Tag: Step Kids

So That was a Night

We had to do some grade A schedule juggling last night.

My step daughter was on a school trip to Europe.  Yesterday she woke up in Barcelona.  She was booked on a flight to Lisbon, and then another flight to Boston.  The Barcelona plane had mechanical problems and was delayed for a long time.  Long enough for them to miss the connection in Lisbon.  Now what?

The tour company and the airline did some major league scrambling just trying to get the 33 students and all of the chaperones back into the USA.  They ended up getting onto a flight to JFK in New York.  From there they took a bus up to Logan airport in Boston.  Instead of picking her up at her high school at 4:00pm or so, we ended up needing to pick her up at 1:20am in Boston.  That would be rough enough on us old people, but when you add in the other thing…

My step son has a school trip of his own.  He’s staying in the country, but has to take a long bus ride.  The plan was to get him to his school for check in at 5:00am.  So if we pick up the world traveler at 1:20 and get home at 2:00, we’d have to get up at 4:00 to get ready to drop the other world traveler off at 5:00.  Oh, and then we had to go to work.  Yeah.

My beloved wife took care of the Boston side of thing and I took care of the check in side of things.  With the stress of the whole day and the fluidity of the situation, neither of us got much sleep.  I have no idea how much I got.  Three hours?  Maybe?  certainly not four.  The downside of yesterday is that I am possibly more tired than I’ve ever been.  I’m mentally useless today.  The upside is that step child #1 is home safe and sound, and step child #2 is off on a really cool adventure.

Fair trade.

Long Weekend Part 2

Last weekend was a four day weekend for me and my beautiful bride. This weekend, as in right this very minute, is another long weekend. This time we will have the kids, and it’s probably going to be a stay-cation kinda thing and that is perfect.

The kids are on a trip with their father and step mother right now but we will pick them up tomorrow. We haven’t seen them for a full week. That sucks. I’m so looking forward to tomorrow.

Long weekend #2: bring it on!

Harry Potter Blues

So have you read the script for the new Harry Potter play? I bought a copy on the day it was released, but I hadn’t read more than the first two scenes. Wednesday was the first day my step kids were at our house since the release and my step son had already finished it. He asked me, begged me, pleaded with me (I exaggerate some) to finish it so that we could discuss it.

I actually have a lot of work to do this weekend, but… my step son needed me. I dove into the script and read about 80% of it. Sadly, reading on an iPad does wonderfully awful things to my eyes and I am seeing double now and have lost the ability to see anything at all. My eyes are literally too tired to function.

I still have 20% of the text to get through. My step son needs me! He needs me to know the whole story! I can’t let him down! Harry Potter needs to be completed before the sun comes up!

Revenge (Sort of)

Remember when you were a kid and you did something wrong. What was one of the things your parents might have said to you? “I hope you grow up to have kids that are just like you!” Today is an example of that particular mother’s curse coming true. Sort of. Not really, but sort of.

My sister is three years older than me. My brother is six years younger. Starting from my sister’s 5th or 6th grade year and carrying through in an unbroken line until my brother graduated high school, my parents were subjected to at least one but sometimes two school Christmas concerts per year.

As band geeks, we thought they were pretty cool. As parents… it must have been no less than the tortures of the damned. Every year the same small group of Christmas songs over and over and over again. The only differences being the slight changes in interpretation made by the band directors from elementary school to junior high to high school. My poor, poor parents. It must have been unbearable.

Now they get their revenge. Sort of. Between my two step kids there will be more Christmas concerts this year than you can possibly imagine. One kid has a concert with his guitar teacher. Both kids have concerts with their piano teacher. One kid has a concert with the middle school. The other kid has concerts with the high school. Oh my sweet goodness there are four (4) (FOUR!!!!) Christmas concerts this year alone!

Now I make no attempts to hide the fact that after all of my Christmas concerts, I pretty much hate Christmas music. I’ll tolerate it for a brief period leading up to, and immediately after Christmas itself, but otherwise? It makes my skin crawl and my teeth ache. Really.

Having said that though, I can say that the mother’s Christmas concert curse doesn’t really bother me the way it should. Why? Because while I hate Christmas music with a burning, undying passion, I love listening to the kids play. I’ll grit my teeth and struggle through the agony of listening to everyone else’s kids have their turns at the various recitals, but when my step kids are on the stage? Well, that is one of the greatest things ever. Guitar, piano, chorus, choir, concert band, jazz band. I love it all. I love hearing them strut their stuff on the various instruments they play. It helps that they are so much better than I ever was, but it’s not just that. I love to see them enjoying it.

Music is near the top of the list of the greatest things humans can do with their time, and it is such a thrill to see the two kids loving it as much as I do.

Sorry mom and dad, but this particular revenge isn’t so bad.

Best Thing Ever

I am pretty sure I’ve mentioned before that one of the main reasons I wanted to play in a band again was jealousy.

Both of my step kids have been playing piano for years. They’ve both dabbled in saxophone too, and my step daughter is very active in her school chorus, while my step son plays bells in his school band. He has also recently started taking guitar lessons. His teacher took a few of the students and formed them into a band. They rehearse on Saturdays and are going to play some Christmas music at an upcoming recital. Their big number is “Jingle Bell Rock”.

The first time I sat in the hallway listening to them play I decided it was time for me to get back into the game again. No more sitting on the bench for this fat boy.

Anyway, last night was my step daughter’s school chorus holiday concert. My wife, step son, and I were sitting together enjoying the show when the select chorus started singing “Jingle Bell Rock”.

That was the moment when the Best Thing Ever happened.

When the song began my step son smiled like he was going to split in half. He was getting a serious thrill out of hearing (what he probably thinks of as) his song. Then it happened. The little rocker dude started air guitaring. Like a Boss. Even better? With his left hand he was fingering the chord changes. He was air guitaring the actual chords!

Like I said, Best Thing Ever.

Third Annual Really Sad Day

For the third consecutive year we are celebrating the Really Sad Day. By celebrating I really mean we are bummed out majorly.

The kids are leaving for a week at camp today. Dad is taking them there. Mom and I are going to pick them up for a short visit before they go, and then we’ll pick them up at the end of the week.

Because of some vacation schedule shuffling, this weekend is a Dad weekend, and so is most of next weekend. We’ll get them at camp and then bring them back to his house the next morning. That means we only technically will be without them for our two days during the week, but still… it’s one thing when they are at Daddy’s, two towns away. It’s another when they are half way to Albany.

Welcome to the Third Annual Really Sad Day. I hope this week goes by fast.

Big Night for Little Humans

Tonight was a huge night for my step kids.

My step son is officially a black belt in karate. I am overwhelmed with pride.

My step daughter was a co-lead in a middle school production of an original play, written by one of her classmates. Again, I am overwhelmed with pride.

What a triumph of a night. They are the best kids you could ever hope to meet. I am so lucky to be a small part of their lives.

Today is a Milestone Day

Today marks a very important milestone for my family.

We spent the whole weekend celebrating it, but today is the day it becomes official.

My step daughter is a teenager. Today is her 13th birthday.

Let’s all sing Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday dear >name redacted due to security agreement<
Happy birthday to you!

She was six when I first met her. She has grown up so much in that time. I am very proud of everything she’s accomplished so far, and I can’t wait to see what she has in store for her in the future.

Nervous and Bummed Out

The kids are going away for a few days with their father and step mother. Every time this happens Jen and I get really sad. We worry about their safety, even though we are both sure that nothing bad will happen. That part of it makes me feel like a completely irrational doofus but you feel what you feel, right?

Mostly though we are just going to miss them like crazy while they are gone. I’ve said this before. We miss them during the normal course of a week when they are at Daddy’s house instead of ours. We always miss them. Now though, they aren’t 15 minutes away. It makes a huge difference. We’re both going to miss them like mad until they come back.