Blazing Heat (It does change People)

Living in the bay area there are several luxuries that we take for granted? Some of these luxuries we will probably never even realize or acknowledge consciously as a luxury. We just wake up every morning and there they are so we begin to expect them as normal God given rights. The area is beautiful, careers are plentiful (they used to be), the ocean is close by, the mountains are not far away and the weather is amazingly neutral almost the entire year. For 12 months every year the weather stays consistently in the 60′s to 80′s and outdoor activity abounds almost every weekend.

Owning a house in the mountains gives me an even greater opportunity in that I can frequently spend time at the lake in the summer and in the winter spend most weekends snowboarding. This past weekend was no exception. I drove up to the house expecting to have a fun filled weekend in the sun. The sun. OMG, the sun was out in full force. It beat down on us keeping even the nighttime temperatures in the high eighties and the daytime………….. It was hitting 110 plus degrees. I saw my mild mannered girlfriend actually transform into, well…… she reads this blog so I have to be a little careful.

My kids spent most of the weekend at each other’s throats. The bickering and fighting was non-stop. Everyone seemed on edge. We voted both days to skip the lake and instead opted for the movies one day, shopping at Wal-Mart some (air conditioning) and for the rest of the time devoting whatever energy we could muster on finding shade and keeping as cool as possible. 110 degrees, are you fricking kidding me. I don’t remember the last time I was so miserably hot. My dog, which is a black lab and rivals “Marley” for her untendered exuberance and constant energy, was subdued. I have never seen that dog laying down so much but she was lethargic and moved from her water dish to laying on the deck and nothing else.

Maybe that was Beckhams issue as he snapped attempting to hurdle the on field barriers and take on fans in an all out brawl. He had to be held back by security to keep him from jumping into the stands. Maybe it was just a little too hot and he snapped. In the past I would have condemned such activity but after this weekend I can almost understand it. Heat makes people crazy. Maybe the problem in Honduras has nothing more instigating it other than the fact it is to close to the equator and God only knows how hot it is right now. Why don’t we try shipping them a bunch of air conditioners and see if that doesn’t ease tensions? It would probably take less than a week and everything would work out with all of the coup leaders hugging the past regime.

Is it just me or does anyone really care who judges the American Idol wanna-a-be stars. Simon is really the only one who counts and that is mainly because he is so damn mean (honest) and slams contestants right and left. Isn’t that part of the appeal of the show to humiliate some people publicly for our entertainment? My guess is they must keep the light shined on Simon raising the temperature in his seat so he turns into an ass. On the few occasions where he is nice the air conditioning must have been set at too high a level.

I am leaving this morning and as much as I love the mountains can’t wait to get back to the moderate temperatures of the bay area. God it is hot. It is 3:30 AM and I think I see my skin melting a little this morning.

Teenagers know everything, Just ask them.

You are never more intelligent or more worldly or more knowledgeable than when you are a teenager. Just ask anyone in their teens. They are always more than willing to inform you just how much they know. They are happy to tell you where you are mistaken, how they are more well read, how you could possibly never understand what they are going through or how to help them in any way. They really are the most well rounded age group of any bar none.

I have a teenager just in case you were wondering. My parents who live in IL gave my daughter the opportunity to stay with them for a week. It was a great idea since I have limited trust in her to stay in my house on her own and I fully expect my mother to watch her 24 hours a day. My parents might let her do things I would not normal do but at least I can rest peacefully knowing she is not making out with some boy on my couch while I am at work. Isn’t that every father’s worst nightmare. No matter what age my daughters will get to be I will never be comfortable with them making out with any boy.

The only issue was getting my daughter to IL. She is 15 plus years old so I decided to give her the chance to fly on her own. She had one connecting flight in Denver so I crossed my fingers and took her to the airport Friday afternoon. I checked her in, got both boarding passes, talked her through the process and watched her for 30 minutes as she meandered her way through the security check in point. I called her on her cell phone as she made her way to the gate and felt comfortable she was on her way. I was rushing with my girlfriend and my other two daughters as we were headed up to the mountains.

I raced home we packed up the truck and in a short 45 minutes was on our way. I called my daughter the second we got in the truck and asked her if she was in her seat comfortably waiting to take off. I was surprised when she told me (it was 5 PM) that she was still sitting at her gate reading her book. Her flight was scheduled to take off at 5 PM. I asked her if it was late and she responded in her gruff leave me alone voice that she didn’t know. After a tumultuous conversation where I finally convinced her that she was in jeopardy of missing her flight if she hadn’t already I convinced her to talk to somebody at the counter.

She spoke to a rude United attendant who was less than helpful and he scoffed at her that he would not only not talk to me over the phone but that she had missed her flight. I swear to god the service we receive on United is at an all time low. I used to love that airline and now I cringe every time I have to fly it. Once my last bit of miles run out I will only use them as a last resort. They must only hire the rudest people possible. So after missing her flight she was mortified and extremely upset not wanting to discuss the situation but insisting that I come and pick her up.

I turned the car around and after talking to my mileage representative discovered it was the last flight of the day so I had no choice but to pick her up. She went with us to the mountains and although I think she was genuinely saddened by her loss she still was struggling with the idea that had she listened to me she might have fared better. I now have her on a flight Monday morning where we will attempt the process again and hopefully she will make it this time. She is so hard headed. I am not sure if that comes from being a teenager, a woman or a mixture of both.

I hope that the second round has her in IL by Monday evening and even though she has missed half her vacation she can still have a great adventure.

Those crazy kids. Do they ever get to a point where they grow up enough to listen to anything a parent says.

Taking a Second Job

I was recently approached by somebody who had the idea of taking a second job. At first the idea seemed a little funny to me but in reality what is it that I am doing? I work as a corporate FP&A director during the day and during nights/weekends I write as much as time will allow. I enjoy it immensely and gain satisfaction from the self reflection. It reminded me of when I started this website and a friend of mine reprimanded me for not acknowledging other people’s dreams as highly as I rate my own. Somebody who loves gardening should garden. They shouldn’t sit in front of a computer on their down time.

I wonder about the reasoning for taking a second job. My writing doesn’t feel like a job to me but more like a hobby that I look forward to doing. The person who approached me talked of her occupational divergence as a means to an end. She enjoys Yoga and they had informed her if she wanted to work a few hours a week that they would be happy to exchange her time for free Yoga sessions. Joining a Yoga club is not the cheapest of endeavors. I wondered to myself if the time was worth the payment.

In my own self centered way I compare it to my desires and I can’t equate the two. I love writing. I know I keep saying that but damn it I do. I don’t get paid anything. I don’t know if I will ever make any money but I also don’t really care. What are the reasons that people branch out of their comfort zone and explore other opportunities? Some people don’t have a choice. They must work a second job to make ends meet. There are countless people who will work their entire lives and will never get ahead. Others possibly like me, to explore untapped desires and fulfill a hidden dream of sorts I guess.

Some just to offset an indulgent expense they might otherwise not have savored. A simple means to work a few hours a week and pay for something that seemed too extravagant to invest in with the fruits of their main career. It got me to thinking of the hourly rate we are paid and at what point is the price becomes too high. You are expected to hold down a job and the wages you earn are a reflection of your education, history and at times luck. The 50 hours a week you are expected to labor have a price and as long as you can negotiate your rate life is good. I then wonder how people value their down time. The time that you would be relaxing or for me writing or flying a kite or having a drink or the thousands of other things that you might choose to versus having to slave away for the man.

I find that I now place a premium on these hours. They are precious and to be savored like a fine wine. If you are lucky you can taste the succulent drink daily. For me writing is a drug that I lust after as often as I can possibly inject into my daily routine. For others it might be anything that drives the inner happiness. I am not sure that I would be willing to give up this time readily for a second job unless I was forced to with no other choices at my disposal. My choice would be living with less, giving up what I had to in order to maintain my firm grip on the precious hours that were at my disposal.

I also respect the ingenuity of bartering for what you might otherwise not be able to enjoy and time is something that can be easily bartered away. As with all things there is no right or wrong answer. What might be right for me might not make sense for somebody else. Too each his own. My only thoughts are how precious time is. How fleeting life is. One day we all wake up with the inspiration of what happened. How did we get where we are. Where are the moments that we so often took for granted. I look around and feel incredibly lucky to have what I do. Three beautiful daughters and an amazing woman who happens to be everything I could ever want.

I only wish I had more time to share with them. The one thing that is truly finite.

Teenagers Growing Up

I just booked a flight for my fifteen year old daughter to visit my parents for a week over the summer. She will actually be leaving tomorrow believe it or not. God it will be so strange dropping her off at the airport and watching her go through security all on her own. I am sure she will be nervous yet excited at the same time. Two emotions that seem to fill and expand throughout the teenage years. The level of firsts as any teen explores and tests boundaries pushing to find their way in life is an amazing yet tumultuous journey to say the least.

It will be nice for her to get away from the entanglements of her mother and even myself. Grandparents have a way of spoiling kids that nobody else can quite equate. While I don’t agree with the approach my parents take to life in many areas the exposure of them to my daughter will hopefully be a positive everyone. It has been over 8 years since my daughter has seen them and as you can imagine there are a lot of changes that have occurred since she was 7. They most likely will have some getting to know each other time in the beginning as they explore evolved personalities.

It will also be nice to have some time with my two smaller daughters without the drama that my older one brings. Having three daughters ensures theatrics to the home on a daily basis. Thanks to my girlfriend I have a camp set up for the little ones next week. It sounds exciting and will be new if nothing else. With a large household it is always difficult finding that alone time with anyone so it is nice when the environment shrinks a little. Oddly the dynamics always seem to shift in unknown ways when one of our family parts is absent for any length of time.

The double edge sword remains the same as you give kids new experiences. It is hard to see them growing up yet exciting and fulfilling at the same time. Families are defined in so many ways today that the metamorphosis continues to amaze me from one year to the next. I can’t wait to see the dynamics a year from now as my relationship grows and the children evolve and life takes us down new and interesting paths. It is always toward the end of my week without the kids where I begin to miss them the most. They bring such life to our home it is always hard without them.

Ironically it is sometimes hard with them as well. Those damn little vixens can drive me insane at times but I will always love them. I will cross my fingers as I pick up my oldest tomorrow and to her surprise drive her to the airport for her week long adventure. Even though we have discussed the possibility of her going she is unaware that I have made the plans. It will be an exciting surprise as she embarks on her own to the world that lies in middle southern Middle America.

Who can imagine what adventures she will discover?

Wearing Underwear Outside

What is crossing the line for attire while walking outside? How many kids in today’s schools wear pajama pants to class? Do you have a teenager? The pubescent kids, especially the girls seem to thrive in wearing the nightwear in the realm of our institution of learning. Is there no end to what is acceptable? I vote for the Catholic way and say let’s bring back uniforms. I know that I make fun of Catholics and have even recently been reprimanded for doing so needlessly but I think they have the right idea in uniformity. Kids have a desire to express themselves and for the most part I think uniqueness is what drives America but…….

Tonight my girlfriend asked me to venture outside and see if her car was locked. We don’t have a street light in front of my house so it is relatively dark. Her car was parked across the street but just the same I didn’t feel that anyone would be able to see me. I exclusively wear boxer briefs. I think boxers give you a little too much freedom and plain briefs are a little too confining. Boxer briefs seem to be the perfect compromise. I can’t believe that there is any other kind of underwear even manufactured. Women love them, except in Europe wear men seem to thrive on bikinis. Boxer briefs just seem to be the all around best solution.

So I ran outside in my boxer briefs and nothing else. No shirt, no sox, no pants, no anything, simply just my boxer briefs. Walked over to the car opened the door, it was unlocked and after securing it ventured back inside. Nothing happened if that is what you are expecting. Nobody saw me. There was no casual encounter with a gorgeous girl gawking at my rock hard body as I flexed my way to and forth from the automobile. Not that it would matter. I am so completely enthralled with my girlfriend that Emma Watson could have been outside and I would have said thank you but no. Actually I think Emma is cute but she is a little on the young side anyway.

Now if Jennifer Love Hewitt were outside I might be in trouble. Ahhhh, just kidding. I have become a changed man in the last few months. I don’t mind running outside in my underwear and I no longer pine after Jennifer Love Hewitt. She is still hot though, just not as hot as my girlfriend. So back to the question. Is it wrong to run outside quickly in your underwear? Is there a limit to the level of skin that should be shown to your neighbors? I wouldn’t venture out naked but is the minimal coverage acceptable? I wouldn’t barbecue in underwear on a Sunday afternoon but in the dark for a quick jaunt outside seems fine. Does it matter what I look like in my underwear? Should the makeup of my body have any bearing on the level of clothes that I must maintain?

These and other meaningless, pointless questions plague me. Who has the answer to these perplexing dilemmas? Is there an all knowing oracle out there that can help me? As long as it isn’t the one who calls himself the Original Moron I am fine. I can’t handle his meaningless wandering lost attempts at trying to be clever. If he can ever figure out how to articulate his thoughts in a significant delivery then I might listen to his feedback. Until then I will dream of skating on ice because hell isn’t freezing over any time soon.

For those of you wondering yes that is really me. I don’t normally post pictures of myself in my blogs because I don’t want to distract from the writing but yes that is me. That is me standing there in my underwear looking hot beyond all imagination. I am serious. I look that hot. It is me damn it. I swear. God, I hate all you people. It is me and that is final. Just trust me. I would never mislead you.

Texting Teen falls down Manhole

I was reading earlier on the Fox News site about a texting teen who fell down an NYC manhole. That is too damn funny. Our society is so self absorbed now a days it is only a matter of time before we stop talking directly on any occasion. My daughter spends no time talking to her friends when they are around but instead her and her friends spend all their time texting other people who are not with them. Is everything more exciting than what you are currently doing? Have we reached the epitome of the grass is always being greener on the other side? The best part of the article was the “you might be interested in these” section at the bottom.

You know how at the bottom of every article there are teasers to get you to click through to other parts of a website. Fox News had this for reference. “People who read this also read” and then the articles were “Cab Driver beheads self in Bizarre Suicide”, “Body found in Manhattan High Rise Where cleaning Woman Vanished”, “Boston Zoo may close and Euthanize Hundreds of Animals”, “Florida Boy 12, Remains Jailed in 5-week old Cousins Death”. Jesus, are you kidding me. The people who like to read about a texting teen falling down a manhole are one sick group. All they seem to like is death and murder. Were they hoping that the teen died when she fell?

I personally clicked on the article because I have a teen and every time she holds up her phone the world stops as she knows it. She gets so absorbed in her messages of which she has several going on at all times, she can’t navigate to the living room. I can see her falling straight down a manhole and it is too funny. It is always fun and games until somebody loses an eye. Favorite saying of mine. Anyway it is interesting have differing views on life. Just ask my latest heckler. She really took offense to my Peeing in Bed blog. I am not sure if she got offended from the idea of a dog peeing in bed (just for the record it grosses me out) or my frequent reference to Catholics depicting the group in a derogatory way.

Just for the record my girlfriend is Catholic and while I don’t personally have anything against them they are a large group and lets be serious are easy to make fun of. I will just as readily make fun of Baptists, Methodists, Jews, Protestants, Jehovah’s Witnesses and any other religious group. I am not against spirituality mind you. I actually consider myself spiritual. I am against organized religion as I have never met a group that was more money hungry and out to scam people than the organized church. They are always holding their hand out for a donation and where in the hell does the money go. No pun intended. I am sure it doesn’t go to hell.

Still, how many documented criminal acts do we have to see from TV evangelists to know that they are no better than politicians. They want our money so they can drive around in limousines and live in mansions. I am all for charities but like charities just remember you have to pick any organization very carefully. Most are simply looking out for themselves and care nothing in the end for anyone else. I remember when I was young and our church elders were all jailed for stealing money from a group of elderly people who ended up losing millions of dollars. The whole process makes me sick.

Anyway, I digress. I like and dislike all religions equally. I think everyone has their pros and cons. If you Catholics take offense to my writing then all I can say is stop making it so easy to be made fun of. Tell your priests to live their things in their pants and stay away from altar boys and stop with the smacking of hands from all the those crazy nuns. Just live and let live is my motto. Now, as I was reprimanded for writing pointless blogs you should learn this lesson from the above.

Shit, now you made me forget what in the hell I was saying. If you are Catholic, ok let’s pick somebody else. If you are Methodist then for God’s sake don’t text and walk at the same time if you are under the age of 20. The rest of you take a flying leap down a manhole and when you get down there tell us what you see. I have never been in a man’s hole and don’t anticipate doing so any time in the future. Not that there is anything wrong with that. It just isn’t my thing. I prefer making fun of Catholic people in my spare time. Shit did it again. Ok, how about those Jewish people. Didn’t somebody say they had big noses one time?

Dinner in the City with my Teen

As everyone knows teenagers are all intelligent, experienced beyond their years and there is not much that you can tell them for which they don’t already know the answer. If you know one just ask them. Assuming you can pry them away from their cell phone or IPod. Those are permanently attached to their ears. It is with amazement and awe when they even give you a hint at being excited beyond something that deals with their friends or the latest, who is dating who. That is why it was such a fun treat to take my daughter to SF last night for dinner.

I picked her up after work, she was already ready and we drove down to Pac Heights where my girlfriend has an apartment. She lives in the city and has intimate knowledge of where we can hang out and have a great, even if expensive meal. Our reservations were not until 8:30 so we walked around for a little while and you could see my daughter’s eyes light up, darting back and forth taking in the experience. She became enamored with hair color since we had seen somebody with purple hair as we drove around looking for a parking space. It was funny to hear her comment on everyone’s style as she glanced from her phone to the outside world. While she did not express her excitement directly you could tell how enlightening it was by her inability to stop talking. She was jumping from one subject to the next in an endless flow of hyper statements.

It was wonderful to see her so worked up. When we sat down to dinner we ordered a pitcher of Sangria and when the waiter poured three glasses you could see a little glint in her eye as she looked at me then at my girlfriend and then back at me again. I was fine with her having a glass (she only had a few sips since she didn’t care for it) and it made her feel confident and part of the grown up crowd to be treated as an equal. It is amazing how fast she is growing up, becoming a young lady. Less than a year away and she will be driving and God only knows what I will do then. She is already vying for a Jeep which is her favorite car in the world and listing out all the reasons she feels that she is due the vehicle as she builds her case.

Dinner was nice and we stopped for some ice cream on the walk back to the apartment. Seemed like a perfect evening. The only negative is when my daughter was given the couch to sleep on. She is a little spoiled as she recoiled from the thought of retiring in a place so beneath her. I remember when I was growing up and slept on the floor on many occasions and it never seemed to bother me. In the end she managed fine and spent a couple of hours before bed watching TV and yes as you might guess texting on her cell.

It isn’t that often I get to spend time with only one child. Having three is great but you do lose some of that one on one experience that is needed from time to time. She commented on the drive home in the morning about how much fun she had. It was probably as much fun for me as it was for her. We will not have too many more of these times as she continues to drift further and further away into her own life experiences. I will miss her but I am also so proud to watch her flourish. She has come a long way in the past few months and she continues to grow in strength and maturity.

I do love her so much despite her being a teenager.

Shopping with your Teenage Daughter

I have to admit to disliking shopping in general. When I walk into a mall it feels like the air is being sucked from my lungs and my energy level drops to near lethargic levels. It must be something about the stale artificial environment with the luminous lighting that lowers the level of energy to a point where you are near comatose. Is it possible that death will be nothing more than a visit to your local mall where you are inundated with loud obnoxious TV’s blaring some rap song about how this little girl was molested at 16 and had a baby? What in the hell is up with that? So as you can see shopping is not high on my priority list but having a teenage daughter and blessed with two additional daughters who are both younger, I am forced to shop now and will be shopping for a while to come.

My teenage daughter in a rare opportunity this week asked me if she could spend a little alone time with just her and I. Her two younger sisters are spending the week in the mountains and other than my girlfriend it was just the two of us. My girlfriend graciously bowed out of the adventure although she is in tune with the entire process and would have been much more adept at perusing the aisles than I was. We entered the mall specifically looking for jeans and to narrow down the selections further my daughter had requested Pac Sun specifically. Unfortunately the mall she chose didn’t have a Pac Sun (I had tried to tell her this) so she went from one store to another attempting to find something that caught her eye.

I can enter a store, buy 5 pair of jeans, go to lunch, catch a movie and step outside for a breath of fresh air all in the time it takes my daughter to even begin the process of trying something on. She as most women shop in some insane way that I will never in my lifetime begin to understand. Lucky for me I had brought some JournalStone magnets and at every register I strategically placed one for future viewing. How intelligent am I? Wait, I am seriously asking. How intelligent am I? Is that worthwhile or just a waste of my time. We managed to get through the evening and finally did purchase a pair of jeans. I was so happy she got at least one pair so the trip wouldn’t be considered unproductive.

I must admit that given the choice I would go shopping with my daughters every day if that was what it took to spend time with them. They grow up so quickly it is hard to believe at times they can turn into little devils. It was probably a bunch of teenage girls who dug up those graves in the historic burial site in Illinois. I think it makes sense. Why bury people with jewelry. Let’s dig them all up and sell the stuff. Is that illegal? In Iran and Iraq don’t they just did these big holes and dump masses in them anyway. It is easier if you keep all the chemicals in one big hole versus spreading it across the country. Most of them died by being mass sprayed anyway. Maybe they should think of that in China. It would be less mess on TV if people just collapsed. The government could blame Piglet Flue. Isn’t that still going around?

Just think what they will bury Michael Jackson with. Now that would be one grave worth digging up. Uh Oh, wait a minute. I think mommy Jackson who loved her son very much will still not want to part with money. Money does rule in the end. Well or maybe it is Jewish people who do. Don’t you love Israel? They just bomb the shit out of anyone they want and don’t really care about political fallout. Sarkozy is begging those damn religious fanatics not to blow up Iran but in the end Israel will do what it wants. I mean didn’t France beg Germany not to hurt it as well. French people do a lot of drinking and begging don’t they? The world might respect them a little more if they just stood on their own two feet and had a backbone.

Jesus wasn’t this blog about shopping. I ended up having a nice time. Got to bond with my daughter a little bit and we then went to see a movie. Can anyone guess what it was? Yes, the Transformers movie that I just wrote about. As with all blogs it wouldn’t be a blog without mentioning Megan Fox, Isabel Lucas and Emma Watson. It would have been such an easier transition if they would have just put Emma in the Transformers movie as well.

Whatever happened to Carrie Prejean by the way? Was she in Illinois digging lately? Is she Catholic?

When do Teenagers wake up.

Can anyone tell me what in the hell is wrong with teenagers? I mean I know they are hormonal and they are completely insane at times but what happens when they just don’t give a damn. They just don’t seem to care about failing. Their number one goal seems to be texting on their cell phone and talking to their friends. While I get that part of it, what is the deal with school? Do they just not give a shit about life at all? Are they so self absorbed that they think everything will just be handed to them, giving them some God defined right of prosperity? Do they realize that someday they will have to actually work for a living and get a job?

I swear if there was a return policy I think I might send mine back. God only knows I will most likely be supporting her until she retires. How will she ever gain the ability to support herself? I might even be able to handle all of this if she at least acted somewhat maturely but OMG you deal with the hormones of a teenager and you get inundated with the personality of a child. I honestly would like to throw my hands up in the air and give up at times.

She continually complains about me waking her up but somehow she manages to stay awake at night until three in the morning. You try and let her self regulate but she has the decision making maturity of an infant. She thinks she can scream at the top of her lungs, refuse to get out of bed and then when she fails to be at class on time it is of course anyone’s fault but her own. I would actually be able to tolerate her attitude if it even appeared like she cared at all about moving forward in life but to be honest with you I don’t see it. I don’t see her caring about anything other than her phone.

Every time I think she has turned a corner she blows it again. The latest is her failing to get to class on time (summer school as her grades were so poor during the school year) and setting herself up to fail over the summer as well. All of this after she is now six weeks into summer and has not read more than 10 pages of either book in her assigned summer reading. Jesus Christ, I don’t mind if somebody doesn’t do well if they are trying their best but it kills me to see somebody fail for the simple reason they just don’t care.

How can you instill a sense of responsibility in a teenager? How can you help them understand the consequences of their actions? What happens when grounding them doesn’t work, when taking their cell phone doesn’t work or when every form of punishment you inflict backfires. Rewarding them doesn’t seem to help as you have to continually lower the bar to the point of rewarding them for failing. I honestly am at a loss. What in the hell do you suggest?

PS, I do love her immensely which makes it all the harder at times.

Getting out of Bed

Some mornings don’t you find it hard to get out of bed? The news doesn’t help with the likes of Iran blowing up its citizens, China killing off any protestors, North Korea not nuking anyone yet but we can still hope right. Then I hear the interaction of my girlfriend as she is making breakfast for everyone. The kids are asking for more syrup and Cassidy needs somebody to cut her pancakes. All of this she is juggling while cleaning out the refrigerator where the chocolate pudding showered it the night before. I love hearing the softness of her voice as she gently says “no more juice you have had a glass already how about a glass of milk or water.”

The weekend has been so relaxing. Hectic yes but relaxing still. A friend of mine suggested that if she makes it through the weekend that is a great sign. Dealing with kids has a huge reward but it is also very trying at times. Who with kids has not had to deal with the constant bickering back and forth that happens on occasions. It is like fingernails on a chalkboard crazy at times how they seem to live and breathe only to irritate each other. Then a few seconds later they are hugging and kissing and telling you they love you and all the anger melts into the background. OMG, what a roller coaster ride. Parents with multiple children can relate in all accounts I am sure.

It just all seems so right. A friend of mine once said to me that you will just know. You will know when something is right. If every time the phone rings you wish it were her, if every time there is a knock on your door you find yourself catching your breath, if every time you wake up you smile because she is there or if she isn’t you wake up wishing she were. There are so many nice wonderful people in the world and it is amazing how you inadvertently find somebody that makes everything perfect. My saying for the month is how perfect my girlfriend is on all accounts. Not perfect in actions with spilling things, forgetting things, getting frustrated at times or losing keys for the 10th time all in one morning but perfect for me.

Somehow all of those things that once seemed annoying, that irritated me with everyone else seem to be amusing with her. Every action brings a smile, warming my heart as I help in the process of looking for a cell phone that she held just a few short minutes ago. We might end up being late to every event in our lives never really being sure where the keys are but it will be many hours of happiness that I spend looking for them.

I lay here in bed, not wanting to get up just being content listening. Listening to the warmth that the house is filled with and the jubilation that has suddenly filtered its way into our lives.