fatherhood: June 2008 Archives

Summer arrived like God shut the breaker. Seriously hot yesterday/today. (No wonder the polar ice caps are melting.)

Took the Bug swimming today » "Uncle Tom's" pool.

Of all the cool/fun things we do, he seems most enchanted with aquatics. I mean, we're talking squeals-of-delight. (There's something hyper-gratifying to see that magical look on your kid's face.)

He reminds me of my brother (whose nickname was the Frog). Only way to get him to come out » drain the pool.

The Bug jumps in the deep end (!) and swims back to the ladder & climbs out (by himself). Fearless. (Too fearless.)

When I try to help him, he waves me away and tells me he wants to do it himself. (He does however, let me toss him high in the air.)

After the pool, we took the kids (+ Tom's daughter) to a rock-climbing gym (Bug's first-ever trip there) where he wore a real climbing harnass. (Tho he didn't climb very high.)

My buddy Tom worked his way thru college by teaching rock-climbing. So he constantly emphasizes safety, and knows how to make it seem less scary to put distance between you and the ground. He doesn't push kids any higher than they're comfortable climbing.

Knew I wouldn't have the Bug today. Unfortunately, Father's day didn't fall on one of my weekends this year. So I celebrated last weekend.

I normally take him to church on Sundays, cuz (frankly) Mariner's has the most coolest stuff for kids to play with .. per square acre of any place I've been. Playgrounds galore, everywhere you turn.

I realize it's not the most spiritually-minded reason (but give me points for honesty).

After exiting the parking lot, you find a football field, covered with hundreds of balls of various size & color, along with inner-tubes that little people can roll inside of. Fun-city². (Did I mention the frisbees?)

Before playing however, we go inside and sing some songs together.

Normally I sit up front, where he can see everything. (Bongo-drums are his favorite instrument.) There I hold him in my arms and tell him (in his ear) a 3-year-old's version of what they're singing about.

When service starts, the curtains lower and stage-lights illuminate. (Dramatic.) Two giant hi-def screens are mounted on either side of the wall behind the stage.

Learned today that, sometimes, when it seems like very bad things befall you .. that these can actually be good things in disguise (.. tho it might be hard to see at the time).

I am exhausted today .. way deep inside. Adrenaline lasts only so long. Then you crash. I could sleep for a week.

Laggin' on entries lately. Been busy with "legal" stuff. In fact, I just got back from the courthouse. Spent the morning there. (Have to return later this week.) Not a fun place.

Won't bore you with the details, but it's pretty ugly. Imagine the ugliest situation possible, and you're probably in the ballpark.

Since I can no longer afford an attorney, I'm getting killed in the courtroom. (Experienced lawyers know legal tricks.) I do my best. That's all I can do, really. (And pray.)

If I do my best and lose, that would suk, but I could live with that. But I couldn't live with not trying. Still, I'm kinda perplexed by a system that seems to encourage this insanity.

But this is nothing new. Been dealing with this drama for years now. Friends can't understand how I handle it.

I should probably be stressin' more than I am, but (sadly) you kinda get used to it after a while. (Been there, done that.) "Ho hum, here comes more insanity."

The decisions are out of my hands. So fretting does no good. I simply wrap myself in emotional teflon and go with the flow.

Many pages from this web site have been entered into the court record. So I'm intentionally being vague. Hard to believe people are that interested in parsing what I have to say.