When I was younger, oh so long ago, my father purchased an electric lawnmower. I think it may have been one of the earliest non-gasoline-powered mowers. It was a quietly humming Black & Decker that ran on an extremely long extension cord. My brother and I complained mightily about this contraption, deriding the choice and lamenting openly about the hassle of dealing with a 75' extension cord whilst doing laborious yard work. My opinion of my dad's poor decision making in lawn-care equipment was solidified when that mower died and he went right out and bought ANOTHER Black & Decker mower that ran on an extension cord. It was the silliest thing I think I ever saw him do.
So last weekend Steph & I had to acknowledge that we desperately needed a lawnmower. I'm on the liberal-tree-hugger side of the spectrum, so I didn't want a gas mower. Battery-powered mowers (at least the ones available in nearby stores) were all a bit more money than we wanted to spend. So I consulted the ever-trusty Consumer Reports (a purchasing habit I learned from my parents) and came up with...the Black & Decker corded electric mower. Which I now own. With a 75' extension cord.
While I was dealing with lawn-care and other home-owner-related things that used to be my dad's job, he was participating in the Colorado Democratic Party Convention. This is a fairly significant thing...up until the 2006 election my parents had both considered themselves Republican. One evening I asked my dad "So, what is it that the current Republican Party believes that you agree with?" I don't know if that was the exact conversation that changed his mind, but shortly after that he became a Democrat and is now to the point of being a delegate at the state convention. Not only that, but being an ALTERNATE delegate, which means showing up and hanging out all day waiting to see if anybody even cares that you're there. I was impressed, and I like to think that I contributed to one person's delegate-hood even if I couldn't actually go to the convention this year.
Life is funny sometimes.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Friday, May 2, 2008
A proud moment in daddyhood
While going through K1's backpack last weekend I found a project from Earth Day at school. It's a standard kindergarten worksheet: "I can help the earth by..." with a blank page underneath. His response was "Git red av bad on gas cars" Get rid of bad on gas cars. There is a large vehicle with flames coming off of it, that has apparently been 'sploded by the eco-terrorists (it says 'CABOOM' and there's a smiling guy saying 'YAAA!') Around it are the non-flaming good cars, including HOONDA, TODAYOODA, and SLG BAG (Honda, Toyota, Slug Bug) all with smiling people and their own "YAAA!"s.
I don't know where this started, but K1 developed an interest in fuel efficiency several months ago. While driving from the old apartment to the daycare, he would point out cars on the road and ask if they were a "bad on gas car" or not. Obviously we established that Honda and Toyota made more efficient cars than others, generally speaking. The Slug Bug thing came up literally once, about a month ago when we were out exploring our new neighborhood. His friend in the car with us did the "Slug Bug no tagbacks!" thing and K1 just said "Anthony, is that a bad on gas car?" It was an old diesel Beetle, so I told him it was not a bad on gas car. I guess that was enough that it stuck.
I will do my best to teach him that blowing up Hummers is probably not the way to accomplish his goals, but this is still a piece of kindergarten artwork we will be saving.
I don't know where this started, but K1 developed an interest in fuel efficiency several months ago. While driving from the old apartment to the daycare, he would point out cars on the road and ask if they were a "bad on gas car" or not. Obviously we established that Honda and Toyota made more efficient cars than others, generally speaking. The Slug Bug thing came up literally once, about a month ago when we were out exploring our new neighborhood. His friend in the car with us did the "Slug Bug no tagbacks!" thing and K1 just said "Anthony, is that a bad on gas car?" It was an old diesel Beetle, so I told him it was not a bad on gas car. I guess that was enough that it stuck.
I will do my best to teach him that blowing up Hummers is probably not the way to accomplish his goals, but this is still a piece of kindergarten artwork we will be saving.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Arlo
Yesterday it was time to put Arlo to sleep. Steph and I took him to Adam's so the kids could say goodbye, then we took him to the vet and let him go.
To understand what this meant to me you have to understand my relationship with significant dogs in my life. There was the boxer we had in Topeka until I was 4 years old...he was such a non-presence that he didn't move with us to Kansas, and the only memories I have are from the pictures. There was the little dog next door who bit me on Thanksgiving one year as I played in the street. There was the dalmation who attacked me on my paper route and would have torn my throat out if I hadn't gotten my arm in the way. Then there were my grandparent's various moderately-insane boxers I dreaded being in the same room with every Thanksgiving in McPherson. Because of these early examples I was afraid of dogs until 2001 or so...that was when I met Freckles, Sarah's dog, and decided that canines as a whole maybe weren't entirely evil. Freckles was still kind of there but not terribly significant. She lived w/ Sarah's parents and I saw her occasionally, but that was it. In my years in Oklahoma I took her for one walk, and that was to escape the house on Christmas one year.
Then there was Arlo. He was there early on when Stephanie and I started doing things outside of work hours. He went on those early hikes with us, and watched us fall in love. He was the only other living creature on the trail with us when I asked Stephanie to marry me. He was there the night we got married, sleeping in the car as we signed on the dotted line and panting on the floor of the pet-friendly Loews Cherry Creek when we slept that night. He was the first dog I ever let out to pee at 3 am, picked up poop for, fed, watered, petted endlessly, snuggled with on the couch, told to shut up at 5 am, and took for more than one walk. He was the first dog I ever referred to as "mine," and the first dog (second animal) that I would say I loved.
It was his time to go. There is no doubt about that. In the past couple weeks he stopped eating his dog food, then ground beef, then the chicken thighs I boiled for him. He started falling on the hardwood floors and gave up on climbing the stairs under his own power. For the last days of his life Stephanie and I had to carry him up and down the stairs so he could be near us when we slept. The decision that is was time to do the humane thing had to be Stephanie's, but I didn't realize how much it would affect me until it had been made. Arlo was a wonderful dog, and a loving member of my new family. I loved him and I miss him, and it will be a long time before I stop shuffling my feet in the dark so I don't accidentally step on his massively sprawled paws. The old boy is in a better place now, but that doesn't mean it was any easier to let go.
This post needs a picture. This is Arlo, smiling approvingly (in my mind) from the back of the CR-V on the night we were married:
To understand what this meant to me you have to understand my relationship with significant dogs in my life. There was the boxer we had in Topeka until I was 4 years old...he was such a non-presence that he didn't move with us to Kansas, and the only memories I have are from the pictures. There was the little dog next door who bit me on Thanksgiving one year as I played in the street. There was the dalmation who attacked me on my paper route and would have torn my throat out if I hadn't gotten my arm in the way. Then there were my grandparent's various moderately-insane boxers I dreaded being in the same room with every Thanksgiving in McPherson. Because of these early examples I was afraid of dogs until 2001 or so...that was when I met Freckles, Sarah's dog, and decided that canines as a whole maybe weren't entirely evil. Freckles was still kind of there but not terribly significant. She lived w/ Sarah's parents and I saw her occasionally, but that was it. In my years in Oklahoma I took her for one walk, and that was to escape the house on Christmas one year.
Then there was Arlo. He was there early on when Stephanie and I started doing things outside of work hours. He went on those early hikes with us, and watched us fall in love. He was the only other living creature on the trail with us when I asked Stephanie to marry me. He was there the night we got married, sleeping in the car as we signed on the dotted line and panting on the floor of the pet-friendly Loews Cherry Creek when we slept that night. He was the first dog I ever let out to pee at 3 am, picked up poop for, fed, watered, petted endlessly, snuggled with on the couch, told to shut up at 5 am, and took for more than one walk. He was the first dog I ever referred to as "mine," and the first dog (second animal) that I would say I loved.
It was his time to go. There is no doubt about that. In the past couple weeks he stopped eating his dog food, then ground beef, then the chicken thighs I boiled for him. He started falling on the hardwood floors and gave up on climbing the stairs under his own power. For the last days of his life Stephanie and I had to carry him up and down the stairs so he could be near us when we slept. The decision that is was time to do the humane thing had to be Stephanie's, but I didn't realize how much it would affect me until it had been made. Arlo was a wonderful dog, and a loving member of my new family. I loved him and I miss him, and it will be a long time before I stop shuffling my feet in the dark so I don't accidentally step on his massively sprawled paws. The old boy is in a better place now, but that doesn't mean it was any easier to let go.
This post needs a picture. This is Arlo, smiling approvingly (in my mind) from the back of the CR-V on the night we were married:
Thursday, April 24, 2008
There is no point to this post. This image (from the lovely world of icanhascheezburger.com) just made me laugh. I miss Falkor.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Scouts
Last Thursday K1 came home with a sticker on his shirt. See, with the little ones you don't send notes home anymore...those get lost, forgotten, used to blow their nose, something. So this was a sticker reminding parents about the Cub Scout Night at the school at 6:30 that very same evening! (Yay for temporally proximal reminders!) So when Steph got home we decided that K1 and I would go to this thing and check out the local Scout troop.
See, my relationship with Scouting goes back a ways. I started as a Tiger Cub, as the son of an Eagle Scout who had 3 brothers who were also Eagles. My dad was my scoutmaster or assistant scoutmaster for much of the time I can remember, and I don't recall there being much question about whether I would stay involved. I worked my way up through the ranks to Eagle, which I got at 14 (pretty darn young for an Eagle Scout.) Then we left Kansas to move to Colorado and I never got involved again. Band took over my life and I spent my high school years mostly as a music geek.
Since I left, Scouting has been kind of a fond memory as well as something that other people do. I have several uncles currently involved in leading Scouting groups at various levels with their kids, and they all have a great time. So now my stepson wants to do Cub Scouts. This could be really fun and really good for us as a bonding sort of thing. I'm excited that he's interested in this. At the same time though I have my reservations. The Boy Scouts were all over the news a few years back because they had fought for (and won!) the right to exclude any of those Gay folks from their ranks. Also they've never been shy about the Christian and military undertones of the whole experience. So I don't know how I feel about that.
I'm not about to let my personal potential political qualms get in the way of being supportive of K1 and his friends. It's just strange to be conscious of the fact that this very unique experience comes with these lurking undertones of things that I won't always agree with. Which in itself is somewhat silly, because the things I remember most about my own Boy Scout days are the camping and the dirty jokes I pretended to understand and the hiking and the day camps and the kids who were always pushing the rules to see what they could get away with. I'm glad I did it though, and I'm glad my dad was there and willing to support me in my Scouting days. I wouldn't deny K1 that for a second, if this is something he's wanting to try out.
See, my relationship with Scouting goes back a ways. I started as a Tiger Cub, as the son of an Eagle Scout who had 3 brothers who were also Eagles. My dad was my scoutmaster or assistant scoutmaster for much of the time I can remember, and I don't recall there being much question about whether I would stay involved. I worked my way up through the ranks to Eagle, which I got at 14 (pretty darn young for an Eagle Scout.) Then we left Kansas to move to Colorado and I never got involved again. Band took over my life and I spent my high school years mostly as a music geek.
Since I left, Scouting has been kind of a fond memory as well as something that other people do. I have several uncles currently involved in leading Scouting groups at various levels with their kids, and they all have a great time. So now my stepson wants to do Cub Scouts. This could be really fun and really good for us as a bonding sort of thing. I'm excited that he's interested in this. At the same time though I have my reservations. The Boy Scouts were all over the news a few years back because they had fought for (and won!) the right to exclude any of those Gay folks from their ranks. Also they've never been shy about the Christian and military undertones of the whole experience. So I don't know how I feel about that.
I'm not about to let my personal potential political qualms get in the way of being supportive of K1 and his friends. It's just strange to be conscious of the fact that this very unique experience comes with these lurking undertones of things that I won't always agree with. Which in itself is somewhat silly, because the things I remember most about my own Boy Scout days are the camping and the dirty jokes I pretended to understand and the hiking and the day camps and the kids who were always pushing the rules to see what they could get away with. I'm glad I did it though, and I'm glad my dad was there and willing to support me in my Scouting days. I wouldn't deny K1 that for a second, if this is something he's wanting to try out.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Another anniversary
Tomorrow is K2's 1/2 birthday. One year ago when she turned 2 1/2 Steph invited me over to meet her kids for the 1st time. I was still adjusting to the idea of dating a girl with kids and it was a big step. A year later I love both of the kids like my own and I'm proud to call myself a stepdaddy. Who knew?
In other news The Office is back on next week. That's exciting. It's been gone too long. What happens next?! Also in entertainment news, I discovered last night that Gnarls Barkley released a new CD and failed to personally tell me. Bitches. Thanks to iTunes and instant gratification, I have it now and it's great. I think better than the first, but without a real breakout single. It's a more consistent batch of songs, and they seem to have found their groove. Good stuff all the way through.
In other news The Office is back on next week. That's exciting. It's been gone too long. What happens next?! Also in entertainment news, I discovered last night that Gnarls Barkley released a new CD and failed to personally tell me. Bitches. Thanks to iTunes and instant gratification, I have it now and it's great. I think better than the first, but without a real breakout single. It's a more consistent batch of songs, and they seem to have found their groove. Good stuff all the way through.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Anniversary post
One year ago tomorrow, our fathers brought forth on these tubes a new blog, conceived in Hope, and dedicated to the proposition that breaking with the past was an appropriate way to move forward.
One year ago yesterday, this amazing woman I now call my wife took a chance and went against her own utter distaste for intraoffice romances to date a younger guy. Over a pizza at Old Chicago.
I could never have predicted how the year would turn out from that point forward. Anything I write here about it would sound cheesy and repetitive. So I won't do that. If you know anything about me you know what an amazing and mind-boggling year this has been. There are lots more wonderful years to come.
One year ago yesterday, this amazing woman I now call my wife took a chance and went against her own utter distaste for intraoffice romances to date a younger guy. Over a pizza at Old Chicago.
I could never have predicted how the year would turn out from that point forward. Anything I write here about it would sound cheesy and repetitive. So I won't do that. If you know anything about me you know what an amazing and mind-boggling year this has been. There are lots more wonderful years to come.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Nancy Reagan endorses McCain
(!?!?!)
I am perplexed as to why this is Front Page News on msnbc.com. I mean really. Richardson endorsing Obama was news. It was unexpected, going against his former boss Bill Clinton, and much needed considering how Obama has fared with the Latino community. So it's not that an endorsement can't be valid news...but this? The former Republican First Lady endorsed the Republican candidate for President? Why not "Pot endorses color of Kettle"*?
And yes, I know why these things happen. But it's amazing to watch my 2nd post-political-awareness Presidential campaign and the blatant media manipulation. McCain has an endless list of high-profile Repubs he can call on as needed to get him back in the headlines while we Dems have to endure the neverending saga on our side. If only Clinton would just agree that she's not going to win and step aside then we could all go ice skating in hell, since it will have frozen over at that point.
*These days, wouldn't the pot have to call the kettle "African-American"?
Also...great article from The Onion
I am perplexed as to why this is Front Page News on msnbc.com. I mean really. Richardson endorsing Obama was news. It was unexpected, going against his former boss Bill Clinton, and much needed considering how Obama has fared with the Latino community. So it's not that an endorsement can't be valid news...but this? The former Republican First Lady endorsed the Republican candidate for President? Why not "Pot endorses color of Kettle"*?
And yes, I know why these things happen. But it's amazing to watch my 2nd post-political-awareness Presidential campaign and the blatant media manipulation. McCain has an endless list of high-profile Repubs he can call on as needed to get him back in the headlines while we Dems have to endure the neverending saga on our side. If only Clinton would just agree that she's not going to win and step aside then we could all go ice skating in hell, since it will have frozen over at that point.
*These days, wouldn't the pot have to call the kettle "African-American"?
Also...great article from The Onion
Sunday, March 23, 2008
First post from home
That title is more profound than it sounds really. Since this blog started just under 1 year ago I have been living in temporary circumstances. At the time my brother was my roommate, after my ex had moved on and out of the apartment we had shared. From there I moved into a one bedroom place down the road from Steph, signing a 7 month lease with the hope that by the time it was up our relationship would have stabilized and grown enough to move in together. 2 months before that lease ran out we were married and I was living with my new family in an apartment that I never quite came to think of as "my" place. It was always Stephanie's apartment and I just felt lucky that she was willing to share it with me.
Now we have a home. We purchased it together, legally and emotionally. Decorating and furniture purchasing decisions have been made together and I've done my fair share of moving/unpacking/organizing chores. This is really the first time in my life that I haven't had some sense that I would eventually move out of a place. My parents' house, of course I was going to move out someday. Since then I've been in a constant rotation of knowingly temporary apartments. It's a very new feeling, unpacking things with the thought that wherever I decide the silverware goes may end up being where it is for the next 40-80 years of my life. No pressure!
I love the house. We did really well for ourselves with this transaction and I'm happy about that. We have a beautiful view of the mountains across Standley Lake on the drive home every day and that's what we all want in Colorado, isn't it?
I love my life. I love my kids. I love my wife.
What I have right now...it's my 42.*
*Because I know there are people reading this who won't get that...in Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, "42" is the answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything.
Now we have a home. We purchased it together, legally and emotionally. Decorating and furniture purchasing decisions have been made together and I've done my fair share of moving/unpacking/organizing chores. This is really the first time in my life that I haven't had some sense that I would eventually move out of a place. My parents' house, of course I was going to move out someday. Since then I've been in a constant rotation of knowingly temporary apartments. It's a very new feeling, unpacking things with the thought that wherever I decide the silverware goes may end up being where it is for the next 40-80 years of my life. No pressure!
I love the house. We did really well for ourselves with this transaction and I'm happy about that. We have a beautiful view of the mountains across Standley Lake on the drive home every day and that's what we all want in Colorado, isn't it?
I love my life. I love my kids. I love my wife.
What I have right now...it's my 42.*
*Because I know there are people reading this who won't get that...in Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, "42" is the answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Last post from here!
As of Sunday I will be sleeping under the roof of my new home. I had a long mushy post in my head just now, but instead I'll say this:
I hate it when rappers rhyme a word with itself.
Jay-Z:
I don't surf the net
no I never been on Myspace
too busy letting my voice vibrate
carving out my space
Ludacris:
I stroke so good, like Tiger Woods
and I ROWR like a tiger would
I like some of the hippity hop sometimes, but this reminds me why rock is better. A quality rock lyricists would NEVER stoop to rhyming a word with itself.
Today I figured out how to maintain a hot tub. Kind of...I read the instructions and got the colors to match the "OK" range on the UA strip you dip in the tub. I'm sure I have more to learn, but we should be able to get in tomorrow and enjoy it a bit. It'll be a nice escape for Steph for the last 4 cycles of chemo!
Which brings this up: I have no concept of what it will be like to own a home. It's exciting, but it's a strange concept to be living inside of something that you basically put a majority of your investment dollars into. It seems like a weird, exciting challenge/adventure/totally normal thing to do. (If that's the right word.) I've also realized recently that somewhere in this process I haven't ever really thought about what it will be like to live in the house with a healthy Stephanie. All of my thoughts have been about how nice it will be that the kids can play in the basement and mom can still sleep after chemo...and other things about how this will improve the recovery process. Little time has been spent on how wonderful it will be to go forward in my life having a house with my lovely wonderful wife. But that's down the road too!
Onward to HOME!
I hate it when rappers rhyme a word with itself.
Jay-Z:
I don't surf the net
no I never been on Myspace
too busy letting my voice vibrate
carving out my space
Ludacris:
I stroke so good, like Tiger Woods
and I ROWR like a tiger would
I like some of the hippity hop sometimes, but this reminds me why rock is better. A quality rock lyricists would NEVER stoop to rhyming a word with itself.
Today I figured out how to maintain a hot tub. Kind of...I read the instructions and got the colors to match the "OK" range on the UA strip you dip in the tub. I'm sure I have more to learn, but we should be able to get in tomorrow and enjoy it a bit. It'll be a nice escape for Steph for the last 4 cycles of chemo!
Which brings this up: I have no concept of what it will be like to own a home. It's exciting, but it's a strange concept to be living inside of something that you basically put a majority of your investment dollars into. It seems like a weird, exciting challenge/adventure/totally normal thing to do. (If that's the right word.) I've also realized recently that somewhere in this process I haven't ever really thought about what it will be like to live in the house with a healthy Stephanie. All of my thoughts have been about how nice it will be that the kids can play in the basement and mom can still sleep after chemo...and other things about how this will improve the recovery process. Little time has been spent on how wonderful it will be to go forward in my life having a house with my lovely wonderful wife. But that's down the road too!
Onward to HOME!
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