Birthday bo... man?

Yesterday was my oldest sons 17th birthday. Ignoring the fact that I'm old enough to have a 17 year old - he wanted to go bowling. We booked a lane for him and his friends, and slowly throughout last week they all bailed on him. So we went as a family.

I can't remember how long it's been since I went bowling, but let me tell you the fact that the radial head fracture in my right elbow, which I was told was so small that any attempt to fix would result in more damage, absolutely made itself known about halfway through the night.

I still got the high score, but that's not the point. 

Good bye Opa

My grandfather died this morning.

Odd off days and the driving boy

A random Wednesday off school? That makes little sense.

Don't do that. Unless you're looking at a date specific holiday that requires celebration on the day of, then any other day off can easily be shuffled to the nearest Friday or Monday.

I mean, nobody's going to try to move Christmas. 

My oldest is taking his five hour driving course this week. It's at the high school, so he only needs to stay and call for a pickup. I plan to play some horribly embarrassing song really loud with the windows down. Either Barbie Girl or Caramelldansen. We'll see how that goes.

Hot and cold and hot and...

It's not rare to have an unseasonably warm day somewhere in winter, but this is getting weird. I get the mail at work, and one day I'm in short sleeves soaking in the sun. The next day I have a hoodie on. The next day I need my coat and gloves just to get that far. 

That's happened three times in the past month.

Doesn't matter what you wear - you're wrong. 

Wrestling's over

You read that title correctly - today was the last day. It was a match in Oswego. It was a pretty short run, only two months long, but I watched as his skill improved dramatically.

Every single one of those seventh graders would benefit from some weight training, but I'm not going to go on about that.

He wants to do it again, but at his grade level that means next January. I'll see if I can get him some weights.

Birthdon't

Today my wife turned... nothing. It's not her birthday. She doesn't get one this year. Last year she didn't get to go to the chinese place for dinner because that was the same day when the van had its unfortunate open-door problem. Now, after that issue was settled we could have gone at any time, but she never did.

Well she finally got to go. Happy un-birthday.

Dental shenanigans

The only thing I'm gonna say is that my teeth are very close together, and I tend to shred floss that goes in. You ever have a piece of shredded floss stuck between your teeth? That's betrayal, and I won't stand for it.

Anyway I have another cavity.

The big nostalgia

My son had a wrestling match last night, hosted in my old Jr High. I haven't been there since I walked out of my last day of finals thirty years ago. The building has not had any major renovations or changes in that entire time. Sure a fresh coat of paint here and there, but WOW.

Felt like I was back in 1994.

I managed to sneak into the library. I spent half of my life in that library, so going back in was a treat. Sure it had been rearranged, but... ok let me describe this library. The building used to have a courtyard, decades before I even went there. They added a new wing, closing it off. They slapped up a ceiling and floor, and called that new space the library. The ceiling was cavernous, and when you looked up you could see windows into classrooms. The lighting was all downward, so the tall ceilings were dark and, dare I say, moody. If I can borrow a term from the kids - it was a vibe. 

If I didn't show up early to absolutely nerd out, I might have missed the match.

Chiropract-won't

I went to my chiropractor today. Say what you will of the profession, but I lose range of motion without semi regular visits. I typically schedule my next visit on my way out, but I'm informed that he'll be out of town for the next month or so.

Or so?

Apparently he's taking care of a sick relative, 'end of life' type care.

Props to the guy for basically shutting down his entire business for an indeterminate amount of time for that. Though I've been there when he wasn't, he had another chiropractor fill in during his absence. Kinda wonder why that guy couldn't keep the place running. Not gonna ask.

Slipping

I haven't said much about my grandfather lately. It's not for lack of news, in fact there's entirely too much. He's been to the hospital numerous times since I last posted about him. He's fallen and hurt himself many times as well. Last week Monday he had a stroke and went to the hospital again. Since then they pulled a blood clot out of his brain. He was sedated and intubated most of the week. The tube came out on Friday and he's been awake but limp since then.

He can almost swallow.

He was adamant that he never be put on machines to keep him alive, and that's where he is right now. The doctors don't have much hope that he'll recover to the point he was even a week ago. As I type this, my mother, uncle, and two aunts are at the hospital discussing how to go forward. 

Preemptive cancelation

On Saturday, we got a late email saying church was going to be cancelled due to the impending snowstorm. By the time we would have gotten home, the storm hadn't yet arrived.

Lame.

Then late Sunday, we got an email saying school was cancelled for today due to the impending snowstorm.

I swear my school busses were cutting a path for the plows, meanwhile the kids now get off school at the drop of a hat.

Any hat.

On location

So a part of my church assignment has me traveling to other areas to speak to other congregations. I've only done it about three times, but seeing different people means I can use the same written talk more than once.

It's a bonus.

But yesterday, someone was taking pictures of me from the back of the room. I didn't notice (I only need my glasses for distance, so I kept them off so I could see my notes), but the bishop said something to me afterward, and when I asked this person, apparently I gesture and make funny faces when I'm up there. They sent me the pics, and honestly I'm kinda funny.

No, I'm not posting them here. 

Wrestling.... schedule

My son, who chose wrestling, was supposed to be getting a shuttle to the high school athletics wing where they could use the legit, purpose built wrestling room. But due to persistent schedule conflicts, their normal start time is delayed.

No shuttle. I have to go home, and 45 minutes later drive him to the high school. Practice is long enough that it's impractical to stay for it, so I go home for the duration. Of course I gotta pick him up again. Coach says this should last through January.

I still wish they had a proper room setup at the middle school. It's getting difficult to accomplish anything.

Wrestling

My youngest son has chosen to join 7th grade modified boys wrestling. Despite him being in middle school, this takes place in the high school after hours. Despite having a late bus, they won't put middle schoolers on the high school late bus.

Yes, I have to pick him up every single school day.

My daughter has chosen ski club, which also requires a parent pickup, but that's only one day a week and it's at the same middle school her brother attends. It's close enough to walk, but not at 8pm with no crossing guard, so I'll get her anyway.

Meanwhile my wife is doing taxes and won't be around to help with any of it. My younger self would have been bothered by having to run around so much, but honestly I'm glad my kids are taking advantage of these opportunities.

To choose REM

I can count on one hand the number of times that I decided to just go to sleep instead of staying up for new years. For the most part I just stay up, wherever that happens. Once I was extremely sick (that was 2003), and about 2 other times I was just too tired to bother. 

So last night, opting to turn in at 9:30 was something of an anomaly.