Pajamas?

When I was a kid, my dad would bring clothes home for us from time to time, mostly 2nd hand clothes as we were really poor at the time. When I was in 4th grade he brought home a really cool shirt that had really big, cool looking buttons on it. (remember I was just 8) I was really excited about it, and I wore it to school the next day. All morning I was thinking how cool I looked in my new shirt. Sometime around lunch one of the guys in my class came up to me and asked why I wore Pajamas to school. I was perplexed, and asked him what he meant. He proceded to tell me the shirt I had one was pajamas. I did not believe him at first, but when other kids joined in the fun making I was really embarrased. I realized at that point, I had NEVER seen pajamas in person before. I always just slept in my tighty - whities... This was not the most embarassing moment in my life, but whenever I meet someone who actually wears pajamas it always reminds me of that shirt. And how cool it was. And how I got made fun of because it was not "normal" to wear it to school. And how in the world could I have never seen pajamas in person before?!?

A mess of writing

Okay, so I have decided what I will blog. And YES I know my last blog was months ago. I am a world class procrastinator. If you think you can out do me let me know and we can have a challange when I get around to it.

So... About that blogging. I am going to share with the world some of the little experiences I have had in my life that have made me unique. Or, that I have just experienced. Some will be funny, some sad, some embarassing(don't count on too many of those) and some of them will just simply be me bragging. I don't have too many bragging moments, so I don't feel bad sharing the few I do have.

My first experience is about writing itself. My first real writing memory. It all happened some ungodly number of years ago, way back in 3rd grade. I was attending Mary Beck Elementary in Elkhart Indiana. I don't know how many of you are familiar with the layout of that school, and it is not important to the story, but all of the classes had no walls. They were devided by shelves, and cubbies, and other little things, but it was all open. I like that design.

Okay, getting back to the writing. I very vividly remember being given a writing assignment in 3rd grade. I was sitting on these carpeted platforms in between the 3rd and 4th grade classes. I vividly remember having a very large piece of that off colored paper. The one with the solid lines an inch apart, and the dotted line in between. After a moment of thinking I came up with what I thought was the coolest story(don't remember what it was). My brain went into a frenzy (as it often does) and I wrote as fast as I could, trying to keep up. After some time I was done, and I was proud and excited. I had written the best story ever. I hurried to tell the teacher that I was done, and to have him read it. (it was the 4th grade teacher, my teacher was a she) He looked at the page a bit, furrowed his brow, and asked me, "What is this?". I told him, this is my story. He told me, "It does not make any sense." I was perplexed. It was a GREAT story. So, I took the page from him and tried to read my story to see what he ment. There was no story on the page. The words there were scribbled in haste. All meaning garbled and intelligible. I could not understand ANY of what was written. I was dumbfounded. It was the first time this had ever happened to me. I really did not know what went wrong, it was like being in a Twilight Zone episode. I was crushed. And to this day, writing for me is more a burden than anything else.

Over the years I learned to organize my racing thoughts. To outline, to draft, to review, to SLOW DOWN. It is a lot of work. I don't enjoy it. But I am happy that I can at least put something on paper now(or in a blog) that makes some sense. (after edititng) This is the source of my hesitation and discomfort with writing. The reason I don't blog enough. The reason I don't write old friends often enough. I can think of what I want to say, the whole letter in a few seconds. Then, I have to painstakenly write it out. Review it. Edit it. Correct it.

Despite all that, I will enjoy this blog. I will share some of the same stories I like to tell friends and family. My son Noah's favorite stories will be here, and I won't have to tell him them over and over again. :)

The End(for now)

Bored Stiff

I have a daughter that is 10, soon to be 11. Brilliant, kind, active, and stubborn. It is midway through summer vacation, and she is developing a new trait. BORED. Out of her skull. If I have to hear one more time, "summer is stupid, kids just forget what they learn in school, and there is nothing to do!"... Well I might start joining her on the crazy train. Don't get me wrong, she is not sitting on the couch all day doing nothing. She reads, does an inordinate amount of "crafts" and "projects", plays video games, hangs with her friends, goes to the water park, rides her electric scooter, hikes, visits her sister, plays with her brother, on and on and on... busy, busy, busy....

But it is not enough. Not for her body, not for her mind. And I consider myself an amature expert on boredom. I don't get bored often, over active imagination. But I see bored people, and they all seem mental to me. Looping, self-destructive thoughts and habits. Unhappy, cranky, etc. It is NOT healthy. And I love Naomi to death. She is a great blessing to me. I could not have chosen a better daughter. But when she is bored, she is the queen crank.

So, I sign her up for an online school. Good for 2 weeks. I take her to the library on a regular basis. Good for a week. More hiking? Boring. We have been there already.

:) I am exagerrating a bit, but here is the good part. She wants to have a neighboor girl spend the night. I don't mind. I don't have to do anything special, she is a good hostess, no extra work for me, and I like her friends. I personally would never let my daughter spend the night at a home with no mother, but her friends moms don't seem to mind.

Okay, I say, sounds good. Distract Naomi, give her a break? Sounds real good. So, her and her friend hop on the scooters, and head up to the school. By the time they get home, 2 more friends are also spending the night... 4 girls? Fine, but I have to get up early, so y'all better be quiet after 10.... "Okay dad, no problem. Oh look there are 3 more of my friends visiting across the street, can I go say hi?" \
LOL "Of course, but you are NOT having 7 (7!) girls spending the night!"
"Duh Dad, just saying hi."
"Fine."

And here we are. 10pm. Ready to SLEEP. ( I get cranky without my sleep.) Noah is downstairs, out of the girls hair. The girls are in the living room camping out, making a LOT of noise. I tell Naomi, "I need to sleep now, will you go to bed? You can get up early and have fun all day with your friends..."
"Sure dad."

Midnight, waking up from the noise every few minutes... Getting cranky. A short visit upstairs... "Naomi, please I need to sleep will you be quiet? Have fun tommorrow!"
"Sure dad. Sorry."

1:30 am. Can't sleep from the giggling. Can't get mad, cause it is better than Naomi being cranky. :) Yell up stairs in a pleading voice, "Naomi! Please!" Quiet. Sleep. Bliss.

I get up late for work, the girls are not in the living room. They took over Noah's bedroom for the night(he was downstairs and has 2 beds). They moved the noise so I could sleep? How sweet. They stayed up til 4 or 5 in the morning??? I don't wanna know.

I go to work dead tired.
I have a good day.
I come home.
Naomi is perky, and happy, and NOT GRUMPY.

I can deal with that....

Introductions are so trite

Here I am blogging. I have tried this once before. My biggest problem with bloggin is I don't know what to do with it... A journal? A collection of my oddest thoughts and grandest ideas? Does anyone care what I did today? Will anyone lend creedence to my theory on black holes? Is there a happy medium? Will my experiences as a single father reach anyone? Aid someone on thier journey. Am I really here to help others on this journey we all share, or am I just here to gawk at the other travelers as they pass me on the way? Will anyone NOT be offened by my political or religious views? *I* am offended by most of them, but I know they are just incomplete thoughts. More "what ifs" than anything else. I am not oblivious to the fact that I often omit the human element, that great common thread that binds us all, from my musings. No one has ever, and I mean *EVER* accused me of being focused. So, why start a new trend now? Why not enter every random, quirky thought that flies through my head here? Will anyone care? Will anyone even ever know?



So, here I am. 36 years old? Sounds about right. Nearing 40. I offically consider 46 to be my halfway point, not 40, so I have a ways to go yet. I have a good career. I have 2 great kids. I have a car, and a lot of books. I have a handful of friends. I have 30 or so cubic tons of unrealized dreams. And, now it seems I have a blog...