O Blogger, Where Art Thou?

It’s been a while, I know. It’s amazing how work can swallow you whole and spit you out and you have no idea what day of the week it is or when you last came up for air. Such is the case with me. I’ve been engrosed in family matters, working and entertaining back-to-back birthdays for my wife and Deion, respectively. It’s been a busy October.
So I’m back and I have some stories to tell. So let’s get started…

Football Season is Over
Jordan’s team lost in the playoffs Saturday capping off a good season that saw his team go 5-3. He took it in stride, like he always does. I’m not sure he’s going to play next year, though. He’s starting to talk more and more about playing middle school soccer, since he’ll be in sixth grade next fall. Too bad, though because he really is a talented football player. But unless he tries, he may not understand that or he may find that he is more gifted at playing soccer.

More Soccer Talk
Deion never shuts up about playing soccer. We found an indoor league for him to play in this winter. I was crushed when he said he wanted to forgo basketball for the beautiful game, but it’s his choice. Some of my motivation was selfish, as I’ll miss coaching since he won’t be playing, but if he wants to be a soccer player, then I’ll do all I can to help him achieve his dream.

Baby Talk
Quincy is now in the middle of his fourth month of life and is absolutely adorable. He smiles all the time and he is active and playful. He really seems to enjoy the silly songs I sing to him and the bond he has with Lisa is amazing. So amazing that when she sings to him in his moments of tearful tantrum, he calms down. What’s cool is now he can roll himself over a bit and you can see the wonder in his eyes because everything stimulates him. My favorite thing, though, is curling up next to him for a few tender moments in the morning before I get up. It brings such a warm feeling to know that I helped create someone so great as Quincy - it is overwhelming.
Chris

Quincy Has Embraced His Manhood

Quincy Has Embraced His Manhood

Lisa went shopping at Staples the other day. As she was gathering Quincy to put into the shopping cart, she decided check and then change his diaper. While his diaper lay open, Quincy had a bit of a 'water main break,' if you know what I mean. So being the smart mom she is, she points Quincy out towards the parking lot and lets him enjoy his first public pee. I know, sounds barbaric and disgusting, but for centuries boys have loved to pee outside. I did it as a kid with my uncles, who taught me the art and I in turn as a teenager taught my younger cousins to be free and pee. It's like a boys right of passage to pee outside once with his dad or his brother. Makes them feel cool. C'mon, you've never seen Big Daddy? And while Quincy has no idea what he did, and mom did it out of desperation so she wouldn't get peed on, I felt proud of little Quincy for being a natural boy.

Finally!

It took me like 10 tries, but on Tuesday night I finally beat Deion in foosball. As backward as that sounds, I'm a totally table soccer loser. But not on Tuesday night. It was close. It was about 9:28 pm, two minutes before his bed time and he was slowly coming back. The score was 8-7. I felt tempted to send him to bed and win by default. I'm just that competitive, but I decided that I would ride or die and try to beat him and send him to bed with a loss around his neck. So he tied it up at 8 and then I scored twice more to end it at 9:33 pm. I was so amped and boy didn't I rub it in. I may never play him again so I can say that I was the last one to win between us. I learned that from John Elway. They said that he was so competitive that if he beat someone that he didn't think he could beat again, he wouldn't play them anymore so that he had the last win.

Learning to Sacrifice

We learned recently that we were in a bit of a financial pinch and as a family we’d need to cut some unnecessary expenses. Naturally, cable went, so did Netflix, the boys’ sacrificed their allowances with a little reluctance and our gym membership will go next, too. Then we decided to trade in our van and my car for a new van and a mountain bike. My wife proposed selling my car before and I couldn’t do it. I like my Saturn. But this time, I felt the need to lead the way and be an example of being sacrificial and content about it for my boys. So I’ve gone from a 2002 Saturn to a 2007 21-speed Mongoose mountain bike. Everyday I ride to work (12 miles roundtrip) and it’s an absolute joy. I share my experiences with my family over dinner and I think that it helps Deion to see that I gave up something meaningful for something less and I can find joy in it still. Sure being on a tighter budget will seem limiting, but it gives us a chance to be more creative and it’s a great teaching tool for my boys, who seem to think that life is about accumulating things and being overstimulated by technology.

Community Service Update

So Deion has begun his community service for tossing crayons out of the bus window. He spent an hour last Saturday picking up garbage from the football fields where Jordan plays. This afternoon he'll log in two more hours by cutting lawns in the neighborhood. Then he's back to collecting trash on the field again tomorrow. He's procrastinated so much that he has to do roughly and hour a day to get it done by deadline. I'm pulling for him, but deep inside I don't think he thinks I'm serious about imposing a heavy restriction on him if he fails to complete his service work. If he gambles, he'll lose. But I guess that would be another lesson learned and one more to teach. Procrastination kills.

Chris