Age, Football, Illness

Well, my kids are getting into the heart of cold and flu season in style. Meaning, I had a child vomiting on me all night. But, as luck would have it, we also got our cable hooked up this weekend, so I got to hold a feverish boy while watching baseball playoffs and football games. So, it was not so bad. I got a chance to see some good games, even though the cursed Yankees won.

I'm enjoy sports more than I ever have before. I'm not sure why, exactly, but I have a few ideas. One, I get older and the superficial, us vs. them mentality falls away. Two, I see lessons in people working hard and finding success through their skills. As a youth, it's easy to write off what people do that makes them successful. I not only respect the players and coaches more, I respect everyone involved. It takes work to be good at what you do. I respect a lot of people now that I never did; I know it isn't easy to get up and get your work done. ('Yours' work as Viri used to say.)

Another big reason is the insanity of my week. I'm working a lot, watching different kids. It takes a lot of energy. So, it's nice to have something I can enjoy that is low stakes. It's fun to just watch a game, and not really worry for a few hours about money, or illness. I can just relax, cuddle up to a child, and save my energy for the week. As I write this, Arkaedi Sue is snuggled into my lap, half asleep. It's a great way to unwind after a long week.

Get well, kids. Crawl up here and watch some sports with Papa. I'm that kind of dad now.

Super Sunday at Carkeek Park

We had an amazing day today, including a fun finale at the Super Bowl Party with dirty diapers. No one pooped on Herc and Sarah's floor, so it was a moral victory. Earlier in the day we traveled down to one of my favorite places in Seattle, Carkeek Park.

I have actually had arguments with people in Seattle about the value of the beach in winter. Amazingly, some people save the beach for a sunny July day, and skip it most of the year. I am astounded by this, for multiple reasons. First, the beach is fun. This week I've seen seals, watched the sea birds dive, and gotten spectacular views. I don't need a warm day. And second, we get so few warm days, you're missing out on the natural beauty of the area during a huge chunk of the year. I never get those people who don't take advantage of opportunities to do things when they can. I want to see and do everything I can, and I race around trying to see and do it before I miss it. Who knows what will happen in the months and years to come? If I have a few hours, my family and I are going to be outside having fun.
Today was a bit chilly, which me and Arkaedi loved. Viri and Mama had limited patience for the wind off the water. The trains cheered him up a good bit though. So, all in all a successful day. Parks, football, food and friends. (What's a synonym for parks that begins with and F sound, to make that sound better? I'm going to make one up. Photosynthesisplace.) It's odd that it often seems so chilly here, when it isn't that cold. It was in the 30s, even low 40s today. It definitely felt colder than that. Viri: "The cars are cold."

Days like this remind me once again that so many things in life are what you make of it. Sure, bad breaks and good breaks come and go, but the set up and preparation is so important. I'm a person who needs beautiful things around me, nature and friends and family. There don't have to be seals, but seals are nice too. I structure my life in order to have these things, and therefore I'm mostly a pretty happy guy, even though I'm broke and balding. (Really balding. Troy Polamalu could make 4,364 heads of Ryan hair from his.) We're really up in the air about what to do next with out lives, where to live and how to make enough to pay bills. But today showed me what I will need, wherever I end up. Friends, football, photosynthesisplace, and food.

Yes, I Am In Fact Ready For Some Football. Thank You.

Today was a day off, which meant donuts at Mighty-O, errands, and a fun game of football at Herc and Sarah's house. We watched it on a digital channel, on a giant TV, which got me wishing for a giant TV for the first time. And got Jaime saying no, not for the last time.

Viri is starting to enjoy football, which is fun. Dangerous. But fun.

My days are usually so packed that the day off has become extremely valuable. I enjoy my time now, and I enjoy spending it with friends. Having Herc and Sarah here has greatly increased my fun in free times, since they like to do a lot of the same things. Namely joking around and eating vegan treats. This can be accompanied by a football game, a bad movie, or a classic movie that I love and have never seen on the big screen.

I won't go on again about how much I love living in a city. But I will a little. The chance to use my rare free time to go to a theater and see a movie like Rashomon is amazing.

As much as I love West-By-God, I can't imagine changing into a constricting small town at this point in my life. I sing the lyrics to "Green Rolling Hills" to myself often, and I was thinking about the lyrics to that song, and others I love about West Virginia. They all tell you you have to leave! Then you come back when you're old, to die. I can really understand that; WV will always be my home, in a way that Seattle is not. But my life is lived here, the kids can go to good schools here, I can have a great time here. Then, I retire, sell my business, move back to WV and buy a giant piece of land.

Jaime argues against even that, she wants to move to Hawaii. As I get old and the cold sinks into my bones, maybe I'll agree. Jaime wasn't born in WV, though, so she doesn't have that odd sentimental attachment that I do. Hell my kids weren't born there. But I like the idea of going back, spending my last few years looking at the hills, and reflecting on my life from my home.

Until then, I will enjoy where I am. There is plenty of joking and vegan treats left for me, organic food to gorge myself on during playoffs, the Mariner's new season they haven't blown yet... and by next fall, after the baseball season and the World Series, I imagine that Herc and I will be more than ready for a little football, thank you kindly.

Super Papa Day

Today was a day in which I did everything in a very Papa way. I called my own dad, even, and chatted about the kids. I watched a football game with Sarah and Herc, and even though Sarah's black magic caused our team to lose, it was still great fun. Then I helped both of my kids fall asleep so Jaime could study.

(I'm always tempted to say I put them to sleep. That sounds bad. Remind me to delete that from my vernacular. Along with Goddammit, that Viri has picked up from me. Bad habits surface with talking children...)

My littlest one is asleep now, looking like the smallest Jedi. It is amazing to me how much love I have for my children. Even the thought that someone could not be near their children is shocking to me. I had a few hours away from them, enjoying myself and watching football, and I still missed them. I had to relate a few stories about them to Herc and Sarah. I should have mentioned the awesome little Jedi pajamas.

The place we watched football today was an irish pub downtown, a fun little place. It made me want to listen to the Pogues, which I am currently doing.

And I should rush off and make a new cd for the car before the little Jedi wakes up and demands boobs and justice. In that order.