Calvin got on me last night (in a teasing way) for not updating since the 14th. "People depend on you! You have a responsibility!" Heh. Well, folks, the reason for my absence was a screaming, throbbing, head-exploding headache. With accompanying nausea. Remember when I mentioned back in the beginning that when the house is done I'd like a day off to enjoy things? Well, let's just say this isn't what I envisioned. Since I know you're all about the gory details, let me enumerate:
I did get up again at about a quarter past twelve last night. Michael was making a racket in the kitchen ("crushed ice" is a noisy setting on our refrigerator) and I went out to remind him that his bedtime is 10:30. I went back to bed, and pondered him for a while. He's seventeen. Should he be parented about things such as bedtimes and chores? He goes to school and works two jobs now. So other than paying the rent, he's pretty much doing a bunch of adult things. Should he be allowed to set his own bedtime (which he does anyway), as long as he gets up in the morning to take care of his responsibilities? Should he be allowed to come and go as he pleases? Or should he be watched much more carefully? He goofs up a lot more than I did at his age, but he was raised *much* differently than I was. For me, I was fairly biddable, so I don't think I posed much of a problem. For Michael, he's had a weird combination of over-strict-parenting and hands-off-parenting. He's smart but lazy. He's a good kid but harbors a lot of anger. He's considerate at times and selfish at times. He alternates between wanting very much to please, and wanting to do what he wants, damn the consequences. Very complex, is our Michael. So at about 12:20 last night I went up to his room, sat on the floor, and watched "Fight Club" for about a half-hour. He asked "What's up?" I said "I just felt like hanging out with you for a while." We talked about the movie's story line, chit-chatted about weight lifting and fitness, and then I went back to bed. I think I had vague intentions of getting a pulse of what his mood was like. Like I said, he has a lot of anger, and gets lectured a lot (which he sets himself up for, a lot). Past wrongs have all but eclipsed the rights he did before and is doing now. And we have six months left before he goes into the Marines. Too late to repair any damage? Or is there really any damage at all? Who can know how their kids *really* feel about their parents, and what kind of relationships will evolve as child grows into adult? Sometimes it's too much for me to wrap my brain around. Especially right now. ******************** I found myself last night trying to figure out just how I stumbled onto the world of on-line journaling. It took me a bit, but I think I remember the sequence of events. On a particularly slow day at work, I did a search for on-line books, and was directed to John Scalzi's "Agent to the Stars". I read it and found it supremely entertaining, and explored the rest of his site. I couldn't tell ya anything about timeframes - maybe John can remember when I sent him that "Hey, I liked your story!" e-mail. Anyway, I started reading his journal-that-isn't-a-journal (grin). I read his entry about meeting Shelley, and checked Shelley out. It was weird reading her corresponding entry about meeting him. In plowing through her archives, I read her entry about Viv, and checked Viv out. Along the lines I checked out all of their recommendations in their respective "links" areas, began fledgling e-mail friendships, got the bug to have my own website, e-mailed Viv three million and twelve questions about web hosts, HTML, FTP, YMCA, EPA, and UPS, and took a two-week long class about HTML and Java Script. And now here I am. With the status of "Tease" on ThreeWay Action, even. Aspiring to become part of The Amalgam. With a list of journal "must reads" sixteen sites long in my "Favorites", and growing every day. "And from the fledgling chick, a mighty eagle grows." Hah. |
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Your Mission, should you choose to accept it...
This Mission is a suggestion from Archibael - "Actually call someone on their rude behavior that you would ordinarily ignore. This could be a close friend or a stranger." I can get down with that. I won't be trod upon! Rise up and unite! Uh, and stuff. Archibael also admonishes, "Caution: do not try this in a moving vehicle, or on someone who is in a moving vehicle." Down with Road Rage!
Results From Yesterday's Mission There's a little coffee shop near to my home, called "Coffee Grounds" in The Lakes community. It's a nice, tiny little place, situated on the edge of the water. You can sit and sip coffee and chuck breadcrumbs at the overly-bold ducks. Or, in the evening, you can indulge in some fine coffees, entrees, or liquors, and listen to live jazz. It's been ages since I've been there. I plan to remedy that this weekend. I grabbed the design idea for the box thingy from Anna.
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