39 And Counting

Whenever I'm away from my blog for a bit I always feel the need to do a recap. As if I need to explain to my blog why I've ignored it for so long. It's kinda like going a couple weeks without talking to your mother, in that almost the exact same phrases are said "I know I should have called. I miss you too. I've just been busy. Yes I'm wearing clean underwear". The conversation is then followed by a Cliff Notes version of what's been happening. With that in mind here's the quick recap of April and May....

Baseball started, baseball ended, Baron came, Baron left, Adam passed the 3rd grade, Alex graduated preschool, for the 1st time in 10 years we are not paying daycare costs, we hired an awesome teenager to watch the kids during the summer, and I'm obsessed with trucks and grills. Maybe I'll go into more detail later on, then again maybe not (I've fallen in love with Netflix and she's taking some of my time).

I'm turning 40 this year which is depressing enough on its own, but once you also add in the fact that I've got two very energetic boys (9 and 5) it's understandable why some mornings I wake up more discouraged by this sad fact of life than others. Kids will keep you feeling young, but they can also remind you that you are no longer the spring chicken you used to be. Take this past weekend for example...

Things kicked off Friday night with a lap around downtown Florence's First Fridays craft fair. Alex insisted on practically running the 8 blocks. Turns out he remembered there was a guy that gave out free children's books somewhere along the route. Of course it was the last booth along the route (next month we will start there first). This was followed by a trip to Lowes for two laps around the store looking for air filters. 

The older I get the more I love Cypress creek. It's perfect for swimming, fishing, canoeing....the more I'm around it the more I wish I'd discovered it when I was in my teen years. That's one mistake I'm trying not to pass on to my kids so every chance I get I try to take them. That's where we ended up Saturday, fishing the creek from 1:30 to 4:00 (after another lap around Lowes looking for a mailbox). Lex got bored so I dropped him off at Gigi's and then headed to the river for more fishing. This was followed two hours later by the only meal of the day (a mushroom and swiss burger from McD's). Now at this point you'd think I'd have had my fill of activity, but when you are trying to keep up with a 9 yr old boy of course tennis is the next logical thing to do. I mean who wants to sit around watching movies and eating popcorn all night (Me!! I want to do that!!!). 

The thing about tennis with a kid that's only had one lesson is that it's more chasing the ball and not so much hitting it back n' forth. In fact it's more related to sit-ups then any sort of sport (or more like playing fetch with an old basset hound now that I really think about it). Imagine an overweight 39 year old body doing sit-ups for the first time in years and then throw the knowledge that he'd just consumed a Sun-Drop, two orange sodas, two Gatorades, a large fry, and a greasy onion covered steak sauce soaked mushroom swiss burger. As my face began to turn green, Adam actually looked up and asked "Do you not like exercise Daddy?" to which I was barely able to respond "I like it...*burp*..*pant*..*fight off nausea*...I just don't think it likes me!"  Which leads to the end of tonight's train of thought, where I can't help but wonder if these kids will remember days like this past Saturday and will complain a little less as they wheel my 80 yr old carcass down the nursing home hall.