Tuesday night was date night in my house…for Cappy and me.  We went to dinner at my work, where I promised I’d spend the evening as Mama, not Dean…and I held as true to that as I ever have.  On a pre-dinner walk through campus, Cappy found an apple that one of the students had tossed, intact, into the bushes.  Leave it to Cappy to mastermind a science experiment with that apple and the hill.  It was pretty straightforward, he rolled the apple down the hill, noting number of bruises, estimated speed, and trajectory…I noted his smile and curiosity.  By the time we reached the bottom, we had a pretty banged up apple, but his curiosity wasn’t yet satiated.  He decided we should roll it into the huge storm drains that line the road next to campus – to see if it would traverse one drain to the next.  He thought about speed and angle, then launched the banged up apple into the tube.  Despite his best pitch – a curve ball if I’ve ever seen one – our experiment thudded to an abrupt end, halfway down the first drain.  We wandered to dinner and ate too much cake at a hi-top table for two in the back of the dining hall.  Afterwards, he challenged me to a game of foosball.  I said okay, certain that I’d be licking my wounds within minutes.  To my surprise, I pulled out a 5-2 victory – which he was ever-so-gracious and complimentary about…especially given the fact that I absolutely celebrated far too loudly.  (I am the most competitive, non-competitive person I know.  See, I’m even competitive about that…)

On the way home, Cappy asked if we could stop by the lake and swing while we watched the sunset.  I paused long enough for him to brace himself for a ‘no’ and as I started to speak, he said “It’s okay, Mama.”.  But I’d already decided my answer was yes.  In my mind, I was already laughing with my guy on the swing…and when I was actually there, it was just as super as I thought it might be.

The chance to say an unexpected yes is an incredible opportunity; I need to do more of that.