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I don’t even know what do say or do! I took Xander to BK for dinner and to play…I even shared a Nestle Pie with him! Ha asks to go to the bathroom, and I let him go like a big boy while I stay in the sound proof play area. Suddenly I see every head in the restaurant turn toward the bathroom! I run inside to hear him screaming at the top of his lungs “DADDY!” “DADDY YOU GET IN HERE THIS MINUTE!” I can tell by now that there is nothing wrong with him physically, and my face turns the shade of my shirt (bright red!) while my blood pressure triples! I run over to the bathroom and demand he get his stuff cause we are going home! I don’t know what to do! He kept saying he’s sorry, but wtf! He is just acting so evil lately! I don’t even know where that came from…if you told me this I wouldn’t believe my son would be capable of this type of behavior! Any suggestions besides boarding school? And I am not looking for “Well this is grandparents revenge” BS either…I am seriously at a loss!

Haunted House circa Oct 1996 held at whats now the Utilities Department Bldg on Cortez…There’s a quote that I have used for years, but can’t remember where it came from. I just remember Wolfman(I think) saying it at the haunted house. I wasn’t sure if it was a pop-culture reference or something we made up that night, but I heard it Friday night in Scott Pilgrim vs the world…”And then you die…Obviously” Can anyone tell me where it came from?

Rule # 1  Practice with me “Yes Dear” “Whatever you want Dear” This is especially handy when the baby NEEDS Pickles and Ice-cream at 2 a.m.

Is it an internal requirement for people to get reflective when they leave their homes for awhile? I have heard preachers talk about heading into the desolation, the desert to receive insight…or perhaps to commune with God. I always seem to do my best thinking in this place…many miles away from my family. And usually my thinking takes place when I am supposed to be sleeping, but oh well such is life.

I have to ask myself what is wrong with me. I have been watching the TV show Dexter and that dude is seriously fucked up! But I can’t help but finding myself relating in some weird way. Maybe that’s why the show is popular? Not in the homicidal tendencies department, but more generally that everybody is fucked up in their own little ways. Everyone wears a mask.

Mine? I think it’s my family life. I have a beautiful wife who is very good to me, and a genius of a son! He is an awesome kid! But sometimes I feel fake. Maybe it’s the fact that my father died when I was his age. Maybe it’s because I never learned from him what it’s like to be a father and a husband. Maybe it’s I haven’t gotten over my fear of dying…of leaving this world with another orphan boy. Like father like son ya know.

Regardless of the reason, the truth remains that I need to do something about it. Maybe that should be my New-Year resolution. To be DAD! To turn off the TV and go outside like I always say I want to. To get my son to sign up for sports and take an active role in them. I know that’s what my wife wants. I think that might be the answer to some problems I perceive in our marriage.

But there’s the crux. I don’t think I know how! Life just seems to be zooming by, and I am just a passenger. I work I come home I work again. I’m tired, I’m lazy, and I don’t want to play. I used to love playing cars, even as an adult, but now that I finally have someone to play with, I think it’s silly. Is that what turning 30 does to someone? Where did my inner child go? Sometimes at work I feel childish, and try to blow off those feelings and prove to myself I am a man. But my son doesn’t want a man…he wants a dad!

My son’s preschool teacher once told us, “Parents, punctuality very important particularly regarding school.” Basically she said that our children will learn the importance of school based on the emphasis WE the parents place on it. Therefore if we make it principle to show up for school on time, our children will learn that it is very important and will grow up appreciating a good education. Sounds pretty good huh? Makes sense too in local thought. But if there is one truth about children, it is that their thoughts are not logical…neither are most adults for that matter!

So I was thinking about this particular statement and wondering where the teacher’s data came from. I can quote 2 cases that I am familiar with. My wife. I don’t know for sure, but I would be willing to bet my mother in law was more often than not at school on time…ever punctual is she! My own mother…15 minutes late was making great time! My wife grew up hating school, and those feelings lingered until her late 20’s. I have always excelled in school and still push myself to finish at the head of any class. Hmmm…doesn’t seem to support the teacher’s theory.

I tend to believe that educational motivate and success, like most things comes from some random split of nature and nurture. I grew up with a mother who encouraged fierce competition between my sister and me. She still tries to get us to compare our successes though we have learned to fight the temptation. I would be a millionaire today if I had a dime for every time my mother reminded me that my sister was valedictorian! Or why did you get an “A” your sister got an “A+”!

I will not discuss my wife’s learning environment for fear that my mother in law might disavow me ;) I’ll just say they were a bit more nurturing and not quite as demanding.

So does it really matter to your child’s welfare if you show up to school on time? Or does it simply keep you from getting the teacher’s evil eye? Let me know what you think and maybe I can put together some empirical data of my own.

All this leads me to another question. If our kid’s teachers are trying to teach this crap to us…what are they telling our children?

I have recently had a few high ranking military people talking about some of the places I have been and things I have done, and then ask me why I have not been promoted yet.  Umm If I knew, don’t ya think I would have done something? Hello!?  So I am again talking about this with a high ranking Naval Officer who is soon to be in a powerful position.  Over Chinese food, he says wow you’ve done all that?  You should get promoted no prob!  I said “from your lips to the Chief’s board’s ears sir!”   After dinner I get my fortune cookie.  I don’t like fortune cookies, but I always check my fortune. Remember Lonestar open it before you eat it!  So what does it say?  ”Bide your time, for success is near”  When I was in highschool, Some friends and I went out for Chinese food.  I get my fortune cookie, opened it and gave the cookie to my girlfriend.  That fortune said “Stop searching, happiness is right beside you”  We all got a great laugh over that one!…We celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary last month.  Things that make you go hmmm ;)