A juggling technophile shares personal stories, challenges, humor and perhaps some political commentary.
Happenings in a 5 child, 2 adult household.
It’s no secret that I want to be that tv dad…you know, Bill Cosby or Tim Allen or the like. I successfully channeled Alan Shure for a while. I think I’m maturing to be more like the dad in Modern Family. Truth be told, I’m much more like Red from That 70s Show. When you have teenagers and pets the words "hey dumbass" roll off the tongue so naturally.
So, I suppose I’ve achieved tv dad status after all…just not the one I had hoped to be.
My 16 year old son is driving now. Some good friends cut him a deal. They gave him a 1991 Ford Tempo GL and, in exchange, he drives their son to school. The only problem is the Ford Tempo isn’t running right now. The radiator is too gunked up. When I was 16, you could have given me the biggest lemon in the world and I would have spent every waking moment cleaning it, tuning it, staring at it, and driving it to Timbuktu. My 16 year old son doesn’t seem interested in the car in the least. Before we knew this car was coming into the family, I offered to lethelp him repair the Jeep but he wasn’t interested. This is not limited to my son. The 16 year old populace, at least those we know, seem genuinely disinterested in driving. I think we need to rename them Generation Xbox.
So, I set out to replace the radiator myself. And, surprisingly, ended up with a great helper. My seven year old stepped up, and single-handedly removed the air filter and all the connecting pieces.
And that lollipop is not cigarette inspired. Just a coincidence, but funny!
Wife: "May I buy kitten food?"
Me: "If I say no, will it go away faster?"
Apparently, that was not the correct answer.
Be a knowledge seeker. -DM
I have just completed a wonderful vacation, yet I find myself so stressed that I cannot think straight and an unclear mind does not lend well to eliminating the causes of the stress. Stress in this regard is a self-perpetuating disorder. Once upon a time, a hunter in the field was met unexpected by a herd of lion too numerous for the hunter to engage. Fight or flight stimulus, aka stress, kicked in and the hunter fled to safety where his adrenaline returned to normal levels and the hunter calmed. In today’s society, our stress response rarely eases and our body and mind suffer. I have been under constant stress for twenty years. I am ready to escape to safety. I want to know calm.
Yesterday we took Evan rock climbing at The Climbing Center in Knoxville. He is a natural! Once attached to the rope, he shot up the 40 foot walls without fear. Understanding that his next handhold could be discovered by straightening a bent leg seemed intuitive to him. Noah made it up the wall twice before feigning to hunger. Cathy only had her hand sucked into the ATC (brake) once. My supple skin only lost a few layers of epidermis due to belaying. We had a blast!
My ten year old girl has this wonderful opportunity to travel to Costa Rica. This is where she will be:
Evan, 7 years old, talking to Mom: "I thought Daddy and I were still cleaning the garage today. I’m his best helper."
I love that boy so much!
Before I was of age to drive, I worked at a bus company "cleaning" the buses. I really learned to drive the buses (everything from 21 seater buses to full size city buses) including sliding them around in the snow for fun. I also drove the cars of the employees of the bus company and the surrounding businesses as they would pay us to wash their vehicles.
In high school, I learned to drive in a station wagon then had the pleasure of rebuilding a Triumph Spitfire.
In college I walked and used the bus for 3 years then bought a Dodge D50 pickup which was estimated to have a year’s life left in it. I made it last 5 years.
My first brand new vehicle was a 1995 (purchase date Nov 1994) Jeep Wrangler. It ran until a few weeks ago when the head gasket developed a horrid leak and it now sits in the driveway awaiting evaluation and repair. The engine may be beyond repair.
My wife’s first brand new vehicle was a 1995 Dodge Neon. It ran until a couple of weeks ago when it finally just died on the Interstate and was towed to the house. It is either a) a timing belt problem which is internal to the engine and makes the car scrap metal, b) a head gasket repair similar to the Jeep, or c) (hopefully!) a bad water pump.
We’ve been through other cars including an Aerostar, a red Ford thing that I cannot recall the name of, a motorcycle, and of course our current primary mode of transportation, a Dodge Grand Caravan.
Today, the Caravan decided it no longer wanted to shift gears. The diagnosis? A transmission rebuild and the family eats ramen noodles for the rest of the month.
A family of 7, with 6 people still at the house, 5 of driving age, 3 with licenses and a 4th taking his driving test today, goes from 3 cars to zero in a matter of weeks. Knoxville really needs better public transportation! And I need a full-time mechanic at the house!
Tis a beautiful Sunday
On a three day weekend
The sun shines brightly
And I think of working on Amy’s clubhouse
I imagine playing with my children
Riding bikes and swimming
Frisbee golf and adventures
Explorations and local attractions
I think of cleaning the garage
And improving the house
All while typing away at my computer
So that perhaps the next beautiful Sunday
I can make these things a reality.
I really wanted to have a nice relaxing Saturday night to clear my head and find some extra happiness. Oh, of mice and men! Slow FTP. What could I do? Naturally, run to the steamed broccoli drive-thru. While at the local Chinese buffet, struggling to understand what the staff was trying to say, my phone buzzed with a panicked child, "The bathroom is flooding! Come right away!" I reply, "but I’m not at home." The ten year old quandaries, "where are you?" My head explodes, picturing a naive child talking on the phone, a wife unknowingly cleaning in the basement, while rivers flow through my home. All was well. The flood was bad. But our saving grace, were the tampons for they absorbed it well.
Tommy: "We need a kitten."
Me: "No we don’t."
Tommy: "I’ll take good care of it."
Me: "When you have your own place to live, you can have a kitten."
Cathy: "If you clean the litter box for our cat every day for one month, you can have a kitten."
Tommy: "Yea!"
Me: "Make it six months."
Cathy: "One month."
Me: "I don’t want another cat!"
12 days later, Tommy: "12 days and I’ve cleaned the litter box every day."
I think I have roughly 18 days to build Tommy a small apartment near Amy’s clubhouse.
To look in the mirror and see your father looking back is a bit shocking; to see your grandfather looking back is down right disturbing!
I cannot improve upon Cathy’s Pulitzer Prize worthy post. Do read!
