"when are you coming over??"

married with kids means a lot of responsibility.  and responsibility means sleeping early and weekends are spent at home.  and weekends at home generally involve a whole lot of sobriety.  and whenever the dad gets a chance he's looking for a reason to step outside for a smoke, or find a partner willing to come over and have a drink.  because the fatigue and the lack of consistent drinking has made getting drunk that much easier.  so when i get a call..."chin come on over..."  and then a follow up text 30 minutes later "when are you coming?"  and then a call an hour later "are you coming?"....it makes me feel a bit obligated to oblige even though its not always going to be a great night for me.

so i went over.  we had kiddie talk with 3 other couples either with kids or about to have a kid...or onto their second kid.  and almost as immediately as i stepped in, we stepped outside so we could talk about the new swing set installed in the backyard along with a smoke.  and after some gossip and dessert...couples started to plan to go home.  at 8pm.  so lax quickly turned to me..."lets make a beer run"...we managed to convince one couple to stay longer....they reluctantly stayed for a round of quarters which made lax and i finish a 12 pack in 45 minutes.  why lax would buy natty light beats me...

and so by 10pm i wasn't nearly drunk enough...but drunk enough not to drive.  and what could i do other than pass out on the couch till 1am before driving home.  conflicts of interest...