Are You Comfortable?

And so it goes... you should never get too comfortable, that is when you have kids. I thought everything was moving along quite nicely, thought it was.... Apparently I was wrong. The teenager decides to run off with her dog... and is gone for hours. My wife had her at school with her over the holiday (President's Day) because we had a sinking suspicion that she would get into trouble if left alone all day. So when they get home, my daughter immediately gets on the phone (because she doesn't have a cell phone) with this boy. 5 minutes later, she is gone. Her alibi? Taking the dog for a walk. Well, except she was gone for almost 3 hours.

Hmmm... if you are starting to smell something strange... it would be coming from my daughter's direction. I went looking for her when dinner was ready. I searched two neighborhoods, I came home empty handed. So we ate dinner, and my wife decides to go looking for her (it is getting dark outside now). She found her (I'm still not really sure how) in the woods with a boy. Yeah, my daughter swears they were just kissing, and all of that... I don't know, but she did what she did... and we think it was a known that she was going to get in trouble, she just off and did it anyway. No sense at all. I simply can not fathom it at all, but anyway.

I got all bent out of shape... I yelled at her, she yelled at me, cussing ensued, more yelling, I made myself sick with worry. Her mother/my ex was called to see if maybe she could come live with her (the jury is still out on that one). Two days later, after everything has calmed down, I was able to talk to some people, my wife was able to talk some people... we came up with a plan. It is not a good plan according to the teenager, but it is the best one we could come up with.

She will no longer ride the bus home in the afternoons. Why? Too much idle time on her hands means trouble... she will ride the bus to my wife's work (she is in high school my wife is in elementary) I would hope that the shame involved will straighten her out, but there is more. The teenager going to the ROTC military ball is out of the question now. The boy she met in the woods... that was to be her date. She can't be gone for more than 10 minutes when she walks her dog. We are looking to get rid of the dog. It just has a lot of baggage with her. It might be time to shed some of that... and we become one pet closer to a pet free home.

That is it, for now. I told her that if she doesn't like the rules I laid out for her, that she could be good and listen and they might change or she could go live with her mother. At first, I was through, I have been raising her on my own since she was 18 months old. There were times when her mother was around, but really it has all been me. I was ready to give up and let someone else have a crack at raising her. She has these mess up's, like at least one to three a year. And it seems she never learns. This time is her last chance. We put the onus on her. If she wants to stay here, if she wants to do well in school, stay with her friends, and basically make it in our house, she will have to live by our rules. If not, her mother can have her. Everything is pointing her in the direction of "straighten up and fly right"... but we have seen this all before. I'll let you know when she graduates...

Day 4

What is that they say about "you can sleep when you are dead?"  Yeah I don't think so. This is day 4 of Songbird's sickness. Day 2 of her sickness on antibiotics. I am so tired, yet can not go to sleep. Oh my...

The Glorious Warmth

The days of frigid cold are behind us now (hopefully) and my two younger kids are busting at the seems to get outside and go to the park.

Here you see Augustus mid-slide... this kid likes the park, likes to swing, loves to slide, look at her, she is on a mission to give her dad (me) heart failure.

Here you see Songbird and Augustus... with Augustus intent on getting down the slide and back up again, it is what she does. This photo was taken the very next day. Songbird poses, Augustus just wants to slide, slide, and slide again.(notice her tongue hanging out in all the pictures, sort of like a dog... it is all good)

Classic Film Friday: aka Tommy Chong

This really isn't a "classic film" but I watched this movie, and I have to say... this movie opened my eyes, and made me regret to an extent voting for a republican. It documents the how, why, what involved in bringing Tommy Chong to justice. I think he was wronged, at least from watching the movie. Why was Tommy Chong sought out? Well you can only wonder.

Here is the trailer, I definitely recommend the movie. Whether you are anti-drug use or for it... He should not have gone to jail because of what his films, 20+ years ago "glamorized" smoking pot. Because yeah, I want to grow up and look like a fool, just like Tommy Chong did... Whatever.

The Downtown Fiction - I Just Wanna Run

This one goes out to the teenager. She told me about the band, and how dreamy the lead singer is. Yeah, I have to listen to that crap just like I had to listen to Rick Springfield  in the 80's, you know what I mean plus we are just coming off of Valentines Day. So anyway here is The Downtown Fiction, I Just Wanna Run...

Not the Birds We Were Thinking of When We Made Them...

Tough Times

You know... times are tough. What am I talking about? Well the school district decided to cut coaches in half. It is not a decision I agree with, but something had to be cut, and this wound up being the "easiest" to cut. We all know it really isn't. Why? Well it will simply shift teachers from a support role to a classroom teacher role. And that is fine, my wife got told that her job got cut, she could apply for a coach position somewhere, but I don't think I, or my wife, wants to take on two schools, and the driving back and forth involved... for the same money she could make being a regular plane Jane teacher.

It is a mess, add to that my wife put in for a "master teacher" job, bombed on her interview, obviously didn't get it and now feels like a failure. Of course that isn't really true. But you can't help but feel that sense of rejection that my wife feels. I think in time she will be fine, she didn't really lose anything, other than a headache.

But still she is involved with getting her Masters in administration. And now she feels like an ineffective leader. Turning her feelings of "they hate me" to "what could I have done better" to "wow, they DO love me" (Ok that was very basic, but you get the picture) will take time. She is wondering if she is going in the right direction, if being a vice-principal or principal is really right for her. And reliving the rejection each time she does work for her administration class.

I really don't know, but if you don't play, you can never win. Is it better to never try and not face the rejection or praise, or is it better to go through some adversity? I really don't know. I have watched many make an ascent on the proverbial corporate ladder, some have fallen, others have gone on to bigger and better things, some have started their own business, some have stayed right were they started. Maybe what is needed is a sort of re-do. Ok, not really, we need to stick to the plan, see it through and then decide what we do from there.

Slow, plodding, thought out plan... go through with the school (there is no sense in quitting, we're paying for it no matter what), don't make any rash decisions (like take a coach job, when they may not keep them after next year anyway... leaving my wife with no job and no school presence either) and see how it plays out when she finishes her degree. And maybe have another kid... my wife's words not mine. She figures if she can't move up at her job, maybe she will move up in her home life... just sayin'