Wearing a New Hat
I got really worried for a few moments. One of my sisters-in-law wanted to present me with a special gift in front of everyone at our family's Christmas Eve celebration.…
Music to My Ears
Americans have very few opportunities these days to band together with one singular purpose. A couple of weeks ago, however, that happened when NBC aired a live production of “The…
Shelf the Elf
One of the guiding principles for writers is the “rule of three.” Basically, using three examples for something tends to work better, especially in comedy. But as Mike, my oldest…
Looking for a Small Victory
As with many things I do, it seemed like a good idea at the time.
On a grocery store trip a long time ago, my wife brought home an apple-flavored trail mix, granola sort of thing from the bulk food aisle. Since I always think I have the discipline to improve myself, I took a liking to the mixture.
I never completely got hooked, however, so only had the mix periodically. From time to time, I would buy a bag of it for my snack drawer at work, only to get disappointed when I ran out.
When I remembered to get some of this treat sometime last spring, I made sure I wouldn’t run out too soon and bought a large amount. When I got home, I chose a container which could keep all of it so I could simply get small amounts to take to work in order to better ration my supply.
This is probably where I should mention that I don’t always do well with the follow through on things, especially when I don’t have a constant reminder. Since I bought a large bag of the snack on my own and put it in a container that usually sat inside a cupboard, I should have known things would end badly.
That did happen, but I found a silver lining in messing this up. I got a chance to make my wife to ever-so-briefly see my side of things on another issue.
Parking Lot Problems
I had to travel for work recently. I don’t have to do this often so it still has some novelty involved.
I have a few traditions for these trips. I try to sample as many local beers as I can. I have at least one room service dinner. And I always take good notes on where I parked my car at the airport.
I have good reason to worry about this issue. For this, like most things, I blame my brothers.
Jell-O Confession
When I made my confession, I figured I would end up as the bad guy in the scenario. It turns out that I had completely misjudged the situation.
My daughter made a special request for one of my wife’s recent trips to the grocery store. Bridget wanted Jell-O, like any good American kid does. So a four-pack of Jell-O cups ended up in our refrigerator.
As things sometimes happen, they sat there for a few days. She asked for them and got them, but had moved on to other snacks in the house. I totally get it. My brain works that way sometimes too.
When I needed a snack for my lunch at work one day, I spied the fruity treat and decided to open the pack. I knew I might suffer the wrath of an angry teenager, but figured I stood on solid ground here. She had her chance for the first crack at them and passed. Besides, she could easily claim the other three once I had my fix.
A Plan Coming Together
As a kid, I loved the show, “The A Team.” The program fell right into my wheelhouse – great action, a token female character to run around, Mr. T and…
Who Am I?
Sometimes I wonder what I have become. I still think I have my usual fun outlook on life most of the time, but come across moments where I don’t recognize myself.
That happened recently when I had one of those special opportunities I get a few times each year. My wife and daughter went away for a few days, and I had the house to myself.
I miss them terribly when this happens, but I also enjoy playing “single guy” in the house for 48 hours or so.
They left to visit friends on Monday morning, and the entire work day consisted of me looking at the clock and wondering what kind of fun I would create when I got home.
But when I got there, nothing happened.
Well, not nothing, but nothing of consequence. I exercised, had a nice dinner and then pretty much just chilled out before going to bed at a decent hour. I even resisted one of the siren songs of being home alone and slept without the TV on all night.
I seriously don’t know what’s wrong with me.
Halloween Back on Track
I knew the look in her eye. I have seen it a lot in recent years as I found myself more involved in community events.
The look told me that the brain was saying, “I know I can do this, but I have so many other things to do, but I really know I can handle this, but I also like to relax once in a while, but if I don’t do it, there’s a chance no one else will step up.”
I won’t say who I’m describing because, in reality, I saw the look in a lot of people’s eyes earlier this week when a bunch of people got together to discuss planning for this year’s Hanover Halloween parade. Don’t let the pronoun confuse you – men and women alike got this look in their eyes, including me.
In the end, we managed to divvy up a bunch of tasks and generate a lot of enthusiasm to keep one of the area’s best traditions going and, hopefully, avoid the rush we find ourselves in right now.
Uniform Confusion
A friend posted a first day of school picture on Facebook recently. Her son looked ready for his first day of kindergarten at their nearby Catholic school.
I recognized this kind of picture very well. In fact, I have seen many like it, especially as social media provided a ready outlet for these kinds of photos. But this one set me off for some reason.
What has happened to Catholic school uniforms?