Pedley's Ponderings

A brief glance at the calendar this week had my eyes popping. We’re nearly halfway through September and the calendar shows no signs of slowing down. Snow will be flying before we know it.

The arrival of fall was welcomed in my house. While I know it’s still technically summer, school has started, which means it’s fall. My kids were more than ready for classes to begin and so were we – summer break had certainly run its course.

The school year started out rough for kindergartener Cece, but it had nothing to do with the classroom. She fell off the monkey bars and broke her elbow at the park the week school was slated to start, and has since been donning a cast. She gets it removed next week.

I’m thankful the injury didn’t require surgery. Oddly enough, her boo-boo continued a tradition of bad luck for kindergartners in our household, as Oliver’s first week of kindergarten two years ago started on equally bad footing. He fell off the top of a bouncy house with his head breaking his body’s fall, earning a concussion in the process. Like Cece, that injury could have been much worse as he landed on concrete.

I’m hoping Cece’s bum elbow is the worst of it this year. Aside from an unpleasant shower experience and the occasional rabid itch, she’s mostly unbothered by the cast. Still, my kids are aware that there will be no more monkey bars moving forward – the bill from the emergency room isn’t worth it.

• Thriller in Iowa City

My Hawkeyes are off to a 1-1 start thanks to a ferocious comeback by ISU in Iowa City last weekend. It was equal parts incredible miracle and horrendous choke job depending on who you root for.

I fall into the horrendous choke job category. I haven’t seen a collapse like that from Iowa in a long, long time, and it hurts worse that came against the Cyclones. Still, it’s not like the Hawks lost to a bad team. With their intrastate rivals out of the way, ISU’s schedule sets up very nicely for a stellar season. I hope they keep winning.

While the season certainly isn’t lost in Iowa City, last weekend soured moods among the Hawkeye faithful. The offense looked like hot garbage, our quarterback’s play was abysmal, and our defensive collapse was terrifying. I simply hope it was one-off.

Regardless of how the season goes from here, I’ll keep tuning in week after week after week. I can’t complain if I don’t watch.

• Getting out of Dodge

Kaity and I went on a getaway trip over Labor Day weekend to celebrate our anniversary. After two months of trying to figure out where to go, we ended up settling on Dubuque. If that seems odd, you’re not alone – we were asked several times why we were spending three days there by people who lived there.

We didn’t have a good answer, but in the end we didn’t regret it. We stayed in the Millwork District, which has been totally renovated in the last decade. It features a variety of specialty shops, restaurants, breweries and other attractions. Dubuque is Iowa’s oldest city, so the town is bursting with cool buildings and unique history.

All in all, the trip was fine and it felt nice to get away. I can resoundingly endorse Dubuque as a worthy destination if you’re trying to ditch the kids for a weekend of peace and quiet within reasonable driving distance.

It’s also worth noting the weekend getaway gave me a brief memory lapse. Once we got back, I forgot our anniversary hadn’t actually happened yet. I was reminded via text by my better half around noon last Wednesday that it was our “big day.”

My bad. I’ll do better next year...maybe.

Nick Pedley is the news editor and ad manager of The Hartley Sentinel-The Everly/Royal News.