moonlight as a bouncer for college Frat and Sorority parties my buddy hosts at my golf course. I've been doing this for the past six years, most weekends while school is in session, from October to May. Except for breaking up a few spats and helping a few drunk girls to a couch and a basket to puke in the night was uneventful. I fell asleep around 3PM with visions of coeds doing shots and cleavage dancing in my head.

Sunday was similar to Saturday. Sleeping in late. Gorging myself. Watching alot of sports, particularly NFL pre-game. Around 3PM I took a walk to the park with the wife and kids. We tossed the football around, played some tackle and pushed the boys on the swings. On the way home I stopped and watched the squirrels scurrying up and down the oak trees at a frenetic pace gathering up acorns for the coming winter. Upon arriving home I retreated to my bedroom where I watched the Patriots play in the 4 O'clock game then the Red Sox at 7:30. In between, I tried to be a good dad and read the kids a few chapters of "The Halloweeen Tree". I fell asleep sometime after midnight after watching the Sox blow it in extra innings.

From now until spring, this will be how the weekends will be: laziness, cocooning, solitude and introspection. I won't mind if the weekends are rainy, cold, snowy. Its the time of year to recharge the batteries until the snow melts and the sun returns and I wake from my hibernation.