Independence Week

I sat down a few times this week to pound out a blog post or two and was either too exhausted or needed to use that time for a treadmill workout instead (I'm running a 5K in two weeks so the runs are crucial). So, forgive me for another long post.

I'll start with Tuesday. More like U-2sday (get it? I kill me!). The Edge and I rocked out at the U2 concert at Soldier Field last Tuesday night. I took a day off and we went downtown early to play before the concert. I occasionally have to go downtown for work but rarely do I get to play during a week day! Stopping by a bar and a restaurant in South Loop (both were playing U2...loudly!), we went into the concert to find our seats.

The Edge scored us 15th row seats! This was our view before U2 took the stage:



The seats were phenomenal and as usual, U2 put on a terrific show. This show focused less on the new album (not so new anymore) as they played their greatest hits. My favorite U2 song live has to be "Where the Streets Have No Name." "One" and "Pride" are always crowd pleasers, too. This is a wobbly version of "Streets," but it best captures the thumping beat and electric atmosphere inside Soldier Field.





We were treated to an off-the-cuff, impromptu new song at the end. Apparently, we were part of history as U2 never plays this song outside of New Zealand. it was the 25th anniversary of Bono's friend's death, the friend who inspired the song. The 80,000 people fell away and it felt very intimate listening to the band feel out those first few chords of the rarely-played song. I felt like I was in Bono's basement during a jam session for those few moments. THAT was cool:



This view is a little further away, but the music quality is better. As my sixth U2 concert, I think this little impromptu song added on the end of the set list made it my favorite ever. Even more so than the concert at Notre Dame, on our home turf!

Anyway, after my hearing finally recovered from the jet plane decibels of the concert, life returned to normal. Work is work and for some reason, I was dragging major rear all week! Walking eight miles around the Chi then rocking out at an emotional concert drained me. By the time Friday afternoon rolled around, I was ready for bed. I came home from work early at 5pm and went straight to bed. Jack woke me up for some pizza later on in the evening!

On Saturday, my aunts came up to visit us in Chicagoland and Jack cooked for us (like usual). After they left, we hung up our screen "door" for the garage door opening so we could start using the garage as a patio. The mosquitoes are insane out here and three minutes outside usually results in five bites. And Jack finally hung up my tennis ball.



Do you have a tennis ball in your garage? I can't park well and have, weirdly, always wanted one. Jack joked that it was something most dads do for their teenage drivers when they get their licenses. Laugh all you want, I park perfectly now!

So this morning, we slept in and hit late mass before our church orientation. Everyone I've mentioned that to is like, "you have orientation at CHURCH? What can they possibly do? Tell you where the restrooms are and point out the confessionals?"

We thought it was strange, too. Turns out it was refreshing. All the "new hires" met in the school's gymnasium and it was an efficient introduction to the parish. Everyone had their picture taken for the directory, got lunch with their new friends, and met one-on-one with one of the priests/deacons to affirm your sacramental records and involvement in church activities. I joined a faith sharing group and Jack is joining the men's club. This church is just crazy...there are 100 different groups and committees. It'll be great, though, and we are already meeting people. That's half the point of church, right? Join in the community?

So Church Orientation 101 was a success. However, we needed to end our Sunday afternoon the right way.



With sushi! And with that, the week is upon us and I need to go fold laundry!