Leather Weekend in the 'Burbs

Welcome to leather weekend in the 'burbs. That is, the suburbs of Washington DC where Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend -- aka "the leather weekend" -- is being held. Been there, done that, got the boots shined, smoked the cigar, ate the greasy chow....

So what is "Leather Weekend" like for an old-guard (alt. "old fart") leather dude who is not going to MAL and hanging out in the 'burbs?

When I rise this morning, I will check on my partner who is sleeping in a different room because he is not feeling well. I think he is (finally) over his cold, so first thing will be a long-awaited snuggle next to my man when he awakens. I just want to hold him closely, feel his warmth, and show him how I love him. We will watch the sunrise cast a golden glow on the bark of the trees in the forest behind our home.

When we get out of bed, I'll put on a pair of leather jeans, a leather shirt, boots, and then prepare our breakfast. After that, I'll don a black leather cop jacket and my partner and I will do our grocery shopping. It's been a long time since my partner has been out of the house (except to doctor's offices), so he will enjoy feeling a bit more human again.

After we get back home and unload, I'll head out again and pick up three or four of my senior pals and take them grocery shopping. Imagine -- here's this guy in head-to-boot leather escorting octogenarians throughout a grocery store. Really, no.big.deal. No one ever, ever says anything about my wearing leather. Ever. (They're used to it.)

When I get back home, it will be time for lunch. I will prepare something from scratch -- perhaps a homemade pizza. I love to make fresh dough and use my own homemade sauce. Because my partner has a severely restricted diet due to his health condition, it is far better for me to prepare all of our meals so I can control what my partner is exposed to that could possible aggravate his condition.

Saturday afternoon, I will change from my full leather outfit to BDUs, t-shirt, and work boots to continue working on marble surround for our bathroom shower. It will be great when it's finished -- but it takes both time and a toll on my friggin' knees and back, having to bend over while working in a tight space and also having to run up and down stairs to use the wet saw that I place outside our basement door.

Also, throughout the afternoon, I will "multi-task" and make some pasta, pasta sauce, and some breads. I love to cook, but some of these things take time for various processes to work (such as bread rising). So there you can imagine me, in work clothes and boots, in my kitchen being all domestic. (giggle.)

After I finish the tile work for the day, I hope my partner will be feeling well enough to join me in our two-man, two-headed shower (wink) so I can clean up.

We will have dinner -- probably the pasta that I just made -- then go into our basement media room, curl up together, and watch a movie. Just chill... so much better (to us alt. "old farts") than the huge hassle of driving into the city for a leather-related thing to do. We've done that before, but just are not interested in that now (and my partner isn't well enough to think about doing that anyway.)

Sunday: lather, rinse, repeat. Or should I say, "leather, rinse, repeat." I will dress again in full leather (including a leather dress shirt and tie), and take some senior pals to church for a very early service. I love a good Latin Mass, and translating for my friends. Keeps the mind active. I will come home and prepare a brunch for my partner and me.

Sunday afternoon will find me at a great nephew's birthday party. It will be good to see my family, laugh, smile, kid around. Me in -- you guessed it -- head-to-boot leather -- and just being one of the bunch of loud, raucous, happy relatives sharing a birthday for a loved-one.

Dinner at home with my partner, then relaxing once again in our basement, snuggling closely. Sure beats going to some dance with loud boonga-boonga-boonga noise and dancing. Ugggh... not for me.

Monday is a holiday in the United States -- and some groups try to hold a "day of service" since the holiday is in recognition of Dr. Martin Luther King. I have discovered that these "day-of-service" things don't work all that well where I live, so I have organized my own "day of service." I have made arrangements with about five seniors to go help them with something -- from running errands to fixing something in their home. This will be my small little contribution to the larger "day-of-service" effort. Meanwhile, my partner will remain at home and rest.

How will I dress for this day-of-service? Probably my work clothes -- denim jeans, work boots, flannel shirt. I don't want to get leather all dirty when I have to crawl under a sink to replace a garbage disposal, or get the leather all covered with dust if I do carpentry and drywall repair.

Life is short: enjoy a leather weekend wherever you are!