Cross Country Ski Weekend

Fifteen years ago, the last weekend of January used to be a weekend that I feared.

I worked for a financial services company, in the I.T. department.  Our team supported the field agent compensation system.  Every Friday night, our programs calculated and payed commissions to thousands of people across the country.  Each week, one member of our team was "on-call" in case anything went wrong with the system.  If a program had an error, or data was incorrect, one of us would get a phone call in the middle of the night and we would need to get things fixed by morning.  I hated being on-call, but I worked with some pretty amazing people, who I knew were just a phone call away.  They could walk me through anything I couldn't figure out myself.

But on the last weekend of January, two of those amazing people, the two most important and helpful people, were not available.  Those two women would be in the north woods of Minnesota, in a cabin, and unreachable.  (Seems weird that there was a time when people could be unreachable....but this was before everyone had the internet in their pocket.)  They had an annual "girls only" trip to cross country ski, play cards, and relax.

I dreaded that weekend like no other, and I tried very hard to adjust the schedule so that my on-call week for the month did not fall on those days.

Several years later, my wife became very close friends with those two co-workers of mine.  In fact, they would be her co-workers too after she took a job at the same company...in the same I.T. department.  I had transferred to another area of the department and no longer had those stressful Friday night pay period runs.  But when my wife was invited to come along on the ski weekend, and I was left home alone with two toddlers....it was just as scary!  Who would feed us?  Or bath us?  Or make sure we went to bed on time?

So here we are, several years later again, and my wife just left for the ski weekend in northern Minnesota.  And you know what?  I'm not scared.

Not even a little nervous.

Sure, I'll get a little lonely, and we'll miss her.  But we'll also be ok.

Last year, we had a "camp out" in the living room.  The two kids, the dog, and I slept in out sleeping bags, and stayed up late watching movies.

Other years, we've attempted secret projects (like recovering the kitchen chairs) with varying levels of success while she was away.

We don't have anything planned for this weekend....just relaxing at home.

I hope my wife, and those friends of ours have a great time skiing and hanging out in the north woods all weekend.  I've got things covered here.

Stay-At-Home-Dad vs. The Tv: Round 2

I wrote last January about how I don't like to watch tv when I'm home by myself during the day.  How it feels like I've somehow given in if I watch tv.   And besides, there isn't anything good on anyway.

But now, there has been a development.   As I told my wife, we're so 2009.
Last week, we signed up for Netflix.

Now there is always something good on.
I can watch any episode of The Andy Giffith Show at the touch of a button!

Today, I spent an hour watching two episodes of How I Met Your Mother.  The two shows were from a couple years ago and deal with Marshall's dad dying.   I had read about them and wanted to see them, but never seemed to catch them on reruns.  That is a show I like to watch, but at the same time I don't like to watch.  It is an odd mix of inappropriate humor and emotional stories.  These two episodes made me cry like a baby, and cringe at some of the jokes that prevent me from watching when the kids are around.

My daughter has started watching the old Star Trek shows from the 60s.  She's up to season 1 episode  6.  She is embracing her Hertenstein family heritage.

Our tv landscape has changed...for the better?   We'll see.

I'm going to go watch more Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends.

Sick Day

My daughter stayed home from school today.  And luckily, the Ritz crackers and Sprite she had this morning have stayed down.  I don't know if I could have handled a repeat of last night (ewww....shuddering.....ewww).

She has been on the couch all day half sleeping and half watching HGTV....which is actually a little disappointing for me, I was hoping for a Disnel Channel or PBS Kids day.

This is her second day in the last two weeks missing some school due to illness.  I think that matches my total from High School.  I wasn't good at missing school.  I always felt like I was going to miss something and then be lost.  In fact we were just talking last night at supper about how I missed two weeks in 7th grade with the chicken pox - the last week of one quarter and the first week of the next quarter.  So I had to finish my Home Ec sewing project at home, and then start Industrial Arts a week after all the other kids.  I was telling her how much stress was involved in that for me... how all the other kids knew what they were doing and nobody really bothered to explain to me what to do.

(although getting to use my mom's sewing machine probably gave me a home field advantage in the sewing of the Chargers football helmet on my bag....so maybe it all evened out.)


In general I think my kids probably miss less school than the average kids due in no small part to my attitude toward missing school when I was young.  They'll wake up in the morning and tell me they don't feel good, and I ignore it.  Only if they bring it up multiple times will we get into a discussion about it....and then 99% of the time, I send them out the door.

Hero

When I first created this blog, it was going to be a place I would put stories I had written.  The first stories were about a stay-at-home-dad and his kids and their everyday adventures.  Those first few stories were very much based on my life and my kids...although none of them is actually true.

(if you are interested you can find them here:

Swimming Lessons

The Zoo

Bike Ride)

But as time went on, the blog evolved to be a place for my random thoughts, some relating to being a stay-at-home-dad and some not.  And some other stories that my kids had inspired, or helped create, or illustrated.

Looking over things on the computer today, I found another story I wrote a couple years ago.  It isn't really about a stay-at-home parent....or about being a dad....but I thought I'd stick it our here anyway.

It ended up being not quite as funny as I wanted...

HERO

The town of Hero, Wisconsin (population 701) is just like any other small town.  Well...not really.  You see, all the people living in Hero, (and even some of the pets) have super powers.  In downtown Hero you will find the same grocery stores, hardware stores, and barber shops as any other town.  But in Hero, Main Street also has stores like The Cape Cabana, Gadget-Mart, and The Mask Warehouse.  Instead of families going for walks or bike rides together, you can more often find families flying down to the corner store for ice cream.  Or taking the family rocket car out for a Sunday drive.

You might think that nobody in Hero ever needs help....but they do.  In a town full of superheros, whenever there is a lesson to learn, a class to teach, or an example to be given, Mr. Andrews, a hero of a different kind, is there.  He doesn’t wear a cape, or a fancy outfit, or have a colorful logo on his chest.  In fact, he is the only person in Hero ever seen wearing a suit and tie.  He doesn’t fly (at least no one has ever seen him fly) or have super muscle power.  But he always seems to be there when the people of Hero need him.  Nobody knows exactly where he comes from, or where he goes...they only know they’re happy to see him.

It was a bright sunny morning in Hero.  Nature Girl and Rope Boy were standing outside Gadget-Mart staring in the big front window.  The latest rocket boot accessory was on display.

“I wish I knew if we have enough money,” Nature Girl said.

Suddenly, as if from nowhere, he appeared.  Mr. Andrews stood next to Nature Girl.  “Can I help you figure that out?”

After a few minutes of learning how to count their collection of dollars, quarters, dimes and nickels, Nature Girl and Rope Boy were ready to go into the store.  Rope Boy gathered all of their money into his bag and turned around.

“Thanks Mr. And.....” But Mr. Andrews had vanished as quickly and as silently as he had appeared.

Over at the playground, Turtle Boy and the Pink Ninja were standing by the swing.

“But you already had a turn,” Turtle Boy was whining.

“You’ve had a turn too,” the Pink Ninja answered.  “I wish we could figure out whose turn it is.”

“Maybe we need a lesson in sharing,” a familiar friendly voice said from behind the slide.  Mr. Andrews stepped out of the shadows.

Pretty soon the Pink Ninja and Turtle Boy were laughing and singing as they took turns swinging and going down the slide.

“Wheee!” yelled Turtle Boy as he slid down the slide.  “Mr. Andrews, do you want a turn?”

“Where did he go?” the Pink Ninja said as she looked around.

They searched the playground but he was gone.

“I wonder where he goes.”

Weatherwoman stood outside the fence at the Hero community  swimming pool.  She watched the kids splashing and having fun.  She watched as they jumped from the spring board and went down the water slide.

“I wish I knew how to swim,” she said to herself.

“I could give you a few lessons,” Mr. Andrews said as he walked out of the locker room.

After convincing Weatherwoman to give it a try, and spending some time on the basics, she was ready to move from the kiddie pool to the big pool.  As she walked confidently to the water, she turned to thank Mr. Andrews.  But all she saw was the door to the locker room closing behind him.  

“Thank you!” she yelled toward him as she climbed down the steps and joined her friends in the pool.

As night falls on the little town of Hero, many superheros (young and old) are happier, they get along better, and they know a few more things than they did that morning thanks to a mysterious helpful and friendly hero.

I ran a marathon, I'm in great shape.....NOT!

I really need to get over this "I just ran a marathon...I'm in great shape!" mentality.

Two factors led me to the YMCA for a little workout this morning:

1.  It was weight watchers weigh-in day and I was very close to being up for the week.  So I needed a little last minute sweat to help me out.
2. I'm registered for the Door County Triathlon in July, so I'd better get back into some sort of a training mode.

I did 13 minutes on a stationary bike, after which I felt like my legs might fall off.

Then I ran for a total of 11 minutes on the YMCA track.  I may not be able to walk in the morning.

What happened?

Apparently three months of doing absolutely nothing wipes out all gains made training for and running a marathon.

5th Grade Band

My son began playing the trombone last summer.  Those first few weeks were a little tough on the ears, but he really has made good progress.  He has one lesson a week during the school day with other trombones.  And the entire band has an after school practice together once a week.  To me, that does not seem  like a huge time commitment.

But to him it does, apparently.  Last night he told me he didn't want to play trombone anymore.  It takes too much time.

My guess is that he would rather be home on the couch with his Ipod or playing minecraft on the computer....but really....one after school practice a week is too much time?

I think another part of it is that his trombone case is bigger than he is.  He does not enjoy carrying it to and from school.

So, my question is this...at what point do we give in and let him stop playing?
I'm certainly not there yet, but I don't want to be the parent that forces his kids to do things they don't like to do.  (flu shots and  dentist trips excluded)

How long do other parents force their kids to be in band (or choir, or soccer, or baseball, or drama club) even when the kids don't want to do it anymore.

Sometimes, I think if it were up to him, he'd never leave the house.


(Although I should add as a footnote, that I quit playing football after 7th grade in part because I liked to come home after school and watch the Brady Bunch on WTBS at 3:35....so maybe the apple does not fall far from the tree.)

Obviously this decision was not based on money

Cleaning out the basement this week, we (and by we, I mean my wife) decided we didn't need ALL the shoeboxes of tax documents, pay stubs, phone bills, etc. going back to 1994.  So I grudgingly brought several boxes up from the storage area to be shredded.  As I fed through the W2s and paycheck receipts, I couldn't help but fondly recall those first couple years of our marriage...two healthy incomes....poor spending habits.   Those were the days!

Obviously, the choice to stay home with the kids eight years ago was not based on money.  I think it was the right decision for us, and has overall been a very good thing.  But you wouldn't know that from comparing today's bank statement to the ones I'm feeding through the shredder.

Goals Update

We're 10 days into the new year.  Let's see....

Write - not so much happening here.  Still have a few ideas, nothing down on paper.  

Exercise - signed up for a triathlon in July, so I need to do something here.  Nothing yet.

Clean - Vacuumed today!  Woo-Hoo!

Figure out a plan for what to do with myself and the job situation - (crickets chirping)

The Bat

We bought some used cross country skis today for my wife and daughter at a fundraiser sale at our local YMCA.  My wife goes on an annual ski trip every winter, and my daughter has skied before and loved it, so we figured some inexpensive used skis would be a good investment in a fun hobby.  We did not find any poles or boots, so we also hit up the nearest "Play It Again Sports" store to finish outfitting the girls.

While my son and I waited for them to try on boots and find poles, he started checking out the baseball gear.  As you may or may not remember, my son has a checkered past with baseball.  The one year he played in an organized little league, he hated it.  He broke his arm that summer and was happy because it meant he wouldn't have to play baseball any more.  But he does like to play catch in our front yard, and occasionally will have me pitch to him on the field at the elementary school down the street.  So it's safe to say I didn't expect him to be impressed with any of the baseball stuff.

But soon he was wearing a fancy new batting helmet and watching kids in the batting cage.  After a while he came over to me (stationed on the bench guarding my wife's purse....like a good husband) and told me he had found a cool bat that he wanted to show me.

Now, I LOVE BASEBALL, so this actually excited me.  My son wants to buy a new bat.  Maybe I can sign him up for little league again.  Maybe he'll love it this time.  Maybe he'll be an all-star and play in High School and get a scholarship to college, or go right to the minor leagues......

"It spoke to me," he told me as he walked back to me with the bat.  "It needs some love."

So in a store filled with fancy brand new and some slightly used (but still fancy) aluminum bats,  he choose the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree bat.

"I don't think anybody else wants it, but I do."

As my wife said tonight as we talked about his purchase, "That boy has a big caring heart!"

He asked me why it was so cheap and got mad at me when I told him it was because it was broken and old.

I can't wait until next spring when we get our first nice day and we can walk down the street to the elementary school field and take some swings.

I just hope the bat survives.

What happens when I'm discovered?

In the not so distant future, my kids will probably get facebook accounts, and eventually that will lead them here.  What happens when they discover how clueless I really am?  They'll know I'm weak...it will be like sharks getting the scent of blood in the water.

2013 Begins

I've never been one to make resolutions...much less publish them...but this year I hope to do more blogging, but less pushing of my blog on the unsuspecting public via facebook.  So most of this will probably go unseen.  But that's ok.

I want to/plan to/should probably do more of these four things this year:

Write.  I have several ideas for more of stories, but I haven't gotten around to them.  The stories that my kids inspire, the stories that just come to me, just randomness.  Just write.

Exercise.  When I have something to shoot for, I do well.  When I don't, I don't.

Clean.  Would it kill me to run the vacuum a little more often?

Figure out a plan for what to do with myself and the job situation.  I don't know that I can really call myself a Stay-At-Home-Dad anymore as that implies my kids need me to stay home with them.

A little each day on those four things is the plan.  We'll see.