What's 10 Years in the Scheme of Things?

It's hard to beleive it has been ten years since the last post in the Garden. Well, not really, I guess. It's been an interesting time and maybe I'll fill the Garden with some details of the last decade or so. I don't really know. All I do know is that this feels nice. Typing thoughts and theories and craziness. Let's see where it goes... It's the eve of my 53rd birthday. Crap and wow. I'm sure if someone told me back in my mid-twenties that I'd make it to 53 I would have denied it. That would have been stupid bravado. An ignorant suggestion to be more like James Dean or Jim Morrison or Jack Kerouac. It all sounds cool when you're in your twenties. But now that I have children closer in age to those who died so young, too young, I think I am more appreciative of the years. I've seen a lot in my 53 and I'm good with it. What other choice do I have? So my 54th year begins with a day off of work. I had planned to work but it turns out the store is closed for Easter - go figure. I just hope I get holiday pay. The second day is going to be an interesting one. It involves lawyers and divorce. And that's just life. I don't know how things will turn out on day two. All I can do is continue to be the best person I can be and the best father I can be and no longer be the best husband I can be. But I can't predict the future. And I already got two days ahead of myself. Let's rewind a bit... Okay so I have no idea how to explain the last ten years of my life! I raised my kids. I worked at their school. I managed diabetes. I packed lunches. I drove to practices. I made dinners. We got through the pandemic. I survived. And now I'm another year older. And so are the kids. One going off to college. The others close behind. And I am groping to find my life. It has been completely centered around my children for almost 18 years and now that is changing. So I need to change. I need to grow. I need to plant a new garden. Let's see what I can do.

Ice Cream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Scream

I love the ballpark. I cannot begin to imagine how many ballgames I have attended. Hundreds and hundreds of baseball games - majors and minors. Numerous football games. Hockey. Soccer. Basketball. Golf. Sporting events are a lot of fun.

Just read an article involving a vendor in Detroit who may have been fired because he didn't want people to put ketchup on hot dogs - only mustard. And while I couldn't agree more (ketchup is evil) it's a bit extreme. However I recall a friend calling me from Fenway Park to say she was eating a bowl of chowder. I asked her where her beer was and how could she catch a foul ball holding a bowl and a spoon? I'm sorry but traditions are nice. Put mustard on your dogs, don't eat soup and always keep a hand free for a foul ball.

While I am trying to make an effort to watch Saturday football - I live in a college town - the NFL is becoming ridiculous. It's the next phase of Big Time Wrestling. I did not watch a snap of pro football last week but I did catch a few headlines. Here is what I got - the Giants cheated by faking injuries, the Titans took a safety by catching a kick-off, and Aaron Hernandez can't watch football from jail. Oh wait, there's more...there's a member of the Dolphins who will not be fined for flipping the finger, a Broncos Linebacker may or may not have a warrant out for his arrest and more than a few referee's have 'apologized' for bad calls.

Seriously, the NFL has become a joke. And I don't miss it. This Sunday my attention will be on three soccer games in which the score won't matter. The games will require playing hard, doing your best and having fun - and everyone gets a juice box after the game. That's what sports is all about.

Just Another Hump Day

After a rainy Monday we spent most of Tuesday running around between a doctor appointment, classes at the Y and music lessons. So we're spending today outside. It's frickin' beautiful out here. And while I may still just be on the computer, there are a ton of things happening.

Even with a spectacular day like today it's important to remember that we are two months into summer and telling the kids to just go out and play doesn't quite work. So I prepared a few projects. We stopped by the hobby store and got some things - a Tornado Tube, Spider Balls, a Rolly Polly playground (yes we now have bugs for pets), some new watercolors and a few new coloring books. We also need to fill up the hummingbird feeders, plant a sunflower that Chick bought the other day and pick some vegetables. Plenty to do to make the kids forget about filling the pool - it's actually too cold (July 24!!!) to go swimming.

My latest app addiction is The Simpsons Tapped Out . It's no Farmville but still fun and utterly ridiculous. I have barbed wire surrounding Springfield Elemntary, meters in the parking lot of the church and Krusty Burger right next to the nuclear power plant. I'm a few thousand bucks away from buying Moe's Tavern and I'm getting it today, damnit. I need a Duff!

We just put some of the spider balls in the tornado bottles. Pretty cool. The Rolly Pollys may be next!

The other project I'm working on today is cereal. Yes, Fruit Loops, Apple Jacks and Lucky Charms. Our local grocer has a sale starting tomorrow where you can buy 4 boxes, mix or match, and get 20 cents off a gallon of gas. It's good deal considering how much cereal our family goes through - and gas! Normally we buy store brand so I'm trying to find the right coupons and calculate the best buys. That may seem boring to most but it's my job. And if that's the most boring thing I do today then I'm way ahead of most.

A Disney Summer

So the rain is taking its toll. We have been forced inside and that leads to a lot of crap on TV. Austin and Allie, Kickin It and Good Luck Charlie. The other day we had a movie marathon of Air Buddies and Space Buddies. We went to theater once and saw Monsters U. It's a fine kid flick, but after we buy it three months from now and watch it for the 15th time, it is going into the - "I don't know where that is" black hole. We talked about going to the drive-in but we're afraid that we may fall asleep before the kids.

It is hard to imagine that a movie that makes super-millions of dollars is a flop after one weekend. But that's the Lone Ranger. Of course it is not hard to imagine that the movie is a flop. Hank saw a picture of Tonto on my computer and asked if there was a new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Yeah, pretty much.

It does remind me of that joke where the Lone Ranger got bit by a snake on his penis while peeing. And he asked his trusted friend Tonto to head to town and ask the doctor what to do. The doctor told him that he needed to suck the poison out where the snake bit him. When Tonto returned the Lone Ranger asked him what the doctor said. Tonto replied, "He say you die."

I actually have numerous issues with Disney. They 'slim-down' and 'beautify' all their princesses. Just google it - it's pretty hard to accept. My biggest issue with the majority of those princesses is that they fight for the approval of their father. Where in the hell are their mom's????? The argument goes on and on. Fortunately we talk about it a lot in our home. And our kids favorite Disney movie is Robin Hood.

It looks like the rain is coming to an end for a while. The next few days should be nice and we will be heading outside. As long as Ariel doesn't show up in our pool, everything will be just fine.

Free Lemonade

The forecast was not good for a happy Independence Day - and in a rare move the weather forecasters proved correct. Rain, clouds and more rain. But we did not let the 'bad' weather keep us down. Heck, what's a little rain in the scheme of things? I searched for something to do in the rain and got a few nice ideas. We put bubbles in the kids water table. Got out some sidewalk chalk. Set up a canopy. Gave the kids an umbrella and headed outside.

We got wet. We cleaned umbrellas with soapy water. We played frisbee golf and watched the paper flags we made for each hole fade away. We adjusted the picnic table under the canopy so it mostly stayed dry. We convinced our neighbors to join us in the rain. We played euchre. Listened to music. Watched kids get soaked. Ate rib-eye sandwiches and corn-on-the-cob. Passed out glow sticks and eventually, saw some fireworks.

While playing in the rain will never compare to what so many amazingly brave people have done to protect our country, it does say something about the freedom we all embrace.

Our family lived free today.

Thank You Don McLean

So the trip to music lessons was pretty uneventful. Violin. Drums. Piano. The Thrill gets a snack and a Kindle while the others work their craft. There weren't more than four or five fights in the car on the way home so that's some good quiet time. We have been relegated to a basic classic rock station in the car. A little rock from the 60's, some Motown and disco/70's hits. It's pretty safe for the kids. The only problem I ever run into is the news. Every morning on the way to school at 7:44 a woman starts her report with a rape or murder or worse. I've found that is a lot easier explaining what happened "the day the music died" than anything that occurs in the news.

"I drove the Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry."

Last week I put together my old stereo for Hank. The 5-disc changer I bought 20 years ago still works! And so do the CD's! Think about it - are 8-tracks and cassettes still working? They have to be landfill fodder by now. Anyway, I showed him how to work the remote and gave him a bunch of albums to listen to. Beatles, Eagles, Tupac-Shakur, etc. And now every time I go into the basement to get something out of the fridge or freezer I get to yell at him for leaving the stereo on. I think I am officially ready for teenagers.

"I was a lonely, teenage broncin' buck with a pink carnation and a pick-up truck..."

I am completely out of the modern music scene. Okay, I was never really into any music scene, but I at least used to know a lot about new up and coming bands and artists. Now, the best I can do is critique artists on Sesame Street. So set your piggies free with Ziggy Marley, figure out which monster ate your red 2 with Elvis Costello, and laugh your ass of with Adam Sandler rhyming with Elmo.

"So, C'mon, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick - Jack Flash sat on a Candlestick."

I have yet to learn to play an instrument. I cannot read music. I am actually learning more about music from my kids than at any other time of my life. I was never forced or encouraged to play an instrument as a child. And I don't have a problem with that. I just have to make sure I walk that fine line. And hope my children appreciate music as much as I do. I am going to play a song on the guitar some day. It's a goal, albeit a minor one. But it is also one that my children can help me with. And I look forward to that.

"Them good ol' boys we're drinking whiskey and rye, singing..."

Re-Seeding

It is hard to believe that is has been more than nine years since the original planting in this garden. A lot sure has changed since then. The whole idea behind the blog was to just have some fun with my writing in my leisure time. LEISURE TIME!!! What the hell is that? The time in between loads of laundry? Or the half hour drive to music lessons? Or just the six hours of sleep I may be lucky enough to get at night? I'm not really complaining though - this is the life I have chosen and I greatly enjoy staying home and taking care of our kids. But I need to find some time for myself. So, I'm going to work in the Dandelion Garden.

Some of the long-time visitors may have noticed a change in the title description. If not, go ahead and check it out......Here's what it used to state:

Tripping through the Dandelion Garden you may come across many of the different people living in my brain. First there's Otis the loveable town drunk. Then there's Hodji, the Ethiopian nomad who enjoys skinny dipping in the middle of the night. But most of the time you'll be hanging out with Jim - a pretty good guy.

Yeah, there isn't much skinny dipping going on anymore and while I haven't given up on drinking, I'm no where near the level of my favorite town drunk. But I still have plenty of crazy thoughts as well as a few new friends. The last post, before this one, was made about a month before the Thrill came into my life - she's kid #4. There are many words to describe the Thrill ranging from cute and hug-able to devilish and trouble. Most of all she just has daddy wrapped around her finger (and a few other people too.) With the other three kids in school she has been my partner in crime for the last year or so. I've actually missed our time together in the last month with the others being off for summer. But we're counting down the days til the new school year - 59 to go!

We have a chart on the fridge to make sure the kids keep up with their chores, do their summer reading, practice their instruments, etc. They get a quarter for each achievement. This week I included myself in the chart. I need to exercise, do some extra cleaning, and make sure I do some leisure reading and writing. I don't know who is going to pay me, but I want my quarter.