Ok so the DW and I had a little "date night" last night. Well I don't know if you could call it a date, we actually just did some Christmas shopping for the clowns while they were staying over at the in-laws, but it felt like date night.
So the wife and I went to dinner after work, and then some shopping. You know shopping's not my thing, but the night out was nice. We had a nice dinner where it didn't feel rushed and we didn't have to referee anybody, and we had some great food in a grown-up atmosphere. So it was pretty nice.
The shopping part wasn't to bad either really. The stores weren't so crowded that we couldn't move and we didn't have to wait in line for very long at any one place.
You know being a parent now and doing the Christmas shopping reminds me of when I was a child and my mom would do all the Christmas shopping for us. I don't remember my dad going out with her much at all, maybe he did and I just didn't see it, but I can remember my mom being out all weekend long from morning till dinner, shopping. We always had the best Christmases.
So anyhow the "date night" with the DW and I finished up last night about 10:30 when we finally got home. We both quickly got all the stuff in, got in our Jammie's, and plopped down. She in front of the computer, and I in front of the t.v. It only took about a half an hour before she was waking me up to say, let's go to bed. Seems like that's about the way it goes anymore where she's waking me up to tell me to go to bed. Like I said though, it was a good time just being alone with her for a change. Naturally we don't get to spend a lot of times with just the two of us, so even if it's just a few hours it's nice. It's nice to get to reconnect sometimes.
Married couples need that you know. I mean we spend every evening together with the clowns, have dinner, do homework, baths, dishes, laundry, housework, all that jazz, just to get up and do it all over again the next day, and sometimes it feels more like a school project then a marriage. Now don't get me wrong here. All I'm saying is that sometimes you need that date night to walk around the mall with a beautiful woman on your arm. It's not always about what you do on that night, but rather who your with.
So today will be back to all the things we do on Saturday's. Clowns, Housework, laundry, car repair (still having issues), yada, yada, yada.
J-Tony
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Thursday, December 2, 2010
School Uniforms
So the other day a friend and I were discussing school uniforms and whether or not we were for or against it. I quickly said I was all for school uniforms. He was not so quick to decide. Now when I was a child I was pretty quick to speak for my own individuality. You know like that's just me being me and I march to my own beat sort of thing. Now that I'm a parent I think I feel differently.
Now of course I think everybody is different, and I'm all for individuality, but I think when it comes to kids in school, uniforms are a good thing.
Statistics have shown that schools that have a uniform policy generally do better overall. Now of course there are still those kids that will act out. In my opinion uniforms equal discipline. It shows young people where the line in the sand is. There is no gray area, and anybody who knows me knows that I have trouble with that gray area. It also shows kids structure. Now most houses have structure I'm sure, but there are those who do not, and people, especially young people need structure.
Now I also understand the other side of this argument. That if we let the government start telling us how to dress what's next? This is PUBLIC School after all. I get that. It's a free country last I checked. I get that too. My kid should be able to go to school and have green hair if he/she wants, again, I get that.
Like I said, as a child, and even young adult with no clowns, I thought the very same way. That is what this country is all about right? Freedom. Freedom to express ourselves, freedom of speech. However I think people take these freedoms out of context. Yes we do have freedom of speech given to us thanks to our Constitution. However just because you have the right doesn't mean you won't pay the price for exercising that right.
Well so anyway, I know this is a topic that could be discussed for days and days, and I'm sure it has, but as I said now that I'm an adult and have clowns, I'm all for school uniforms. I want my clowns to get an education while in school. School and growing up is hard enough without having to have the right or cool clothes.
Again, just my opinion. Funny how our views change over time.
J-Tony
Now of course I think everybody is different, and I'm all for individuality, but I think when it comes to kids in school, uniforms are a good thing.
Statistics have shown that schools that have a uniform policy generally do better overall. Now of course there are still those kids that will act out. In my opinion uniforms equal discipline. It shows young people where the line in the sand is. There is no gray area, and anybody who knows me knows that I have trouble with that gray area. It also shows kids structure. Now most houses have structure I'm sure, but there are those who do not, and people, especially young people need structure.
Now I also understand the other side of this argument. That if we let the government start telling us how to dress what's next? This is PUBLIC School after all. I get that. It's a free country last I checked. I get that too. My kid should be able to go to school and have green hair if he/she wants, again, I get that.
Like I said, as a child, and even young adult with no clowns, I thought the very same way. That is what this country is all about right? Freedom. Freedom to express ourselves, freedom of speech. However I think people take these freedoms out of context. Yes we do have freedom of speech given to us thanks to our Constitution. However just because you have the right doesn't mean you won't pay the price for exercising that right.
Well so anyway, I know this is a topic that could be discussed for days and days, and I'm sure it has, but as I said now that I'm an adult and have clowns, I'm all for school uniforms. I want my clowns to get an education while in school. School and growing up is hard enough without having to have the right or cool clothes.
Again, just my opinion. Funny how our views change over time.
J-Tony
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
My Dad and Cars
So I really had a great night tonight. Now if you'd been around here I'm sure you would not have thought that. So to understand tonight you have to understand the back story of me, my dad, and cars.
See my dad, every since I've known him, could fix any car, any time, any day of the week. Most of the time with his eyes closed. Yeah he's that good, although he doesn't do nearly as much car fixin' as he used to mostly because I don't live with him anymore, but also because he's older now and doesn't need or have to.
So my dad, while I was growing up, was always fixing a car. If not one of ours, then for someone in the family. Truth be told he is great at fixing just about anything. He really was blessed with a talent to understand how things work and the abilities to fix them.
So anyway when I was old enough to have my own cars, there was always need for maintenance. It turns out cars need oil to keep running...learned that one the hard way. So my dad would fix my cars. This usually would mean that I "got to help" . Now for me at 16, 17, 18 years old, there usually were things that I would rather have been doing then "help" my dad fix a car, and I'm sure there were plenty of times when I didn't help and just expected him to fix it.
Nonetheless there were cars to be fixed.
So anyone who has ever helped a man work on a car you know this mainly consists of....holding something. Not really doing much of anything, but holding something, or getting some tools.
Now for me my job was usually to hold the light, and of course I didn't hold it in the right spot and dad would have to reach up and grab the light out of my hands to get a better look, all the while chastising me for my half-hearted efforts. Or he would tell me to get a certain tool to which I had no idea what he was talking about and inside was wishing we could be done already.Inside I mostly hated it. It was either cold, or hot, or hurt my back, or boring..... Yes my dad and me fixed many a cars.
It wasn't until I got older that fixing these cars (yeah I've had a lot of car issues over the years) really started to mean something to me. I really started to enjoy it. Not the car breaking down thing, but the time and the knowledge I gained. See over the years even just holding the light I guess I learned a thing or two about cars, and once I got older he let me do more and more of the actual work, which I really enjoyed. Again, it taught me a lot.
So present day. Tonight, I have a car issue. I call my father to get some advice before I begin. I've already gone through some of the steps he's taught me over the years, but still looking for some answers. He tells me what he thinks and we hang up the phone. I retreat to my garage mumbling and confused about this one. Pretty soon out comes mini-me. The DW said he wanted to come out and help. It was such an awesome feeling. Here was my son wanting to be with his dad, to share some quality time and fix the car. He wanted to learn, he wanted to get dirty, he wanted chip in and help......
Naturally I told him that the first thing he would have to do is, hold the light.
Now I get that he's 4, and he can't hold the light very well right now, but you have to start somewhere.
No seriously, it was cool though that he really did want to help daddy. We went to the auto parts store and got a part, and he almost stayed outside with me for like 5 minutes after that, but he got to cold and went inside.
I started this post be telling you that I had a great night. Sure we had car trouble, and that was stressful for a while, but I also got to start building memories with my son. The same type of memories I have with my dad, and I really cherish those moments in my life now. Oh and I think the car is fixed.
J-Tony
See my dad, every since I've known him, could fix any car, any time, any day of the week. Most of the time with his eyes closed. Yeah he's that good, although he doesn't do nearly as much car fixin' as he used to mostly because I don't live with him anymore, but also because he's older now and doesn't need or have to.
So my dad, while I was growing up, was always fixing a car. If not one of ours, then for someone in the family. Truth be told he is great at fixing just about anything. He really was blessed with a talent to understand how things work and the abilities to fix them.
So anyway when I was old enough to have my own cars, there was always need for maintenance. It turns out cars need oil to keep running...learned that one the hard way. So my dad would fix my cars. This usually would mean that I "got to help" . Now for me at 16, 17, 18 years old, there usually were things that I would rather have been doing then "help" my dad fix a car, and I'm sure there were plenty of times when I didn't help and just expected him to fix it.
Nonetheless there were cars to be fixed.
So anyone who has ever helped a man work on a car you know this mainly consists of....holding something. Not really doing much of anything, but holding something, or getting some tools.
Now for me my job was usually to hold the light, and of course I didn't hold it in the right spot and dad would have to reach up and grab the light out of my hands to get a better look, all the while chastising me for my half-hearted efforts. Or he would tell me to get a certain tool to which I had no idea what he was talking about and inside was wishing we could be done already.Inside I mostly hated it. It was either cold, or hot, or hurt my back, or boring..... Yes my dad and me fixed many a cars. It wasn't until I got older that fixing these cars (yeah I've had a lot of car issues over the years) really started to mean something to me. I really started to enjoy it. Not the car breaking down thing, but the time and the knowledge I gained. See over the years even just holding the light I guess I learned a thing or two about cars, and once I got older he let me do more and more of the actual work, which I really enjoyed. Again, it taught me a lot.
So present day. Tonight, I have a car issue. I call my father to get some advice before I begin. I've already gone through some of the steps he's taught me over the years, but still looking for some answers. He tells me what he thinks and we hang up the phone. I retreat to my garage mumbling and confused about this one. Pretty soon out comes mini-me. The DW said he wanted to come out and help. It was such an awesome feeling. Here was my son wanting to be with his dad, to share some quality time and fix the car. He wanted to learn, he wanted to get dirty, he wanted chip in and help......
Naturally I told him that the first thing he would have to do is, hold the light.
Now I get that he's 4, and he can't hold the light very well right now, but you have to start somewhere.
No seriously, it was cool though that he really did want to help daddy. We went to the auto parts store and got a part, and he almost stayed outside with me for like 5 minutes after that, but he got to cold and went inside.
I started this post be telling you that I had a great night. Sure we had car trouble, and that was stressful for a while, but I also got to start building memories with my son. The same type of memories I have with my dad, and I really cherish those moments in my life now. Oh and I think the car is fixed.
J-Tony
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