Life and it's abundant redundancies

I've been contemplating blogging again because I really enjoy it and realize that with my big mouth I have much to say. However, I think I've been trying to edit myself lately. For what? Who knows.....

I've been wondering lately how people start to think of life and it's daily beautiful little changes. I for one find myself looking around at the world and realizing that the older I get (now 34) the more I take those sweet details for granted. I don't like it though. I vividly remember being a kid and presently I'm caught reflecting my views then to my views now. Like looking at that cloud and making something creative out of it. Or seeing a tree and being wowed by it so much that I HAD to climb it. Or the little laughs about nothing that made life that much sweeter. Or getting in trouble for something and being grounded to my own yard but catching my dad watch me out of the little window of the front door playing outside by myself and touching his heart in a way that he came outside to tell me that I'm no longer grounded. Or playing catch with my mom. Or riding my bike EVERYWHERE and smelling everything around me whether good or bad.

Back to being older, why is it that it's more and more difficult to do all of that now? I try but I can never recreate that blissful feeling of processing the small things into a genuine experience. There are glimpses but it's not the same. It seems as though when life progresses we become more numb and instead of feeling individual stimuli, it all gets grouped together into one lump moment.

Just think about it more so possibly and hopefully we all can be more in tune to the individual moments to share with our kids. They're living it right now as we did when we were children. Perhaps it's just the way it is because of life's daily nuances. Perhaps the old saying 'stop once in awhile to smell the roses' is better understood by me now. Nonetheless, I envy the children for having such moments every minute of every day and hope they don't lose that connection with the world when they become older.

Yet another way the world would be a better place.......but doesn't happen enough.

The pussification of America

First, I just want to say to all of the parents out there that won't allow their kids to learn from their own mistakes and screw-ups...STOP IT ALREADY! Your children are going to be the leaders of this country someday and we are in the golden age of the pussification of America. I fear the day that a president will have to wear a helmet just to sit behind his desk out of fear of falling and cracking his cranium because mommy and daddy scared the life out of them with broken bones and germs. I know that's a bit extreme, but how other way can you put it? They will expect a trophy for everything they do because they were taught that just participating is good enough instead of trying to exceed and excel. They'll constantly look for the pat on the back just to get validation that they "done good" by there bosses because they weren't ever taught self worth and personal fulfillment to achieve their goals. People, they have to learn to fail and unless you stop the insanity, it won't stop either damnit and it's a scary thought for me!

Let them fall off the back of the couch. Let them go to the Principal's office for saying a bad thing. Let them drink water from the tap or use regular toilet paper instead of those nice, wet baby wipes. Let them sleep with the window open in their room. Let them play outside with other kids without fear of them getting hit by cars (as long as it's not a busy street!). Let them be kids! Trust what you've done to teach them right from wrong and have faith in yourselves already. That's the biggest issue. Parents don't have the balls to believe that they have done a great job in instilling values and that the stove is hot so don't touch it and are so afraid of appearing to be failures to other parents that they blend that same thinking into the minds of their kids. Also, if you're a teacher, lighten up! They're kids, not adults. They're going to make mistakes so teach them that there are consequences without remembering that they're just kids! They don't have to be robots so ALL order is in store in your classrooms.

Goddamnit, stop!

Early one school morning...

I just wanted to take a minute of your time and I think you'll find it funny that I did. Hopefully it accomplishes what I think it will and break up your day. Please read this through when you get a break or moment to yourselves. I'm sacrificing my pride to give you a laugh.

It was a good morning. Ayden and I shared time between us every morning before I took him to kindergarten (he's in 1st grade now) and this day started like any morning did. Being a man, I have my routines. Enough said (for now) about that. I got him to school 10-15 minutes early everyday so he could play with his friends on the playground and that occurred 98% of the time. On the 2% I didn't get this accomplished it had usually been because of traffic and/or wretched stop lights and stop signs and road construction.

Well, I was running a little behind that day and it makes me feel bad when I can't get him to school at the usual. He would be tardy if I got him there at 12:01. It requires that I have to bring him into the office so he could get a stamp (I haven't been explained why on that though) and I take him into his class. I'm giving you the routine so you can fully visualize what the process is.

So he's complaining like every morning that he wants to go to daycare because it's more fun but on Friday's I definitely wouldn't do it because he had to turn in his homework and failed to do so many times because he forgets. He was only 5, OH, sorry, 5 and a half as he insisted on. We all know that kids will say the damndest things and since he's been 2 and since I've known and love him, he has done so in publiC (as Ron White puts it, emphasize the C) many times. Anything from "your OLD!" to "that guy looks funny" when there's a handicap around. Amy and I have exhausted ourselves on him not saying those things.

So I'm not on my game that morning. It happens. I can usually and have most of the time been able to see it coming when he's about to say something so I have a talk before hand. This practice has never let me down and is tried and true. Also, please keep in mind that I don't ever get embarrassed. It just doesn't happen for me. You that know me well definitely know this.

We pull up to his school at 12:04 and I go straight to the office for the stamp. I have it in my head when I get there that I'm going to say what all people say that live in a big city....."My fault, I apologize.....Darn road construction!" and I do just that. As I finished the sentence, Ayden......in his sweet, innocent, and obviously honest self (GASP) goes and says, and I quote, "Daddy had a big dump". It got so quiet and my butt puckered so hard that I didn't think I'd be able to do the #2 for the next week. So I'm now looking down at him, quietly in my lying, loathsome, and caught red handed self. I think I heard the lady giving the stamp on his hand snicker but I'm not sure because my ears were ringing from the shock. Wow and many other words I won't say here flashed in my head. Although it seemed like an eternity not another word was spoken as I left the office .783 milliseconds later. After the small talk when we left, outside the door, he got to his class at 12:09 and I scurried home with my tail between my legs as a defeated man.

BUSTED!