Disney

There are some things that I've looked forward to ever since the day I first became a father on June 20th of 2003. We had Tommy's first soccer game this year. Now we've got our first family trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando.

I'm just as excited as the kids.

Quick Hitter Thanks

Some more quickie things I'm thankful for today:

1) A successful year of running. I finished the 5 mile Turkey Trot in around 48:30. Slower than two years ago, but not bad for being pretty undertrained over the last few months. I'm really happy with that result all things considered.

2) I think I was ahead of Kim Farry during the race. I'm pretty sure that was her. That would be the Pearl River High School equivalent of me dunking over Jordan. Of course, as I smiled about it, she quickly picked up the pace and blew me away.

3) I'm thankful that I said "Knock Knock" before descending the stairs of my house. If I hadn't, I would have seen my mother-in-law naked this morning.

4) I'm thankful for the arrangement we have that has my Mom cook Thanksgiving dinner and then bring it over to our house to host. My mom can cook.

5) I'm thankful for my beautiful home.

6) I'm thankful that the Blue Jays fired JP Ricciardi.

7) I love Thanksgiving. You can't beat great food, folks, and fun. Oh and football.

8) I'm thankful for my blog audience. I've been told that the blog has been getting more personal and almost feels like a diary. I'm ok with that if you are.

9) I'm thankful for Curb Your Enthusiasm this season. Absolutely hysterical.

10) I'm thankful for a good glass of wine. A good glass of beer. A good glass of scotch. A good glass of tequila. I'm thankful for Anna letting me sleep in tomorrow after I consume each of these beverages today.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Turkey Trot Prep

So the last two days I've gone out for runs to get ready for the 5 mile Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot. Yesterday, I wanted to test my speed. It is about where I thought it would be. Not so fast. Not so slow.

Today, I wanted to go out and run the full 5 mile course. Couldn't do it. I felt pain in my lower back after three miles. I felt developing blisters on the bottom of my right foot and the sides of my left and right foot. Wow.

I'm proud that I ran 26.2 miles just three months ago. I really have been taking it for granted how unbelievable an accomplishment that was for me. How the hell did I do that?

It wasn't easy.

Right now, the Turkey Trot won't be easy either.

A glimpse into the mind of a 6 year old

Tommy has been battling a cough recently. He has been tired and irritable. I'll cut him a little slack. He is on medication.

We have a regular parent/teacher conference scheduled for next Tuesday. Before we have them, I always like to ask if Tommy has been in trouble recently, just to see if I should be prepared. I tell him that his teacher will tell me and I'd like to have his side of the story. This time he looked at me and said "actually yes."

He had been in trouble for punching "Moon". A girl in his class. He had been sent to the Principal's office. We had never heard a thing about this from the teachers or the school. We were stunned. I asked if Moon had cried. He said no. Probably not that bad, I thought.

In the last week, he has been very disrespectful. He has given Anna and Azure a very hard time in particular. He has thrown multiple tantrums. It hasn't been pretty. Age appropriate, we think, but still.

Yesterday, Tommy was yelling at Dylan and I told him to stop yelling at him. Today, he woke up and went downstairs to play with Dylan. Immediately, I heard crying. I asked Dylan what happened. He said Tommy yelled at me. I brought Tommy upstairs for what I thought would be some light discipline.

As I was disciplining him, he started to protest. Then he got physical. He (gently)smacked me in the face as I was lifting him. He claimed," I pushed, but didn't hit." He then stuck his foot in my face as I was carrying him to his room. He claimed he didn't kick, because he didn't make a kicking motion. (Sounds like a hockey goal ruling being allowed).

Anyway, Anna and I had discussed that we needed to put an end to the behavior. I went nuclear. I said "no show for you tonight". Shows are his currency. He screamed and carried on for an hour saying that he would "never ever stop crying." I sat with him and listened. He said," Dylan made me push you." He said, "You made me push you." He said," He never meant to push, that he was good."

He said last time when he was bad, he got to watch a show. Doesn't matter, I replied. I looked him in the eye and said--- "there is nothing you can do today that will change my point of view. No show for you." He cried and carried on.

I finally suggested that we all take a shower to calm everyone down. So we all did. Alex immediately wiped out and started crying. Pretty funny hysteria for a Saturday morning.

Tommy came in to the shower and seemed much better. He mentioned in passing that he had heard the tv. I told him the tv wasn't on, so that couldn't have been true.

He said- I turned it on for a second and watched a show.

Giving Thanks (1)

I am thankful for:

1) My sister. Being open and honest, our relationship isn't exactly where I wish it was right now. Distance has made everything harder. But I am thankful for your love and support and friendship. I am thankful that we can talk and confide in each other. I am thankful that we can make each other laugh. I will make my best efforts to spend more time with you in California in 2010 and I hope you will come back East as well. I have always felt that friendships and relationships in general lose some of their strength if you are not experiencing things together in person. Creating memories. Sharing experiences and laughs and stories. As I've grown older and taken on more responsibilities as a husband and father, it has become more difficult to grow our relationship to where I want it to be. Let's find a way to turn the corner in 2010.

2) My mother. You are caring, wise, generous, warm, and sensitive. I am a better man because of you. I am a better husband, better father, better son, and better brother because of you. Thanks Mom for taking on all of the challenges that life has thrown your way head on. If you hadn't, I don't know where I'd be today. Thank you for always listening. Thank you for respecting boundaries. Thank you for (as Dad just said recently)--- doing everything that you do with love. You have expanded my relationship with God. You have challenged the way I view life, family, and people in general. And while I am not always ready to agree with what you are saying about other lives, other beings, angels, (you get the picture), I definitely do not disagree entirely either. I am thankful for your perspective.

3) My father. I'm grateful for your friendship, support, advice, generosity, and love. Because of you, I've had incredible opportunities in life. Without the foundation that you helped me build, I would not be where I am today. Happy, comfortable, and at peace. I look forward to seeing you at work. I look forward to seeing you on the weekends. I look forward to going to AC with you. I look forward to talking sports, telling you about the kids, and listening to your advice. You are my best friend. In every way our relationship is exactly what I strive for in my relationship with my sons. Thank you.

4) My parents. Didn't I already cover you? No. I'm thankful for your example. Your relationship has gone through its share of ups and downs, but through strength and perseverence and love and friendship, you've endured the lows and cherished the highs. I thank you for not starting me off with too much baggage. I thank you for being fantastic grandparents. For being present and active in my life and in the lives of my three sons.

5) My Anna. Every day when I wake up, you are there to be groggy and make no sense. :) You make me a better man every day. Without you, there would have been no marathon. You are an incredible friend. You are an incredible mother. You are an incredible wife. I love you more every day. Thank you for helping me grow. Thank you for loving and supporting me. Thank you for deciding to have a third child with me and taking the risk to have Alex after the c-section craziness with Dylan. Thank you for all of the laughs and fun that we have together. I can't even imagine where I would be without you. I am thankful that I don't have to give it any thought.

6) My friends Scott and Trina. In a million years, I never would have thought that I would be close friends with you both when we all first met each other. I never would have thought that we'd go through all of the highs and lows that we've been through already. But that is because I didn't know you. It gets harder to meet people and maintain friendships as we get older, but I feel like our friendship only gets stronger. Your loyalty, support, and love makes me stronger and better. You both crack me up and are able to make me laugh and smile when no one else can. That is worth so much to me. I would go to war with you and for you. And I know you would for me. Thank you. I can't wait to embark on more life's journeys together with you live and via thousands of e-mails.

7) My friend Azure. Raising these three boys is so much easier with you. Thank you for giving Anna and I so much support. You give us strength and confidence when we lack it and need it. There is nothing more important than knowing that our boys are being cared for by someone who loves them. You are an important part of our family. Anna and I are so happy for you and Sean. You are clearly so happy and at peace with each other and in life in general. I am thankful for that and thankful for Sean who we all adore as well. I am thankful beyond what you do for us and the boys--- I am thankful for your friendship. I hope that we make you as happy as you make us. Thank you.
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In life, you never know when you'll have an opportunity to tell the ones you care about how you feel about them and how much they mean to you. Sometimes you never get that opportunity. People do it at eulogies and in speeches at big occasions. Give it a shot and do it this Thanksgiving.

Diduknow?

The Phantom Menace

After many blog posts on this subject, I finally caved and bought the 6 Star Wars movies on DVD. On Saturday, a wet and disgusting day, following Tommy's soccer victory, I sat down to watch the Phantom Menace with Tommy (the interrogator) and Dylan and Anna. Tommy had been driving Anna and I absolutely insane with repeated Star Wars questions based on what he had heard from friends, what he had seen on the cartoon, and what he had imagined. I really couldn't remember any of the answers from the prequel movies, because I didn't really like them much.

I gave Tommy the option of starting with The Phantom Menace or watching Star Wars in 4-5-6, 1-2-3 order like his Dad. He went with the Phantom Menace. It was fun to watch, only because the kids were there and it felt like I was successfully taking them through a rite of passage. I immediately remembered absolutely hating Jar-Jar Binks. The kids couldn't understand him, so he wasn't funny to them except when he said "How rude!" a few times. So Mr. Lucas- were those two half-hearted laughs worth pissing off every adult that saw the movie.

Dylan got a little bored during parts, but was pretty into it for a 4 year old. It is amazing how he just automatically gets to see things with Tommy, because I just get tired of holding Tommy off and there is no point in holding him off as well. Dylan gets to do everything earlier and will mature faster. You can easily see how this will translate for the second kid later in life.

Anyway, there was some violence, but it wasn't too bad...until... Kwai-Gan (spelling?) gets killed by Darth Maul at the end. Yikes said my look to Anna when that happened. Then Obi-Wan kills Darth Maul and splits him in half. Yikes I said again with my eyes to Anna. I don't think the kids realized that he was split in half. The next image would stick with them though as Kwai-Gan's body sat in the flames being burned. The interrogator was already formulating a list. I gave the standard adult bs answer that jedis go to heaven that way. That seems to have worked in the short term.

Yesterday, Tommy brought home a book that goes through all 6 movies. He already knows that Anakin/Darth Vader is Luke's father. That Anakin becomes Darth Vader. That Darth Vader kills Obi-Wan. What fun is that? The good news is that he is reading really well. And not surprisingly based on everything else I've said, so is Dylan.