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February 20, 2007

 

I'm a Wreck

 

It's been almost three weeks since the lad left. We've heard from him briefly when he needed stuff for the job interview (already blogged about that) and he and I exchanged a couple of e-mails at Valentines. I believe he was starting his new job yesterday. Other than that, not much news from him.

The princess got a haircut on the weekend and absolutely loves her new look. It definitely makes her look older. I'll try to post a picture when I can get one (still working on that digital camera thing, saving whatever I can).

I'm going to see my rheumatologist this Thursday as I have to renew prescriptions. Last night was kinda rough, my left hand hurt like a bugger all night long. I was up around 4 a.m. looking for Tylenol or whatever I could find in the cupboard. And you know, when you have arthritis those child-proof caps are quite a challenge. I'm sometimes tempted to open the bottle with a hammer, just give it a whack and grab a few pills as they come spilling out and scatter all over the kitchen floor. Just a few problems with that, hammer's too damn heavy to lift and the pills would all get away before I caught any as my feet usually hurt too. Right now the princess could kick my ass and I couldn't run fast enough to get away.

I also need new glasses, the ones I'm wearing now spend more time off my face than on.

Somebody shoot me.

   

Posted by OldGuy at 1:30 PM | Comments (5)

   

February 17, 2007

 

Once

 

Once we traded stories
Late into the night
About the girls we loved
And how life had turned out right

Once we partied on the beach
Playing our battered guitars
Rocking to the music
And dancing beneath the stars

Once we went through life
Without a single care
Taking on all comers
And accepting every dare

Once all we cared about
Was having a fancy set of wheels
And we roared down the highway
Like the devil was at our heels

Once we lived our lives
In the blink of an eye
We dared to be bold
Because we weren't afraid to die

Once we were kings
And today was all that mattered
For tomorrow was far away
And yesterday was old and tattered

   

Posted by OldGuy at 9:20 PM | Comments (7)

   

February 14, 2007

 

Happy Valentine's Day

 

I usually like to play around with Photoshop and come up with something original for these occasions but I haven't had time lately. I couldn't let the day go by unrecognized here at the tree house however so I managed to come up with a little something I'd saved way back when.

Have a lovely day.

Oh, and I should mention that the princess wants to write a story for the blog. Seems she's thrilled with the idea that she can write something for the whole world to see (not that I'm deluding myself that the whole world actually visits my blog).

   

Posted by OldGuy at 9:54 AM | Comments (3)

   

February 13, 2007

 

An Explanation

 

I feel I have to explain this whole crying thing because some of you may think it's getting a wee bit out of hand.

I wasn't always like this. I used to be a rock. Well, maybe not a rock but a pebble anyway. You know, like in the old show Kung Fu, remember how the master used to tell Kane when he could snatch the pebble from his hand his training would be done ? So I was like that pebble. Except I wasn't in a Shaolin monastery. And there weren't any monks. So basicallly I was a little pebble laying on the ground. But I was hard.

Then a couple of years ago something happened. I started to feel mushy. I was losing my hardness. Hormones I never knew existed (we'll call them female hormones for the sake of argument) started to invade my being. I found myself becoming sensitive. I started listening to soft rock and admiring flower gardens. Folding laundry stopped being a PITA and became an opportunity to listen to Neil Diamond sing Mr Bojangles and tear up at the lyrics.

Soon I found myself writing about my feelings and actually enjoying it. Then (gasp !) I began writing stories and poems.

And I began to cry more often. Whether I found something sad or beautiful I cried. And sometimes (could it be female hormones after all ?), I cried for no reason.

I had lost my hardness. Of course I cried as my hardness had been my companion for many years and it's always very sad when a man loses his hardness.

And so, no longer hard, I had to find my way. With lots of support from my family, (well, sort of, mostly the kids are just embarrassed and ask me to hide in my room when they have friends over and my wife asks if I'll ever be hard again) I learned to cope.

It's been a tough journey but I'm getting through it. And sometimes I still get a little hard, and I rejoice and do a happy dance.

   

Posted by OldGuy at 10:48 AM | Comments (1)

   

February 12, 2007

 

Monday Morning Morsels

 

Another weekend come and gone and I managed to do ... not much. Just the way I like it these days.

Seriously though, it was a veggie weekend. I didn't watch "Pirates of the Caribbean" until Saturday night because on Friday we went to Costco and didn't get home until 8 p.m. By that time I wasn't in the mood anymore so I read for a bit and fell asleep. Saturday night the princess and her mother watched some kids movie they picked up at Blockbuster (even the princess thought it sucked) then I put "Pirates" in. I fell asleep about an hour into the movie and woke up a little later with my jaw hanging open, snoring quite loudly and drooling all over the place. Not a pretty sight. If a woman saw her man like that before she married him she probably wouldn't marry him.

Sunday we puttered about the house for a few hours then went out for dinner. When we got back my wife and the princess watched the Grammys (as opposed to grammies, which is a bunch of old ladies) while I attempted to watch "Apocalypse Now", which I hadn't seen for years. I got tired so I went to sleep.

You see the recurring theme here ? Fascinating isn't it ?

One of my cousins called on Saturday to say her sister (obviously also a cousin) died, so I have a funeral to attend this week. Although I haven't seen the aforementioned cousin for years it still hit me hard as she is the first one of my generation to go. I cried.

The princess says I cry at the drop of a hat. She's probably right.

One more thing. I have a confession to make. I've started watching "The Gilmore Girls." The princess is very worried.

   

Posted by OldGuy at 11:02 AM | Comments (4)

   

February 9, 2007

 

TGIF

 

It's Friday and I'm very glad the week is over, it's been one of the longest weeks of my life.

Work was a distraction, it kept my mind occupied for a few hours a day, although sometimes it was tough to concentrate on what I was doing. Today is quiet and I'm actually kind of glad. Although the day may feel longer I just want to rest my mind a bit.

A friend of ours and his daughter were over the day before yesterday and they stayed until 10 p.m. The girls played and the adults talked and stuff. I really enjoyed it, that too was a distraction. I've been putting off watching Pirates of the Caribbean (the 2nd one) all week so tonight I'm watching it for sure. It'll be a nice quiet evening. Maybe the princess will join me.

Speaking of the princess, she'll be 9 years old next month. I remember when she was 5, I was just taking an interest in computers and had joined CastleCops, a computer help site. I've since left the site but it was through them that I got started blogging as they had a place to keep online journals, then later the site's owner offered a bunch of us blogs. I've been at it ever since. Thanks again Paul.

The lad ? Well, he made it to New Brunswick. He got a job in a call centre (shades of the old man), starts work in a week or two. I spoke to him briefly this morning as he needed his SIN number. The conversation was short, stilted and damn hard but that's life. By the way lad, if you're reading this, it was your mother who reminded me that sending your SIN number by e-mail was a dumb idea. I was going to go ahead and do it.

Thanks to everyone who has been so supportive this week. It was greatly appreciated.

Anyway, that's it for now. Cheers and have a good weekend folks.

   

Posted by OldGuy at 9:50 AM | Comments (4)

   

February 6, 2007

 

The Departure

 

She sat on the sofa, tears in her eyes, listening to the sounds coming from upstairs. Her son was leaving this morning and he was in his room packing. She could hear him moving around, picking things up, putting some in his duffle bag, putting others away. He sounded rushed, as though he was anxious to be done and gone. He came downstairs a couple of times and picked up a few items that hadn't been put away when he'd quit university and come home two weeks ago.

When he was done he brought his bags downstairs and told her his friend was coming to pick him up any minute now. She sat in her chair and waited for him to say something else, anything else, but he did not.

When his friend arrived they picked up the boy's bags then he walked out and locked the front door. She was stunned when she heard the sound. He was leaving without saying goodbye !

She ran downstairs, opened the door and saw him getting into his friend's car. She cried out that she at least deserved a goodbye, couldn't he do that much for her ? He regarded her silently and got in the car without a word.

She walked back upstairs and sat down again, crumbled really. She began to cry again, making loud, wrenching, sobbing noises as she felt her heart shatter.

Throughout the years she'd cried many tears over the boy, but she had always cried for him. This time she cried for herself.

   

Posted by OldGuy at 10:01 AM | Comments (10)