Thanks Dad

Thanks Dad. Thanks for never taking a day off work. Thanks for making me proud of our last name. Thanks for the road trips. Thanks for teaching me how to play shortstop. Thanks for being so critical of my driving. Thanks for letting me ride on the back of your motorcycle and thanks for teaching me how to ride my own motorcycle. Thanks for taking me to work with you on ‘Take your Child to work day.” Thanks for the many lectures of clouds types and evaporation. Thanks for saying, “You look beautiful” on the night you escorted me for homecoming court. Thanks for loving my mom.

While at work recently, I met with a child and asked all sorts of questions about his home life, school life, and listened while this bright young man talked. My meetings with young children always end with me saying, “I’ve asked you a lot of questions and listened to everything you wanted to say, now do you have any questions that you would like to ask me?” Usually the kids say “no” and the meeting ends shortly after, however this young man answered “Yes.” He asked me a question that tugged on my heartstrings and has left me consumed with the thought of how lucky I have been throughout my entire life. He asked, “Did you grow up with a Dad in your house?” Of course, my rules during these meetings with children are that we can only talk about the truth, so I answered honestly, “Yes, I did.” And then, while looking down at his shoes, he asked, “Was it fun?” Again, I answered, “Yes, it was.” And the meeting was ended. Just two simple questions from a 9 year old and my thoughts have been consumed by those few simple words. He was one of those children that was smart enough to know what he had missed out on, and even smarter to not dig deeper about what he has missed.

The questions made me want to go hug my dad, however we’re not what you would call a “huggy” family. The questions also made me think about how many children grow up without a father in their homes, and how many children grow up without ever speaking to their father. It seems that my “normal” of being raised in a family with two parents who were married to each other and two older brothers who watched out for me, and a family that still loves each one another is not so normal anymore.

So, Dad, thanks for “normal.” Thanks for mowing my lawn every week. Thanks for buying me a crappy little S-10 that I fell in love with when I was 16. Thanks for rescuing me every time I run out of gas. Thanks for buying me pot-bellied pigs when I was in third grade. Thanks for taking such good care of your parents in their old age. Thanks for being such a good Grandpa to my kids. Thanks for bonding with my husband over a beer, nap, and baseball game in your living room every Sunday. Thanks for being my Dad.

Supervising wood cutting
Spring 2013

 

Who's Your Favorite?

            Yesterday was great, Adam and I got home from work and we had no obligations, no plans, just a night in with the kids. We had a wonderful meal of leftovers that the kids shoved around on their plates for 15 minutes and then we read a few books after dinner. Adam and the kids wrestled, and then we sat on the couch to relax before the kid’s bedtime. We watched tv, the kids played, it really felt like one of those evenings that we will think about some evening when Adam and I become “empty-nesters.”

            Now if any of you know my husband, you would know that EVERYTHING is a competition…and if you know me, you would know that I always win those competitions! Adam enjoys torturing our children by asking them who their “favorite” is and then tickling them until they are gasping for air when the much predicted answer of “mommy” leaves their sweet little lips. Whether they enjoy being tickled or not, it’s obvious who their favorite is…always mommy, a little something that I love more than anything in the world, and another sure fire win in the scorebook of Adam and Jody’s competitions!  Well, I have to say that I was a little shocked when the answer was NOT “mommy” last night.

Adam: “Presley, who’s your favorite?”

Presley: “Mommy!”

Adam: “Ben, who is your favorite?”

Ben: “Bob Seger.”

            Really? Bob Seger? He’s started preschool, he’s a big kid now, he worries about being cool in front of his friends, he can write his name by himself…and Bob Seger is his favorite. My lil boy is growing up and I’m not sure that I’m ready for this! Today Benji was invited to go to a football game with a friend, and then I received a text message from the friend’s mother saying, “Ben doesn’t want to come home yet, can he spend the night?” His first sleep-over! He has leg hair and he FINALLY wipes his own butt. He’s practically a man! As hard as it is, I know that he has to grow up and I have to allow that to occur naturally. At least I still have my lil girl, and I’m definitely still her favorite…for a few more years!



Presley and I got to spend the day together recently, she has no idea who Bob Seger is and I intend to
keep it that way for a little while longer!

 

It's been a while...here's an update

            It’s been a while, a long while, but my excuse is that my job sucks the life out of me, and then I have to use my reserve fuel tank (often a caffeinated vitamin or a double shot latte) to get through the evenings with my children who never seem to be tired. I think Ben may be a vampire, however this isn’t yet confirmed, he never sleeps. Lately I’ve caught him awake in his bedroom with the lights on packing numerous backpacks for school, emptying his dresser only to find the one pair of pants that is two years too short for him to wear to school the next day. Apparently he loves preschool, he lets me put his pajamas on him after his shower and then after I put him to bed he gets dressed for the next day. Then there’s Presley, who is lately on a “OMG I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT MOMMY HOLDING ME ON HER EVER-GROWING HIPS AND I’M GOING TO SCREAM AND CRY IF SHE PUTS ME DOWN” phase. Trust me, it’s easier to hold her! I know what you’re thinking…stop judging! So, yes, my children are WONDERFUL!

            I’ve been keeping myself busy this summer with a wonderful garden that produced plenty of food for the raccoons and my family to share, especially since the children would prefer ground up eyeballs, pig tails, and hooves (in the form of a hot dog) to a nice meal of squash, green beans, or potatoes. Ben enjoyed “helping” me in the garden, I’m quite sure that several carrots, green beans, and watermelon were lost to his feet, but it was fun nonetheless. Presley spent much of her time in the evenings while I gardened sitting in the grass screaming because she wasn’t being held. She’s such a princess.

            Also this summer I’ve been training for a half-marathon. Don’t pretend to be impressed, the majority of my training has included pushing a running stroller with Princess Presley riding along and Benji riding his bicycle next to me. You can imagine that I did not get very far…ever…especially anywhere close to 13.1 miles! So, the race is this coming weekend, and I’ve logged about 6 miles in the 6 weeks or so that I’ve been training, I feel so accomplished.

            Softball season was officially ended without any bloodshed between my wonderfully once in shape but now all he does is pushups husband and myself. He says it was the last year of our summers being occupied with fastpitch softball, but I don’t believe that he’s ready to give it up and join a golf league quite yet.

            Now that Benji is in preschool and Princess Presley is starting to talk, I hope to have some great stories to share. I apologize for the long absence, I miss writing every day, but I feel that rest is probably much healthier than the dose of caffeine that would be needed to bust out a 500 word story!