Weekends, Floods, fish, foolishness,finality

Well that should generate some bizarre hits.

To recap the weekend.

Boy2 had a friend over Friday, and being the nice guy that I am, I agreed to drive said friend home, out in the country, to a place I am not that familiar with. Address inputted into GPS , away we go. Choosing, en route to ignore the sign that said "water on road use caution". Fools. Got 1km up the road, and had to turn around and try to make it back to drier land, car almost stalled out 3 times, visions of pushing in knee deep water not good. cursing under breath, not trusting GPS device, swear it hates me, water coming into car thru door sills, made it to dry land, let car idle for 5 minutes to dry out, steam coming out of vents, how wet did this thing get anyway?
Finally get friend home via long DRY way. Get back to room, in time too see my beloved bruins make it into Stanley Cup Final, much happiness abounds.

Saturday, wake up, joy raining.....again pick up boy3 find new fishing spot, no luck but agree may be best spot yet as actual fish were biting, notice half gnawed oak tree, worry about crazed, angry beaver attacking. HMMMMM need more coffee. Pick up older 2 go to mall, Boy2 says friend has sent him text wanting to know when we can drive thru flood covered roads again. Much fun says friend, much looniness think I. PM take boys to subway for dinner, much anger directed to incompetent staff, drive to movies, watch hangover 2, realize 3/4 thru movie that this may not be age appropriate due to things in Thailand, worry about explanation may have to give to 13 year old boy3, not to worry, says he, I got it covered. WTF think I, I did not have understanding of such things at his age, must ask ex-wife if she checks Internet browsing history. He must be getting this info somewhere.

Sunday, sun is out boy1 and boy3 request fishing expedition, agree to said trip, much enjoyment several aquatic creatures captured, photographed and released, (always have thought that catch and release fishing, must be like the rapture for them)(the fish that is not the boys).

More time spent with all three before dreaded drive back home, always hate that part.

Finality... maybe some closure for some, with the capture of Ratko Mladic, one of the worst (alleged, for now) war criminals of the past century will be brought to answer for his crimes. Maybe some poor people out there can finally close the door on a chapter of their lives.

Driving with doofuses

Is that even a word?

Yeah, yeah, I know it has been a while but I have been busy.

A short little story, this past Saturday, my younger 2 boys and I went on a short road trip, And I figured out a couple of things.

1. No matter what the volume is set to on the car sound system ( ha, a laugh, i mean cheesy factory cd player) Son2 will crank it louder almost for every song that he likes. I was not allowed to touch the volume, nor alter it from my Dad's choice of music, (country) and we had an 8-track player, (remember those?) complete with the matchbook jammed under the corner to make it work. Plus, the lyrics that are in the songs are not things I would have played around my parents either.

2. Teenage boys never stop eating, even on short car trips, there must be food.

plus, the floor of my car apparently is an appropriate place for trash.

3. Teenage boys can convince their middle-aged father to do things against his common sense, case in point, willingly jump off a 5 metre diving platform, even though the aforementioned middle aged father is scared of heights. ( I will admit that fear aside, it was kind of fun)

4. Son2 while travelling in a car needs to be occupied, or else strange things can happen.

My right hand now has no hair on the back of it, thanks to the boy and a roll of duct tape. Much to his hilarity, my physical pain was his amusement, plus the loss of hair was amusing to him as well.

maybe i should get a cop car that i can trap them in the back of when I travel with them.

For the boys

I have been lucky enough to spend adecent amount of time with my sons lately.

It is a good feeling to see them having emerged from the train wreck that was the end of their mother and I's relationship relatively unscathed.

To see the smiles and laughter return. to have my taller than me middle son freely hug me, and tell me " love you too, Dad" when i say it to him at the end of a phone conversation. To have the oldest actually say it to me once when i said it to him ( emotion scares him, sometimes he doesn't get it, think Sheldon Cooper) to have my youngest actually engage in real conversations with me, in the car on our way to hockey, and to be able to be there to see him score his 1st goal of the season (WE HAVE THE PUCK!). well shit, those feelings of happiness and joy at all of the things over the last couple of weeks, I feel like spring has come in more ways than one.

Boys, you guys rock, seriously, the three of you are better for me than any thing else I have tried, I'm just pissed that I wasted so much time figuring that out. massive Fail on my part.

well I get it now.
Can't wait to see you this weekend.

Eat, eat , eat and a contest.

The older 2 are here for the week and It has just dawned on me, that either one of them probably consumes more calories in a day than I do in 3.

Now don't get me wrong. I remember being a teen, and I ate a ton, but, in my defense, I was always moving, to hockey, cadets, outside, whatever, we walked everywhere, and those calories were earned, burnt off, and the cycle repeated.

These 2 barely seem to move, from their perches on my couches, moving only for washroom breaks, to retrieve a power cord for some electronic device, or to head for the kitchen (again).

When we have gone out (to the Mall!,,, where i let them go on their own, cause walking around with your dad when you are a teenager is just .....so uncool, they seem to have a gravitational pull to the food court, as if ten minutes without eating or drinking could seriously harm them.

If they could figure it out, I am sure they would eat in their sleep.

It amazes and disturbs me at the same time.


And since checking my stats, I have now noticed that some people appear to be reading me on a regular basis, leave me a comment by next Wednesday, and I will do a random draw, the lucky winner will receive one of my photos, that have been published.

Oh Snap

I just noticed I have my first follower, Ever.

I wish I could give them a prize, maybe I will.

1st post for the new year

Hmmmm, I guess it has been awhile.

Christmas was better than could be expected, had the boys longer than I had expected, and in the end we did the gift exchange with my brother's kids. Christmas night went way better than expected, my boys outshone themselves, were well behaved, and showed awesome patience with their younger cousins.

things are progressing, and as my former life switches to the new life, a lot of things have run through my mind.
I have been asked if I have any regrets, well yes, yes I do, but they are small, I regret not trying maybe that little bit harder, but then, I see the boys, and how they have, grown, adjusted moved on, and maybe, just maybe are happier now than they have been in awhile, and that one fades.

I do not regret my time with their mom, how could I? Together, we produced 3 very awesome young men, who light up my world every time they enter it, that alone is worth the heartache I have suffered.

My life is changing, for the better, as I slowly make my way to the light, I am still amazed at my family and their support, every single time I have needed them they have risen to catch me.
My brother, my sisters, my mom all have kept me sane.

My brother in law M, well what can I say? I have known him for 20 years, and I consider him one of my best friends in the world, he and I have always had the best conversations about well, everything, he makes me laugh, and he taught me to sail.

My somewhat health scare is over. back in November, i found out that i have a growth in my head, (Son2, has named him Larry), well I don't need surgery, instead i get to take medication to shrink his ass for the next while( think of it as diet pills, Larry!).


And if enough people comment I will post pictures of the Boys ( a one time deal) so If I do have any readers, you can picture who I am talking about.

Plus my only resolution is to make this a bit funnier, and possibly pull out some stories from my past. Next time I promise to tell you about me, John, Glen, and a can of paint, and what can happen when adolescent boys fail to use common sense.

Tis the Season..........Kind of.

Psst, come here, I want to tell you a secret.

I hate this time of year, truly and honestly, for the last 3 years it has slowly gotten worse. This year my feelings about it may have hit an all time low.

I have a list, if you care to read it.

1. Christmas music, novelty Christmas songs should be banned, they were funny once, now not so much. And as for some of the traditional songs well they suck too. for example "I'll be home for Christmas", well, no I won't be I'll be at Mom's, and while it is "home" in a sense, it is not my home really, I rent the place I live in so, I won't be there either. Christmas morning, there will not be that moment when my kids wake me up to see what "Santa" has brought them, they will be doing that with their mother. With luck and planning, I'll get to see them later in the day. Just like last year, So I'm planning on getting up about 1/2 an hour before I go get them.

2. Gift giving, if it is like last year will cause heartache for the weasels of death. Just before the holiday, my brother decided that "to save you money" our kids were not going to exchange gifts, that in itself would have been alright if we were not all together at Mom's for the gift exchange, and my kids and his did not exchange anything, The boys felt like crap about this, and let me know in no uncertain terms how they felt. If recent conversation with my brother is any indication, the same thing may happen this year.

3. The total lack of planning by anyone in my family, right now, the boy's mom and I are still ironing out the details of the holidays, as youngest has a hockey tournament right in the middle of Christmas break. I have no idea right now when I am getting them, and If I get them on Christmas day, then I have to let my brother know as soon as possible as he and his wife always have the family for dinner on Christmas day. My sons have never been there for this, and it involves a large gathering of family, and some of them have not met my kids and I don't want any pressure on my boys to have to behave to other people's impossible standards. Plus, if my brother does not want gifts exchanged between our kids, but everyone else is doing it, it will create a whole new level of awkward for my sons.

4. Feeling like i have to put on some fake, cheery personality so that I "don't ruin anyone Else's day" F***k that, what about my day? It would be nice if one time some one said "This day must be hard for you" Yeah, it is, between my desire to have the boys on Christmas morning, to wanting to get them what they want, without having to worry about money, to feeling as though I somehow failed them, to hoping that people will not push subjects on them that they do not want to discuss, and have made clear that they don't, to wanting everyone to just get along, I have enough to deal with without worrying about how I am feeling could ruin someone Else's Christmas. How about everyone else doing things to make me feel better?

5. Pressure about Church on Christmas Eve. I do not like going at the best of times, Christmas Eve service is the worst, there are too many people, no parking, people who do not seem to understand that there is a service earlier in the evening for those with younger kids ( the service ends at midnight, kids who are not in double digits should be at home, in bed, visions of sugar plums etc.)
I hate going, and when it is over, I want to leave, I do not want to have a conversation with people I only see once a year, I just want to go to bed.

6. People, everywhere, the mall, the roads, just everywhere. I get it , you need to shop, but for the love of everything, try to have some manners, just because you failed to plan crap out and waited for the last minute to do something, does not mean I have to suffer. Nor should the people who work in the stores. Here is a hint, the girl working the cash has absolutely no control over the inventory of the store, chances are there are no more in the back, if they are out, they are out, asking for a manager will not change that, freaking out won't either, I have seen some pretty bad behavior on the part of some people who are supposed to be adults, grow up, and on that note, the same with the gaggles of teens in the malls and stores, I get it your friend sent you a text, and OMG, you have to respond right away, in the mall walking and texting is like driving and texting, you cannot do both and see where you are going, bumping(or crashing) into me and glaring at me, just gets you the stink eye. I have better things to do than watch out for your sorry ass. And, there are lines everywhere, especially in the food court, if you are in line for 5-10 minutes before you order, this would be a good time to make up your mind, if you can't then you fail at life.

7. The endless loop of charity commercial for those organisations that send relief overseas, I get it, believe me, I have been to a few of those places, but there is a great deal of people right here, in this country that need our help too, why not clean up our own yard first.

Bah Humbug!