Greetings to the two or three of you who read this on a regular basis. All is well, or at least better than it was before:
* Stepson, while still having his moments, seems to be straightening out. His biological father is here for a couple of weeks for his birthday. Yes, he stays with us. I tell people that and they look at me rather strangely, but I just smile and say "If you ever met him, you'd understand." And you would.
* Stepdaughter's wedding ceremony is May 9th in beautiful Pittsburg, Kansas. My oldest brother's family may come crash the party--he apparently told my stepdaughter they'd be there, but he hasn't told me that yet. I've asked him and am waiting patiently for a response. Tonight, we stopped at WalMart to pick out the Hawaiian shirts we'll wear for this thing. I'm serious. It has a Hawaiian theme. They're honeymooning in Hawaii--don't ask me how, but they've saved enough money to go out there for a week.
* My buddy in Charlotte is still getting married, though they've mutually agreed to move the date to October rather than June. All things considered, this is wise. I sense they're both coming out of the clouds a bit and realizing exactly what a commitment of this kind really means. Good. Speaking from the experience of two and a half years of Stepfather Boot Camp prior to marrying my own fine bride, it's good to know what one is getting into when one marries someone. Nothing's worse than marrying a rude surprise.
* We're coming up on the one-year anniversary of when DiDi had to be put to sleep--the "blind dog" this blog is technically in memory of, though I haven't written much about her lately. That could be an interesting series of posts, because some seriously funky stuff went through my head when we had that done. It feels queasy to sign the death warrant for a close friend, even if that friend is of a different species. If I'm up to it and things aren't too crazy here I'll give it as sensitive a treatment as I can.
* My book The Rain Song creeps to completion. Some things in it still need research, but to the best of my knowledge the plot holes have been filled and inconsistencies corrected. I have until the end of May to get my free NaNoWriMo proof copy of it, so there's time to make sure it's all right. Right now I'm trying to figure out who to have test-read it to get opinions and see if anyone's kind enough to tell me where it really sucks. :-) A few friends have early versions and I've yet to hear from any of them, which means either a) they have lives and no time for casual reading or b) it really, REALLY sucks. :-)
* Finally, if I can get a picture of it I'll happily post it, but someone on the street behind me had a '64 Rambler parked in front of his house. Big deal? Yes, it is--how many '64 Ramblers do you see these days with apparently authentic, in brand-new condition Goldwater-Morton bumper stickers?!? People, that rocked my world.
* Stepson, while still having his moments, seems to be straightening out. His biological father is here for a couple of weeks for his birthday. Yes, he stays with us. I tell people that and they look at me rather strangely, but I just smile and say "If you ever met him, you'd understand." And you would.
* Stepdaughter's wedding ceremony is May 9th in beautiful Pittsburg, Kansas. My oldest brother's family may come crash the party--he apparently told my stepdaughter they'd be there, but he hasn't told me that yet. I've asked him and am waiting patiently for a response. Tonight, we stopped at WalMart to pick out the Hawaiian shirts we'll wear for this thing. I'm serious. It has a Hawaiian theme. They're honeymooning in Hawaii--don't ask me how, but they've saved enough money to go out there for a week.
* My buddy in Charlotte is still getting married, though they've mutually agreed to move the date to October rather than June. All things considered, this is wise. I sense they're both coming out of the clouds a bit and realizing exactly what a commitment of this kind really means. Good. Speaking from the experience of two and a half years of Stepfather Boot Camp prior to marrying my own fine bride, it's good to know what one is getting into when one marries someone. Nothing's worse than marrying a rude surprise.
* We're coming up on the one-year anniversary of when DiDi had to be put to sleep--the "blind dog" this blog is technically in memory of, though I haven't written much about her lately. That could be an interesting series of posts, because some seriously funky stuff went through my head when we had that done. It feels queasy to sign the death warrant for a close friend, even if that friend is of a different species. If I'm up to it and things aren't too crazy here I'll give it as sensitive a treatment as I can.
* My book The Rain Song creeps to completion. Some things in it still need research, but to the best of my knowledge the plot holes have been filled and inconsistencies corrected. I have until the end of May to get my free NaNoWriMo proof copy of it, so there's time to make sure it's all right. Right now I'm trying to figure out who to have test-read it to get opinions and see if anyone's kind enough to tell me where it really sucks. :-) A few friends have early versions and I've yet to hear from any of them, which means either a) they have lives and no time for casual reading or b) it really, REALLY sucks. :-)
* Finally, if I can get a picture of it I'll happily post it, but someone on the street behind me had a '64 Rambler parked in front of his house. Big deal? Yes, it is--how many '64 Ramblers do you see these days with apparently authentic, in brand-new condition Goldwater-Morton bumper stickers?!? People, that rocked my world.
Greetings, y'all. Been awhile, I know--see the previous post for a hint why. The good news is our young man, after a combination of counseling, in-school suspension, and come-to-Jesus discussions from almost EVERYONE he knows, has decided to straighten up and fly right. Hopefully for good, though he's almost seventeen and has plenty of time to screw up some more. The teenage years--aren't they just wonderful?
I'd rather focus on the more hopeful side of life right now--weddings. Looks like I have two to attend in the space of two months this late Spring. The first is May 9 and my stepdaughter's official ceremony, one year and a day after she actually got married. This is to keep his family happy with a party, and since somehow she's saved enough cash for the two of them to go to Hawaii on a honeymoon, it will have an Hawaiian theme. My mission is to find a Hawaiian shirt between now and then. My good bride has picked her dress, though she claims with two wooden poles she could camp out in the thing. And, in an outstanding proof there is indeed a God who rewards suffering, my stepdaughter wants me to walk her down the aisle. It'll be a good time.
The second wedding is June 27. My old college roommate, at 44, has finally found the woman of his dreams and they are sealing the deal rather quickly (they met in November). This will be in Columbia, South Carolina, what my friends from Oklahoma would call a "fur piece" from here. So, I've been strategizing how to get there and how much it'll cost by various and sundry methods. It would be nice if my good wife could come along, but that's not looking likely; the budget is tight. I'll be there with bells on, though. I want to meet this chick. I want to see if she's the pure and ethereal-glowing thing he describes to me in phone calls as if he's back to the days of zits and cracking voice again.
So with all this I hope I can safely say I'm coming out of the funk my stepson's struggles put me in and am starting to enjoy life again. Yes!
I'd rather focus on the more hopeful side of life right now--weddings. Looks like I have two to attend in the space of two months this late Spring. The first is May 9 and my stepdaughter's official ceremony, one year and a day after she actually got married. This is to keep his family happy with a party, and since somehow she's saved enough cash for the two of them to go to Hawaii on a honeymoon, it will have an Hawaiian theme. My mission is to find a Hawaiian shirt between now and then. My good bride has picked her dress, though she claims with two wooden poles she could camp out in the thing. And, in an outstanding proof there is indeed a God who rewards suffering, my stepdaughter wants me to walk her down the aisle. It'll be a good time.
The second wedding is June 27. My old college roommate, at 44, has finally found the woman of his dreams and they are sealing the deal rather quickly (they met in November). This will be in Columbia, South Carolina, what my friends from Oklahoma would call a "fur piece" from here. So, I've been strategizing how to get there and how much it'll cost by various and sundry methods. It would be nice if my good wife could come along, but that's not looking likely; the budget is tight. I'll be there with bells on, though. I want to meet this chick. I want to see if she's the pure and ethereal-glowing thing he describes to me in phone calls as if he's back to the days of zits and cracking voice again.
So with all this I hope I can safely say I'm coming out of the funk my stepson's struggles put me in and am starting to enjoy life again. Yes!
My stepson got caught skipping school and faking excused absences--lots of them. He's failing all but one class this semester. He's unrepentant and blames everyone but himself.
My wife is an emotional wreck right now because of his irresponsibility and because she thinks the mistakes of her earlier life are coming back to haunt her.
I'm sorry. I don't feel much like blogging right now.
My wife is an emotional wreck right now because of his irresponsibility and because she thinks the mistakes of her earlier life are coming back to haunt her.
I'm sorry. I don't feel much like blogging right now.
I haven't been blogging much, and don't see myself blogging much soon. The selfish reason is I'm working on my book (the one I had linked here in November for National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo). I won't bore you with writing stuff except to say it's coming out very well. Normally I write something, feel good about it, wake up the next morning, look at it and think "Dear Lord in Heaven, this sucks" and go nowhere near it again for weeks. Not this one. There's two people in particular I want to see it when it's done, it's so good. That's the selfish reason, and it's a happy one.
The not-selfish reason is not a happy one. I don't want to blog about them, because they're personal and to do so would violate trust, but most of my friends are dealing with some heavy-duty problems this year and we're not even a month into it already. I've got one of my own that's a mystery--I have to talk to my stepson's high school vice principal today and I don't know why. The kid insists he has no clue why the man wants to talk to me about him. I've prodded him every direction I can for information. He won't budge, which means either he's telling the truth or this is something REALLY bad. I'm praying for the former and preparing for the latter. We got a letter from the school claiming he has an excessive number of excused absences this semester already--varying from three to six per class--which makes no sense because we've only called him in sick one day with a severe cold. We caught him ditching one class two weeks ago and he swears he's not done it since. He also claims there's a kid with a similar name to his that might be having problems. It's difficult to believe.
The experts out there all say you should be an advocate for your kid, to not assume that the "authorities" are always right. I know people who do exceptionally well with that philosophy, and as a result have well-adjusted kids that will tell them anything. I did not grow up under that philosophy--if I got in trouble at school I was the one who suffered, not the school; and VERY rarely was that unjust. So I'm torn how to handle this. Any advice you can offer I'll hear.
If prudent, I'll post later what I hear from the vice-principal. Right now call me a worried sick stepdad. This could be a bad day.
The not-selfish reason is not a happy one. I don't want to blog about them, because they're personal and to do so would violate trust, but most of my friends are dealing with some heavy-duty problems this year and we're not even a month into it already. I've got one of my own that's a mystery--I have to talk to my stepson's high school vice principal today and I don't know why. The kid insists he has no clue why the man wants to talk to me about him. I've prodded him every direction I can for information. He won't budge, which means either he's telling the truth or this is something REALLY bad. I'm praying for the former and preparing for the latter. We got a letter from the school claiming he has an excessive number of excused absences this semester already--varying from three to six per class--which makes no sense because we've only called him in sick one day with a severe cold. We caught him ditching one class two weeks ago and he swears he's not done it since. He also claims there's a kid with a similar name to his that might be having problems. It's difficult to believe.
The experts out there all say you should be an advocate for your kid, to not assume that the "authorities" are always right. I know people who do exceptionally well with that philosophy, and as a result have well-adjusted kids that will tell them anything. I did not grow up under that philosophy--if I got in trouble at school I was the one who suffered, not the school; and VERY rarely was that unjust. So I'm torn how to handle this. Any advice you can offer I'll hear.
If prudent, I'll post later what I hear from the vice-principal. Right now call me a worried sick stepdad. This could be a bad day.
It's been over two weeks since I put anything in this blog, and January 19 is my birthday, so what the hell.
It was a decent day. My good wife and stepson took me to the Olive Garden for dinner--seeing we had three gift cards from past Christmases for it, it was surprisingly affordable. Now I'm home writing this.
Never been a big birthday person, especially after turning 40 five years ago and realizing from here on out, every birthday means one year closer to death. Cheery thought, huh?
Besides, the older you get, the more important other things and other people are, not necessarily in that order. Someone I thought for sure would remember and say "Happy Birthday" to me didn't. At first it really bugged me, but a conversation I overheard that person have later in the day made me realize some things in life were much more important for that good soul to be thinking about. As is I know it wasn't a deliberate oversight. I could have been a better friend if I weren't thinking so selfishly.
The fact is, every one of us walks the earth for a limited time, and that time isn't wholly for ourselves. If others wish to honor our presence that's one thing, but we shouldn't expect it. Better to thank God you still breathe and can serve and move on.
And this is getting WAY too serious. So enjoy this classic Monty Python video. It's one of my favorites, and it's my birthday, so there! ;-)
In fact, let's go for TWO:
It was a decent day. My good wife and stepson took me to the Olive Garden for dinner--seeing we had three gift cards from past Christmases for it, it was surprisingly affordable. Now I'm home writing this.
Never been a big birthday person, especially after turning 40 five years ago and realizing from here on out, every birthday means one year closer to death. Cheery thought, huh?
Besides, the older you get, the more important other things and other people are, not necessarily in that order. Someone I thought for sure would remember and say "Happy Birthday" to me didn't. At first it really bugged me, but a conversation I overheard that person have later in the day made me realize some things in life were much more important for that good soul to be thinking about. As is I know it wasn't a deliberate oversight. I could have been a better friend if I weren't thinking so selfishly.
The fact is, every one of us walks the earth for a limited time, and that time isn't wholly for ourselves. If others wish to honor our presence that's one thing, but we shouldn't expect it. Better to thank God you still breathe and can serve and move on.
And this is getting WAY too serious. So enjoy this classic Monty Python video. It's one of my favorites, and it's my birthday, so there! ;-)
In fact, let's go for TWO:
