Idle Ramblings of a Slightly Mad Man

This title, this statement, I am not a big believer in.  But something happened last night that made me think that sometimes things do happen for a reason.

As I went to get ready for bed, very late last night, I noticed a dirty cup on the nightstand that one of my chucklehead kids had inadvertently left.  It reminded me that I had loaded the dishwasher and wanted to run it before bed, which, as it turns out, I had forgotten to do. 

I grabbed the cup and headed to the kitchen and placed the cup inside and added the soap and started the dishwasher. 

Maybe it is a coincidence, maybe not.  But it did make me think, for just a moment, that maybe some things do happen for a reason.

What is there to say?  It was a long holiday weekend.  In most ways it was rather routine.  But there are some highlights from the weekend worth sharing.  For example, Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, it was nearly 70 around here, which is not the norm.  I hung out the Christmas lights on the house.  This is way early for me but I am beginning to smarten up.  I would rather be on the roof on a 70 degree day than a 30 degree day, which is what I fear if I waited too long.

After hanging up the lights I went to work on picking up the leaves in the yard.  I raked big piles only to find my 4 year old son diving into them.  What is a father to do in a situation like this?  I joined him.  We leaped from pile to pile throwing leaves at each other and burying each other in the piles.  Looking back, I would have to say that this was one of those “stop and smell the roses” moment. 

After the two of us showered up, we went over my mother-in-laws for Thanksgiving dinner.  My sister-in-law Donna was there and anyone that has been reading for a while knows that where there is Donna there is usually Donnaisms.  For those that have not been reading long a Donnaism is a mutilation of the English language while she is sober.  Unfortunately for all of us, she was drinking this night.  She did say one funny thing that had us laughing all night.  There was a box of “Mini Eclairs” and she read the box as “Mint Escalades” and then ate one.  She then told everyone that they don’t taste like mint and wanted everyone to try a Mint Escalade.  And yes, we were all too busy laughing to try a Mint Escalade.  She finally passed out on the sofa shortly after.

My wife was one of the crazy fools that went out Black Friday shopping.  She was up at 2:30 AM and out the door by 3 PM.  I slept nicely until 9 AM. 

The rest of the weekend was uneventful.  Just relaxed around the house and did menial household chores for the rest of the weekend.

I am now ready for the craziness that is the countdown to Christmas.  Fighting the mall crowds, visiting Santa Clause, fighting mall crowds, staying up late to wrap up the kids Christmas presents and fighting mall crowds.  Bring it on!

I wnated to take a moment before I get really busy to wish all of my readers a very Happy and Wonderful Thanksgiving. 

And so ends the 2007 NASCAR season. The 2007 Chase for the Nextel Cup was a dud, in my opinion. By the last 7 races there was not one spark of excitement. What NASCAR had hoped would be a comeback season turned out to be more lackluster than blockbuster.There were more stories about next year than this year for NASCAR. Who Dale Earnhardt Jr would sign with or if Joe Gibbs Racing would switch to Toyota dominated more headlines than Toyota’s racing program growing stronger or Ricky Rudd’s retirement or how all NASCAR events drove with unleaded fuel for the first time ever.

It’s a cold, rainy, damp morning and the first day of my vacation.  The wife is at work and the kids in school and daycare.  I really have nothing to do today.  I could lounge around naked and surfing the web (there is an image you’ll have stuck in your head all day) but what I probably do is head up to the attic and reorganize.

During the summer the temperatures in the attic make it difficult to do anything.  Usually, if you need to put something up there you just open the door and toss it in.  Who cares where it goes.  Then, every fall I go back up there and spend the day fixing the mess we made all summer. 

I also have to get out the Christmas lights and decorations.  This weekend, after Thanksgiving, I will hang the Christmas lights on the house.  I don’t turn them on this early, I just hang them before the weather gets too cold to be on a roof.  Sure it looks a little silly having them up but I am sure glad that I am not the guy who two weeks before Christmas is up on a cold roof bundled up like Nanook of the North fumbling with little tiny lights with heavy thick gloves. 

So, I guess I better get started. 

I am walking through the mall, while my wife is getting her nails done, with my 4 year old son and up ahead of us is a group of teenagers standing around and hanging out.  As we walk up towards them, my son loudly and proudly says “What the hell do they think they are doing?”

Other adults are now looking at me and I am sure thinking what a bad parent I must be.  I just look down to him and say “Be nice.  You’ll be one of them some day.  Hey!  Look!  Let’s go into KayBe!”

Thanksgiving is traditionally the busiest travel holiday in the nation.  Everyone heads home for Thanksgiving. 

For my family and I we used to just go one town over to my grandparents.  Even though they less than 5 miles away we would have to drive over a small creek, along the woods to get there.  We used to sing the “Over the river and Through the woods to Grandmothers house we go” song because when you are 6 a creek seems like a river.

Now that I am older and with a family it is not as magical as when I was a kid.  We now go to my in-laws and instead of just playing as a child, as an adult I help get dinner ready, help clean up after eating and then get back home to get kids showered and ready for bed.   It is not the fun lazy holiday that I remember.

We never traveled great distances for the holidays as a family, now or when I was growing up.  All my family was local.  I’m not complaining.  I like that they are close.  To be able to have a short drive to get home and crash is nice.  I think I would dread a long car ride home after filling myself past capacity.   

My favorite part of Thanksgiving is the day or 4 after.  When I get to eat turkey sandwiches, turkey soup, and anything else that can be made from turkey left overs.  It is the left overs that I really enjoy.

Why don’t cats fart?  I never hear cats fart.  I have heard dogs fart.  A dog will fart and then look up at you with a smile.  Kinda like guys do when they are all sitting around watching football together.  But cats, they never do. 

Am I wrong for keeping the money I found?  My wife thinks I should but I think I should keep it.  After all, if someone was that concerned about their money they would empty their pockets before putting their clothes in the laundry basket. 

I feel that anything that falls out of pockets in the laundry or dryer while I am working on the laundry goes to me.  It should not be my fault that, in a moment of laziness, money was not removed from pockets. 

Finders Keepers.

I am a single father now.  I have been getting the kids ready for school and daycare and picking them up after I am done work.  I was able to get some housework done and entertain the kids at the same time.  They have been bathed and fed all without any issues.  What is so hard about this?

My wife left me for a long weekend in Florida.  She is deserving.  I leave her alone for nearly one third of the year alone with the kids while I travel for work.  When I call at night and check in with her she is quick to vent about how difficult the kids are or how she is cleaning up a mess that they made.  By the end of the week she is so stressed out and venting on the phone that I almost don’t feel like coming home.  I would rather be in Utah, Boston or NYC then come home to everything she complained about.

These past few days have been easy.  The kids have been well behaved and cleaned up after theirselves.  They are getting along with each other and helping me run errands.  They have been better behaved these past few days than they usually act.  So what is the difference?  Why don’t they act this way with their mom?  Or maybe my wife is exaggerating how bad it is being alone with them.  I am not sure.

I talked to my wife today and told her about how great they have been and she almost sounded disappointed that they were not bad for me like they are for her.   I told her how enjoyable the kids have been, how well behaved they have been, how easy to handle they have been and then I once again spoke without thinking and said, “This is a piece of cake.  I don’t know why you get all stressed while I am away.  This is easy.  What is so hard?”  To which she answered, “You!  For another week!”