July 13, 2008
I am procrastinating, I know. I really do not feel like mixing up thin-set for the bathroom. I will most likely write and dink around on the computer, clean house, and mysteriously run out of time before I get to the bathroom. At least I finished the moving of the gangbox and the sink installation yesterday. I probably did something wrong, though, since I didn't damage myself and bleed on anything.
At any rate, Annie and I returned last Wednesday from a great trip back to Missouri to visit family and friends. I didn't see all my friends back there, and I hope they are not too ticked. How should I break up the trip description? Hmmm... I think I will make categories.
Fireworks
Alright. I admit it. We mostly traveled back to Missouri to visit family and friends. We chose the time of travel for one reason: fireworks. It took us six days to get the pyro-bug out of our system. The last night there, we did not set off any fireworks. Between my parents and us, we must have set off at least $300 worth of fireworks. We saved some for other holidays (God love Missouri). That does not count the fireworks that my buddy Eric and his son brought down. Let's just say that Disneyland has nothing on what we set off. We had a few fountains, but for the most part, California would have had a seizure over the kind of fireworks we set off. Probably 80% started off with a major boom before launching themselves into the air over 100 feet to explode in a spectacular array of lights and patterns. Annie became the queen of fireworks. We talked about running with the punk, and she got it immediately. She would light the firework of choice, turn and quickly, but carefully walk away before turning to witness what her lighting task had created. Come to think of it, there was one time when she was focused on orienting the firework and lost track of the punk, which unfortunately ran against her face. I didn't see it, and she made no comment. I saw it the next morning, and she told me what happened. No crying. No whining. Just, oops, and she dealt with it. We treated it, and it healed completely before we got home. She is now completely the Queen of Fireworks.
Beer Drinking
That really doesn't require an explanation, does it? Yes, that was a task that my father and I took on, and not Annie... Although, she had the occasional root beer.
Fishing
I didn't buy a license, so Annie engaged in the fishing exercise by herself. In fact, if she had hooked a muskie and been pulled in, she would have had to drop the pole for me to help her given Missouri's strict requirements. That may seem like a natural thing, but you didn't see Annie fall off a horse with the reins in her hand as the horse started to rear in fear. She never let go. At any rate, Annie caught four fish of which she is very proud. I thought it odd, though, that my daughter, who picks up banana slugs would not touch the fish. Perch rock, though.
Swimming
We hadn't been to Missouri for about four years. The last time we were there, Annie swam excitedly in the lake until my nephew in a fit of 'oneriness swam up under her and scared the malarky out of her. It was in that one moment that she realized that the water was murky, she couldn't see very far into the lake, and there were fish in there. She has been unwilling to swim in the lake ever since. Well, my 'onery nephew did it again. Annie was standing on the side of the dock before I got there (lucky for my nephew), and he pushed her in. She reacted very well, and climbed back out without any significant response. She told me later that she almost cried, but made herself not. It took a couple of days, but eventually, she would come in if I was in. We just had to stay next to the ladder. By the time we left, she was jumping off the dock to catch balls that I would throw up for her, and swimming about twenty feet from the dock to grab on to me. She had a blast, and I think the next time she will be even braver... especially if I have my hand occupied with a fistful of my nephew's hair.
Sunburn
I paid attention to Annie, and not to me. I got it and she didn't. That's ok with me.
Visiting
We had a great time visiting with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Debra, Cousins Laurel & Drew, neighbors (one set of which generously drove Annie and me to the airport on their way home last Wednesday), Great Grandma & Grandpa, long time friend Eric and his son... We stayed up late and got up (relatively) early to chat about everything we could think of. We would sit on the screened-in porch and watch the turkeys walk up from the lake to eat corn that had been set out for them... more variety of birds than I have in California. Annie got a kick out of all the various sizes, colors, and sounds.
Memory Lane
My sister and I took the kids out to the farm where I generally feel I grew up. I was there once before when I was about seventeen, and knew that it would be far different than it used to be. I do not think my sister was quite prepared for the changes. Some of them, even I was not ready for. Despite my tendency to describe experiences that look very personal, I am not yet ready to fully describe what we saw and how it contrasted so drastically with what we remembered. The kids were largely uninterested, although my nephew seemed to be soaking it in for the most part. Regardless, I think there are only two things that would make me go back: 1) Annie reaches an age where she genuinely wants to see and know, or 2) I have a significant other that wants to see and know. Should a significant other happen into my life, I could see that being a desire. Most of the cerebral connections that make me tick were learned and set during that time. Others have formed as a result of experiences that happened after we left the farm, but most of my basic behavioral patterns were set between the ages of six and thirteen. For now, I just have to quote Forrest Gump: that's all I have to say about that.
It was a great trip, and we hope to return in less than four years the next time!
Done procrastinating...
At any rate, Annie and I returned last Wednesday from a great trip back to Missouri to visit family and friends. I didn't see all my friends back there, and I hope they are not too ticked. How should I break up the trip description? Hmmm... I think I will make categories.
Fireworks
Alright. I admit it. We mostly traveled back to Missouri to visit family and friends. We chose the time of travel for one reason: fireworks. It took us six days to get the pyro-bug out of our system. The last night there, we did not set off any fireworks. Between my parents and us, we must have set off at least $300 worth of fireworks. We saved some for other holidays (God love Missouri). That does not count the fireworks that my buddy Eric and his son brought down. Let's just say that Disneyland has nothing on what we set off. We had a few fountains, but for the most part, California would have had a seizure over the kind of fireworks we set off. Probably 80% started off with a major boom before launching themselves into the air over 100 feet to explode in a spectacular array of lights and patterns. Annie became the queen of fireworks. We talked about running with the punk, and she got it immediately. She would light the firework of choice, turn and quickly, but carefully walk away before turning to witness what her lighting task had created. Come to think of it, there was one time when she was focused on orienting the firework and lost track of the punk, which unfortunately ran against her face. I didn't see it, and she made no comment. I saw it the next morning, and she told me what happened. No crying. No whining. Just, oops, and she dealt with it. We treated it, and it healed completely before we got home. She is now completely the Queen of Fireworks.
Beer Drinking
That really doesn't require an explanation, does it? Yes, that was a task that my father and I took on, and not Annie... Although, she had the occasional root beer.
Fishing
I didn't buy a license, so Annie engaged in the fishing exercise by herself. In fact, if she had hooked a muskie and been pulled in, she would have had to drop the pole for me to help her given Missouri's strict requirements. That may seem like a natural thing, but you didn't see Annie fall off a horse with the reins in her hand as the horse started to rear in fear. She never let go. At any rate, Annie caught four fish of which she is very proud. I thought it odd, though, that my daughter, who picks up banana slugs would not touch the fish. Perch rock, though.
Swimming
We hadn't been to Missouri for about four years. The last time we were there, Annie swam excitedly in the lake until my nephew in a fit of 'oneriness swam up under her and scared the malarky out of her. It was in that one moment that she realized that the water was murky, she couldn't see very far into the lake, and there were fish in there. She has been unwilling to swim in the lake ever since. Well, my 'onery nephew did it again. Annie was standing on the side of the dock before I got there (lucky for my nephew), and he pushed her in. She reacted very well, and climbed back out without any significant response. She told me later that she almost cried, but made herself not. It took a couple of days, but eventually, she would come in if I was in. We just had to stay next to the ladder. By the time we left, she was jumping off the dock to catch balls that I would throw up for her, and swimming about twenty feet from the dock to grab on to me. She had a blast, and I think the next time she will be even braver... especially if I have my hand occupied with a fistful of my nephew's hair.
Sunburn
I paid attention to Annie, and not to me. I got it and she didn't. That's ok with me.
Visiting
We had a great time visiting with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Debra, Cousins Laurel & Drew, neighbors (one set of which generously drove Annie and me to the airport on their way home last Wednesday), Great Grandma & Grandpa, long time friend Eric and his son... We stayed up late and got up (relatively) early to chat about everything we could think of. We would sit on the screened-in porch and watch the turkeys walk up from the lake to eat corn that had been set out for them... more variety of birds than I have in California. Annie got a kick out of all the various sizes, colors, and sounds.
Memory Lane
My sister and I took the kids out to the farm where I generally feel I grew up. I was there once before when I was about seventeen, and knew that it would be far different than it used to be. I do not think my sister was quite prepared for the changes. Some of them, even I was not ready for. Despite my tendency to describe experiences that look very personal, I am not yet ready to fully describe what we saw and how it contrasted so drastically with what we remembered. The kids were largely uninterested, although my nephew seemed to be soaking it in for the most part. Regardless, I think there are only two things that would make me go back: 1) Annie reaches an age where she genuinely wants to see and know, or 2) I have a significant other that wants to see and know. Should a significant other happen into my life, I could see that being a desire. Most of the cerebral connections that make me tick were learned and set during that time. Others have formed as a result of experiences that happened after we left the farm, but most of my basic behavioral patterns were set between the ages of six and thirteen. For now, I just have to quote Forrest Gump: that's all I have to say about that.
It was a great trip, and we hope to return in less than four years the next time!
Done procrastinating...