I have absolutely NO idea where all the other bloggers have been! The truth is they might be blogging, but I have not had time to check because:
I have been busy.
"The stock market has been plummeting, so you have been spending all your spare time buying stocks online?" -you ask.
Negative. (a Nod to my military Dad)
"Hmmm. You are getting your doctorate?"
Haha! Now that is REALLY funny!
Nope. (Nebraska slang)
"Are you scrap booking?"
Not on your life!
(From that one movie that I cannot remember now)
**Disclaimer: Said blogger has no problem with any person or persons who enjoy scrap booking or who are hopelessly addicted to it. Aforementioned blogger just feels that big, expensive, bulky picture books are not NEARLY as pretty, time friendly and cost-effective as bound picture books. This is simply the opinion of said blogger and does not reflect on the policies of blogspot or any non-existent advertisers. Please continue cutting and pasting into your large family novels. Please do! Don't let this disclaimer interrupt you!
"Are you making Creme Brulee?"
YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!!
Yep, I know it doesn't answer the question, but I just thought I would throw that in there!
Ms. Strange strikes again! (Got that one from a friend of mine. Give a big shout-out to N!)
Actually, we had QUITE the eventful weekend!
Did you see my Father's Day post? Oh, you didn't? Well, that is because there wasn't one. Instead, what we did on Father's day was take care of this:
We were at the hospital on Father's day. She did it on Saturday, and I did all the things that good moms do (since my "good" momhood is in question. For proof, see THIS post!),
ice, elevation, checking to see if anything was broken, etc...
Then when she woke on Sunday it was black and blue, and had swelled considerably more!
So we went to the hospital and they took the x-rays, and we waited...and waited...and waited...and waited for the Dr to come back in. As we were sitting there, it occured to me that if it was a simple sprain, they would have come right in and gotten us out of the ER. I just knew it. I knew that they were gonna tell us of a fracture! I just KNEW it!
So we waited for 5 hours, Ok, not really, but it FELT like FOREVER!
Anyway, they came in and SURE ENOUGH! It is a small fracture on the bone that sticks out from the outside of your ankle.
I was RIGHT! See, Sweet Geek?! I CAN be right sometimes!
She was a trooper! She did not cry, whimper, complain, whine, sob, scream, faint, whine more, wince, or otherwise protest in any way to the splinting process. Her swelling was so bad that her foot had turned in, and as they straightened her foot to put on the fiberglass splint, she didn't give them any trouble at all! What a GREAT kid! We were so proud of her.
So as we wandered home -four hours after we had headed to the hospital- Larry talked about all the things that he had wanted to do on that day -and now the day was shot! I joked, "Happy father's day...my ankle is broked!"
Monkey See was not laughing.
Monkey See was not snickering.
Monkey See was not giggling.
Monkey see did not even smile.
And all of a sudden I realized, just as a look of defeat and sadness crossed her face, that she was blaming herself for the bad Father's Day that Larry had.
I said that it was not her fault, but as the evening wore on, her body seemed weighted by more than her splint. And she kept saying, "If it wasn't for those stupid shoes! None of this would not have happened!" I assured her that we WERE getting rid of the platform tennies that should not even COME in her size! (Silly Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen shoes!)
But that did not seem to ease her pain, and when the kids were asleep and all was dark, I had a moment of realization: Eliana was still blaming herself for a lousy Father's Day, and the comments about the shoes were only an effort, on her part, to pass on the blame, and talk herself out of being held responsible for everything.
Parents, kids hear everything and pin everything on themselves. As I fell asleep, I knew that I had to tell her.
So the next morning I called my manager and told him that I would be late, and waited until it was time to get her up. Then Sweet Geek and I went into the room and I sat down on the bed.
"Eliana, I know that you must feel bad about Daddy having a bad Father's Day."
Her lip quivered, and her eyes filled with tears. Can you imagine what she must have been feeling? Could she have been scared that I would fill her shoulders with an even heavier burden, and confirm that it WAS her fault? What dread she must have been feeling.
"Eliana, sometimes bad things happen to every person in this world, but let me tell you something. There is NO WHERE else in the WORLD that Daddy would want to be on Father's Day, than right where you NEED him! That is what being a Daddy is all about, and being with you is what he WANTED to do! That is where he wanted to be. And it is not your fault that Daddy did not get to take a nap and work in the garage. It is no one's fault, but he wanted to be there for you. That is what he WANTED!"
Sweet Geek confirmed and elaborated on what I said.
Then we told her how proud we were of her -how she had behaved so beautifully and did not cry or anything -even though she was hurting, and that we wouldn't want any other Eliana in the WHOLE world! We were so happy that she was OK, and this mattered more than Father's Day anyway.
The tears spilled over, and she wrapped her arms around me. Suddenly a HUGE weight lifted from her countenance, and her happy little spirit seemed to return.
Being where you are needed is what being a dad is all about. My dad was there for me in the areas I needed him most, and it made ALL the difference in the world! The choices I made were from a place of confidence in his love, and belief in me! More on this later, but KUDOS to the fathers out there who are doing the right thing!
Where your kids need you is the BEST place in the world!
I have been busy.
"The stock market has been plummeting, so you have been spending all your spare time buying stocks online?" -you ask.
Negative. (a Nod to my military Dad)
"Hmmm. You are getting your doctorate?"
Haha! Now that is REALLY funny!
Nope. (Nebraska slang)
"Are you scrap booking?"
Not on your life!
(From that one movie that I cannot remember now)
**Disclaimer: Said blogger has no problem with any person or persons who enjoy scrap booking or who are hopelessly addicted to it. Aforementioned blogger just feels that big, expensive, bulky picture books are not NEARLY as pretty, time friendly and cost-effective as bound picture books. This is simply the opinion of said blogger and does not reflect on the policies of blogspot or any non-existent advertisers. Please continue cutting and pasting into your large family novels. Please do! Don't let this disclaimer interrupt you!
"Are you making Creme Brulee?"
YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!!
Yep, I know it doesn't answer the question, but I just thought I would throw that in there!
Ms. Strange strikes again! (Got that one from a friend of mine. Give a big shout-out to N!)
Actually, we had QUITE the eventful weekend!
Did you see my Father's Day post? Oh, you didn't? Well, that is because there wasn't one. Instead, what we did on Father's day was take care of this:
We were at the hospital on Father's day. She did it on Saturday, and I did all the things that good moms do (since my "good" momhood is in question. For proof, see THIS post!),
ice, elevation, checking to see if anything was broken, etc...
Then when she woke on Sunday it was black and blue, and had swelled considerably more!
So we went to the hospital and they took the x-rays, and we waited...and waited...and waited...and waited for the Dr to come back in. As we were sitting there, it occured to me that if it was a simple sprain, they would have come right in and gotten us out of the ER. I just knew it. I knew that they were gonna tell us of a fracture! I just KNEW it!
So we waited for 5 hours, Ok, not really, but it FELT like FOREVER!
Anyway, they came in and SURE ENOUGH! It is a small fracture on the bone that sticks out from the outside of your ankle.
I was RIGHT! See, Sweet Geek?! I CAN be right sometimes!
She was a trooper! She did not cry, whimper, complain, whine, sob, scream, faint, whine more, wince, or otherwise protest in any way to the splinting process. Her swelling was so bad that her foot had turned in, and as they straightened her foot to put on the fiberglass splint, she didn't give them any trouble at all! What a GREAT kid! We were so proud of her.
So as we wandered home -four hours after we had headed to the hospital- Larry talked about all the things that he had wanted to do on that day -and now the day was shot! I joked, "Happy father's day...my ankle is broked!"
Monkey See was not laughing.
Monkey See was not snickering.
Monkey See was not giggling.
Monkey see did not even smile.
And all of a sudden I realized, just as a look of defeat and sadness crossed her face, that she was blaming herself for the bad Father's Day that Larry had.
I said that it was not her fault, but as the evening wore on, her body seemed weighted by more than her splint. And she kept saying, "If it wasn't for those stupid shoes! None of this would not have happened!" I assured her that we WERE getting rid of the platform tennies that should not even COME in her size! (Silly Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen shoes!)
But that did not seem to ease her pain, and when the kids were asleep and all was dark, I had a moment of realization: Eliana was still blaming herself for a lousy Father's Day, and the comments about the shoes were only an effort, on her part, to pass on the blame, and talk herself out of being held responsible for everything.
Parents, kids hear everything and pin everything on themselves. As I fell asleep, I knew that I had to tell her.
So the next morning I called my manager and told him that I would be late, and waited until it was time to get her up. Then Sweet Geek and I went into the room and I sat down on the bed.
"Eliana, I know that you must feel bad about Daddy having a bad Father's Day."
Her lip quivered, and her eyes filled with tears. Can you imagine what she must have been feeling? Could she have been scared that I would fill her shoulders with an even heavier burden, and confirm that it WAS her fault? What dread she must have been feeling.
"Eliana, sometimes bad things happen to every person in this world, but let me tell you something. There is NO WHERE else in the WORLD that Daddy would want to be on Father's Day, than right where you NEED him! That is what being a Daddy is all about, and being with you is what he WANTED to do! That is where he wanted to be. And it is not your fault that Daddy did not get to take a nap and work in the garage. It is no one's fault, but he wanted to be there for you. That is what he WANTED!"
Sweet Geek confirmed and elaborated on what I said.
Then we told her how proud we were of her -how she had behaved so beautifully and did not cry or anything -even though she was hurting, and that we wouldn't want any other Eliana in the WHOLE world! We were so happy that she was OK, and this mattered more than Father's Day anyway.
The tears spilled over, and she wrapped her arms around me. Suddenly a HUGE weight lifted from her countenance, and her happy little spirit seemed to return.
Being where you are needed is what being a dad is all about. My dad was there for me in the areas I needed him most, and it made ALL the difference in the world! The choices I made were from a place of confidence in his love, and belief in me! More on this later, but KUDOS to the fathers out there who are doing the right thing!
Where your kids need you is the BEST place in the world!
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