It turned out to be a busy day for me....

It truly has turned out to be a busy day for me.  Not only did I do laundry, go to the bank, and tidy up some of the basement, but this will be my SECOND post today.  I really need to tone it down.  I am going to set a bad precedent.  The next thing I know, I'll be posting once a month..... Yea right.  A good goal but my life would have to slow down first.

Any-hoo, This morning the Mrs. and I thought it would be good to begin to teach my eldest daughter a very integral life skill:  shoe tying.  This stemmed from her telling me that she had to have a classmate tie her shoe when it kept falling off.  I am sure she reveled in the sight of one of her minions bowing down and kissing her feet, umm.. tying her shoe, but I couldn't let that continue and still consider myself a halfway decent parent.  I'm ok with decent or even mediocre.  But I can't condone halfway decent.  Who do you think I am?  Mr. Cleaver?

So this morning's teachings only led to a grumpy, frustrated kid (by my accounts she was grumpy before we started this exercise).  To advert an all out meltdown, we tied her shoes with the promise we would revisit the life skill lesson after school.  My assignment from the Head Master was to research ways to teach a youngin' to tie their shoes on the popular site YouTube.  (If you read today's other post you will know I am no stranger to the video site that has taken the interweb by storm)  I found what I thought would be an easy method.

Once the budding life skill master was home, done with homework, and regrouped herself from her daily post school attitude realignment (believe me, she comes home with more attitude than an '80's Hair Band's hair style) we decided to tackle the task yet again.  Only this time we had our trusty YouTube video.  The easy looking video I thought would work, only made it more confusing.  So we watched a few more.  She watched intently like a surgeon studying surgery.  (not a good analogy but it works; badly)  Slowly she puts the steps together in her brain and then onto the practice shoe in front of her.  She tries.  I give a few pointers.  She tries again.  And again. And again.  Almost.  Try again.  GOT IT!  Try again.  Nope.  But then it clicks.  While she may not do it with speed and accuracy of scorpion hunting its prey, she gains confidence.  And more importantly she did it herself. Wouldn't have any help from dear, ole dad.

She showed off her new skill to her mother when she returned home from a chilly day at work, proud as a peacock.  (Are peacocks really that proud?  I know they make a very annoying sound and there ain't nothing to be proud of that noise)

The moral of the story is my daughter learned something, mostly by herself.  She learned a life skill that will stay with her for the rest of her life.  And more importantly, I won't have to bend down and tie her shoes (while she is thinking I am just another minion bowing down and kissing her feet).  I may lace up a ballet slipper here or there but the regular, everyday shoes and sneakers is no longer in my pay grade.

'Tis the Season of Thankfulness

The time of year has come around again where people in America look back and reflect on the things that they are thankful for.  So here is this year's list of Things To Be Thankful For:

I am thankful some rogue Bastards decided to get out of Dodge (Britain) and start anew in an uncharted territory many, many decades ago.  (Sorry English readers but without you we wouldn't be the United States of America.  So I guess this post is your fault.  THANKS!)

I am thankful for my family.  My two angelic (most of the time) little girls and I am thankful for the unnamed, unsexed (at least to us) little addition to our family.

I am thankful for my wife, who works tirelessly at her ever demanding job so I have the opportunity to stay home, raise our children and goof off.  (Honey, disregard this line.  I work hard, really, really hard all day.  Just don't come home unannounced.  I may be knee-deep in laundry or YouTube videos of cats, dogs, or drummers, or building Legos while the kids "try" to help.)

I am thankful for my health, even if it hurts to walk down stairs on my 33 years-young legs as they creek and ache.  And thankful SUSAC's Syndrome is self limiting.  Screw you auto-immune syndrome.  I showed you!

I am thankful for all four seasons we experience here in New England.  Thankful I get to work outside tending to our garden and mowing my lawn (to keep my sanity mostly).

I am thankful for our extended family of friends and family.  Without them my life would be boring and uneventful.

I am thankful for my band, even if I am just a hired hand, with a gig every quarter, if we're lucky.  I am thankful I get to do something I love and am passionate about.

I am regretfully thankful for the changing of the seasons.  It's just too damn cold this fall.

I am thankful for everyone I have ever met.  Ever person that has come into my life has left a mark on me; good, bad or indifferent, you have left your mark.

I am thankful for every day I wake up, refreshed or not.  Though I awake more refreshed than my counterpart.  Her side of the bed just happens to be closer to the door.  I'm thankful she takes the brunt of the kid's nighttime visits to our bed.

I am thankful for laughter because without it we all would have gone crazy long ago.

Well, there it is.  The list of things I am thankful for this year.  By all means, it is not complete.  It is just a start.  What to do you expect?  I just scribbled this in 10 minutes.  Get off my back.