Tag: Family

Vacation-itis

We are less than 24 hours away from The Great 2024 Florida Road Trip. Actually, less than 22 hours, if all goes off according to the schedule. I have two hours left in today’s work day, and then four hours of work tomorrow…

…and mentally it is really difficult not to just check out now.

All of our clothes are packed. I still need to hit the grocery store to get some bottled water for the drive, and I need to pack up my weight loss surgery friendly food options, and all of our electronics and chargers and various stuff. Then I just have to load it all into the car and go go go, babie.

The only downside of this epic trip is that these two super heroes won’t be coming with us:

DSC_0371
DSC_0570

If there had been a way for them to come along, we would have made it happen. They both have tons of things going on this weekend up in Vermont. We will miss them. We’ll probably bomb them with text messages the whole time so that they don’t feel like they are missing out on anything (hehe, kidding… or am I?).

I’ll just have to fill in the gaps with lots of faux artsy photographs. You know, like ya do.

DSC_0690

Everything is New-ish

Daily writing prompt
What’s the oldest things you’re wearing today?
View all responses

I lost a whole truck load of weight back in 2022. I lost more weight than I currently weigh. I’m a little less than half the man I used to be… literally.

What does that mean in regard to today’s question?

It means I don’t own any clothes that aren’t relatively new. The socks I’m wearing at this moment might be a year old. Maybe a little more than that. They are the oldest thing I’m wearing, by far.

Now that is assuming we’re taking about clothes. What if we broaden the search a little? My Apple Watch is a little more than a year old, but probably not quite as old as my socks. My glasses are a whopping three weeks old, give or take a day or two. What else is there?

There is one thing, and it’s the winner. Two weeks from now is my 15th wedding anniversary. That’s right, my wedding ring is the oldest thing I’m wearing today and everyday. 15 years and counting, with many more to come.

I love you, Jen. I love you more and more each day.

So Far, So Good

The birds seem okay with the new bird feeders. So far, at least.

Unrelated note, my step daughter is coming over for dinner. She was in Connecticut with her step mother yesterday so she’s stopping in at our house for a Mothers Day visit with her mother and me. She’s on her way. It has only been a week since we’ve seen her but I don’t care. Every visit is a happy experience and I can’t wait.

Additional unrelated note, the sky looked cool over Home Depot in Salem, NH today so I took a pointless picture just to pointlessly share with all of you. Bless your hearts for putting up with my pointless drivel.

Happy Mother’s Day

Are you someone’s mother? Are you someone who plays a mother’s role?

If the answer to either question is yes then, HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

This especially goes out to my beloved wife, Jen. It also goes out to my sister, my sister in law, and my friends who have kids and my mother in law. All the mothers in my life. You are the hardest working people on Earth and you deserve 10000 times the accolades that you get. Every day should be mothers day. No one deserves it more. I love all of you and hope you all have an A+ fantastic day today.

This is the second mothers day since my mother passed away. I miss her a lot. Jen and I are going to visit her grave this morning. After that I am planning on cleaning the hell out of the kitchen and the living room as a mothers day present to my wife.

So in closing, HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to all of the mothers out there. All of the mothers and those who fill the role of mothers. If you’re one of those people then have a wonderful day. If you’re not, then find someone who is and make sure they have a wonderful day.

Rest in Peace, Razor

I’m a nerd. I am an extra nerdy nerd when it comes to shaving. My father never used shaving cream from a can or a bottle. He used a brush with shaving soap in a mug. Old school… is that the proper term? I started out with an electric razor but lost it somewhere and had to borrow his mug/soap/brush kit once and ever since then I have been a mug/soap/brush user too. Maybe the best way to describe it is a mug/soap/brush snob. Yeah, that works.

Years ago… I can’t remember when… 2008? 2010? Jen and I were on a weekend getaway in Manhattan and we stumbled across this super fancy, high end, shaving supply store. We went in because Jen wanted to feed my shaving snobbery because she loves me. We left with this super fancy brush and a super fancy razor handle and a groovy stand that held them both. The razor handle just used Gillette Mach 3 blades, which I was using at the time anyway. The last time I changed the blade the connection piece of the handle broke. I managed to piece it back together but I couldn’t take the blade off anymore. Today I needed a shave… badly… and I also needed a new blade. I tried to figure out how to get the blade off so I could change it, but as I feared the whole thing is broken in such a way that I cannot fix it anymore.

I’ve been a shaving snob with this snooty razor for all of these years. 10 years? 12 years? Something like that. I just ordered a less fancy, less snobby, but still kinda snobby new Mach 3 razor handle online. I am sad. Like… why am I sad? Because I am a snob, and also because Jen and I bought that razor together on a really great weekend trip to New York and that made it extra special.

The new razor is going to be fine. I think it will fit on my snooty, snobby razor and brush stand. It’ll be fine. It won’t, however, be the same. I am a sad snooty snob.

Rain

190 miles, give or take, from our kids to our home…

And it poured rain the entire drive.

The.

Entire.

Drive.

248/365

We are home at last and the visit we had with the kids today was wonderful. One of them has a new significant other as well, and we met that person for the first time. No spoilers though.

Here’s hoping we get more chances to hear Bellana sing with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra in the near future. They are playing Stravinski’s The Firebird in the fall. Does that have a chorus section in it? I freakin’ hope so. (I once was quite the Stravinski guy, but it’s been a while)

The next road trip on our agenda will take us quite a bit more than 190 miles. Florida, here we come!

Entering Vermont

We have arrived at the hotel. Now what? Bellana’s concert doesn’t start for a few hours and both kids are super busy. We will just hang out and eat a protein bar and hope my stomach continues to play nicely. It’s been a good boy so far today.

To Do List

  • DON’T BE SICK (not 100% by any stretch right now, but optimistic about my prognosis)
  • Jen and I need to pick up our new glasses. Progressive and transitions? That’s crazy!
  • Drive to Vermont
  • Hear my step daughter sing with the VSO! Wicked!!
  • Continue to not be nauseous or vomit. Very important. Also, no stomach pains. Pretty please.

Holidaze

Daily writing prompt
What is your favorite holiday? Why is it your favorite?
View all responses

Like most American kids my youth was spent living for Christmas. You know, presents and shite. As I got older my opinions changed. Xmas changed from a joyous celebration to a months long stress-fest followed by one happy, wonderful day. It dropped way down on the list of favorite holidays.

Thanksgiving ceremoniously took over the top spot on that list. Meeting Jen and having a couple of kids in my life brought new life to Xmas, a new perspective and all, but I still saw Thanksgiving as my fav. Quality family time, good food, a happy celebration. All of those things make it my favorite.

Weight loss surgery has changed the perspective again. I can’t really partake in the Thanksgiving feast the way I used to. A tiny bit of turkey, a tiny bit of stuffing, a bite of mashed potatoes and I am stuffed like you’ve heard about. It doesn’t actually change anything, I just feel oddly self conscious.

So does that change what I see as my favorite holiday? Not really. A little? Does that move Halloween into the top spot? If the kids were still trick or treating it might. I really enjoy being the guy who hands out the treats at our house, but I enjoyed bringing the kids out more. So Thanksgiving still tops Halloween. Memorial Day is a contender, but only by association. We got married near Memorial Day so to me the holiday is more representative of our anniversary. 15 years, this year. We’re going to celebrate with a little trip.

So I think the answer to the question of the day is the same one it has been since I was a teenager and Santa Claus stopped being a thing. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It is the best of them all. At least for a middle aged red head living in the United States.