Tom's Sabbatical, Day 1

What do you call a person who is taking a sabbatical? A "sabbatee"? That sounds like a shoe. Also, isn't a sabbatical supposed to be taken after seven years? Tom has been at the PLF for 25 years. He's getting three months off, so shouldn't he really be getting (3x~3.6) 10.8 months off? He probably wouldn't want to go back to work if that were the case. I told him he must work until Andy is a bona fide doctor and can support us in the style to which we would like to become accustomed.


So what did Tom do on his first day? He said he was going to sleep late. He slept until ... 7:30. Oh, wow, she said sarcastically, you really pulled that off.


We went to the Friendly House gym to work out. As we were getting ready, I said it would take me 20 minutes. I was ready in 20 minutes; Tom was not. "I didn't think you'd really be ready in 20 minutes," he said. So I went to the gym alone. Tom said he'd catch up. Forty minutes later, I spotted Tom entering the room. I was done and told Tom I was leaving. Great, he said, I'll come with you. Wait a minute, you just got here, I said. No, I've been here for a while, he said earnestly, I just stepped out for a drink of water. Oh, right, I said sarcastically (again with the sarcasm). But he looked innocent (and earnest), and there was water dripping from his mouth.


When I got home from work, I was greeted by a pair of muddy shoes in the window. What the heck? I was working in the yard and the shoes got muddy, he said, and I'm drying them out. Our cat Random thought they were put in the window for him, and he was busy inspecting them. Other people have flowers or lamps in the window. We have muddy shoes and cats.


He's treating himself to a poker game as I write this. It's late and that usually means he's doing well. Oh, boy, maybe there'll be pancakes at the Stepping Stone Cafe tomorrow ... his treat! Or maybe he's lost in the serpentine streets of Northeast Portland. Then it's cold cereal for breakfast instead.

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