Opinari - Latin term for Opinion. Opinari.net is just what it seems: a cornucopia of rants, raves and poignant soliloquy.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
I would be remiss if I didn't wish all of the mothers out there, including mine, and my wife, and my mother in law, and my grandmother in law (whew) a happy Mothers' Day. So... Happy Mothers' Day to you all!
This year, my mom managed to make the trip here to Texas. Last year, we had gone to Michigan and Tennessee on a two week jaunt. Readers of this blog know that there is one less family member (my Granny, who passed away in August) and one more family member (my 4 1/2 month old son, Dylan). I'm really glad that my mom was able to come. I didn't want her spending Christmas alone.
We procured a 10' Douglas Fir this year, which didn't take to water very well, so it has slowly withered away. It's still mostly on the green side, but the orange smell that accompanied it at first is no more.
The boys and my wife made the tree decorations out of oranges, popcorn, pine cones, cinnamon, and cranberries. Mostly, it turned out well, although the dog and the middle child both wanted to eat the ornaments.
Gifts began arriving weeks ago, mostly from Amazon. Some though still have not found their way here. Needless to say, this has been a very frustrating logistical Christmas. Mom is leaving this weekend, so hopefully her gift arrives before then!
I won't go into the litany of gifts that the kids received (because they are too numerous), but my wife's favorite thing is probably her new anodized pots and pans. She cooks a lot, and she was in great need for some well-made cookware. Apparently, I managed to fill that need adequately.
As for me, I was given some cash, and I filled some of my own software needs. I purchased a nice little suite called Evernote (for 60% off). Evernote allows me to quickly clip documents, websites, etc. and save them into a local database. This comes in handy for blogging. I also paid for my licensed copy of mSafe, which allows me to remotely lock my Treo and wipe the contents of the SD card and the device in case I lose it or in case it is (God forbid!) stolen.
My wife also got me a wet-dry shaver that, so far, seems to be working quite well, although the trimming option isn't much of a trimmer. I've definitely needed a new shaver.
Apparently, I also have some other gifts on the way (like I said, this has been a logistically challenging Christmas season), and that's great. However, having my family together, seeing their faces and their smiles, and having free time to catch up on housework, and to be with my boys, and my wife, and my mom... there's more joy in those things than any gift could bring. I hope your Christmas was as good as mine was.
My son, ever the volatile one, in a fit of anger over being put to bed, decided to destroy his blinds. His Levelor, not-cheap, not-a-good-time-to-be-broken-because-it's-Christmas blinds.
I'm not much for suffering fools, or children with poor impulse control, so I'm glad I was at work during this debacle. My wife and I decided that a call to Santa would be sufficient to convey our disappointment in him. Plus we decided that Santa should deduct a coveted toy from his upcoming bounty, probably the candy apple red remote control Mustang that looks like it kicks... er, you know.
Needless to say, he was very upset. But my wife explained to him that when he disobeys, bad things happen. She told him over and over and over that the blinds are not a toy, and not to play with the blinds, and he didn't obey, and they broke, so Santa had to hear about it.
Apparently, he threatened to get the phone and say, "Hi, Santa. Please bring me my red Mustang and some trucks," and not give my wife the phone to say not to bring them. Silly child. He thinks sequestering the phone will prevent his parents from contacting Santa.
A lesson learned? Maybe not. But definitely a lesson taught. One of these days, this sort of counseling will sink into the boy's head. That day cannot come soon enough.
