Tag: parenting

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Convenience Over Results

Summer made eggs and sausage for breakfast this morning, and then the girls got ready for a long weekend with their father. I showered there before sitting down with the kids to reiterate my role, and the fact that parental decisions would be shared between Summer and myself. I could tell that Autumn had just been playing nice to get permission to drive to Lamar on her own, but Summer wanted a break from shuttling her around everywhere.

Before they left, I went home while Summer went to the gym. I tried setting up an old GPS tracker that I had purchased years ago, but the battery appeared to be completely toast. We met back up at their house to see the girls off, and then we spent the rest of the day laying around.

We watched the original Top Gun, which did not impress me much, in case we wanted to go to the theater to see the new one. Then we went to Colton’s for a steak dinner. By the time we finished there, Summer decided she’d had enough fun for one day and we went back home where we burned the rest of the evening. She watched TV while I laid around not feeling great, and eventually we went to sleep.

So noisy, and nothing’s getting done.

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Thaw in my Side

I thought it was going to rain today, but the forecast went down enough that I felt pretty comfortable taking the Shadow in for our second half-day. We had a brief meeting about moving over our old tickets from Web Help Desk to IncidentIQ, and then I was sent to fix imaging. I still wasn’t sure what broke it in the first place, but it needed to be fixed as quickly as possible.

Everyone else pretty much wandered off, except for Kyle, who stuck around the shop for a while. I was deep in my testing when he came into my office to share some news he had just read online while he was sitting around, and I wasn’t super receptive since I was actually deep in thought. Gary was in and out, but didn’t really have a whole lot for me.

After testing several boot images and even trying to build one from scratch, I finally took a snapshot of the VM and updated the ADK, which ended up fixing our issues. I was stoked, but by that time everyone else had been long gone. Even Thomas left me in the dark downstairs. I went home and just waited for Summer to get off work about an hour late.

I made my way up to the girls, who were all just sitting around the house. Eaddie was still in a bit of a mood, and Autumn was a normal level of cranky. She griped about how there was “nothing” to eat in the house, so in response I asked her why there was zero room in the chest freezer. Summer was in a bath by then, so I just bit my tongue and cooked a quick frozen skillet meal while we waited for Summer to finish cleaning up.

Eaddie went to bed, but the rest of us ate. Then I had Autumn take every single thing out of the freezer and take inventory while I defrosted and cleaned out the inside of it. It took a while, but there was gross chicken blood and juice all over the place that just needed to be melted out. We ended up throwing out eight pounds of chicken thighs that they’d had in the freezer since before I came around.

Everyone went to bed shortly after we finished loading everything back into the freezer. I stayed up to try and update my laptop, but there wasn’t much else I could do.

Hours and hours of cumulative updates…

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Night at the Belongia

I took the Shadow to work again today, but then spent the morning riding around in the work truck with Brody. We sent everybody except Gary to hang the new 75″ touch panels at the high school. We were able to fit five on each truck, along with the toolbox and mounts. The first one went okay, but it quickly devolved into multiple people sitting around. I tried to lead a group of the half that were sitting to prep the other rooms, and then circle back to hook everything up once the panels were hung. That worked for a little bit, but we just have so many guys that can’t work without direct supervision.

We made it back to the shop just before lunch, and then went to Linh’s for some of the best food we’ve had from there in a while. Our server seemed nervous, or at the very least, inexperienced. We got our food, and then never saw her again. At least she had an automatic gratuity for our party size.

After lunch, I had to stick around the shop in case some desktop computers showed up. Fortunately they just coincidentally showed up shortly after everyone else had left. I got the forklift and unloaded the pallet in record time, and then Gary and I took them all downstairs. The rest of the day was spent trying to get the network image working for them.

After work, I went home to change and then went up to Summer’s to get ready for Eaddie’s band camp concert. She was already home and trying to find a nice outfit to wear for the concert, but we could tell she was tired and cranky. She would never say it, but I think she was happy to see me.

We made it to Witherspoon just before the first (last) band started, and somehow Summer was able to find three unoccupied seats. Autumn immediately disappeared, refusing to sit with us. Summer’s mom showed up, followed by my dad, right before the second band started, but we had room after people left from the first set. Eaddie really wanted me to record the second band, so I just recorded the entire set, as well as her last (first) band.

We took our time getting out to avoid the traffic, but then took Summer’s mom home before getting the girls home. Everyone was pretty tired after a late night, so it was showers for the girls, and then everyone was off to bed.

We’re almost there.

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Pull It

I got the R1 out for a ride to work today. It was a beautiful ride in the morning, and then a little warm in the afternoon, but still nice at speed. We all ended up going to the middle school to pull a few lines, except for Brody, who misunderstood the assignment and went to the high school by himself.

I rode with Kyle to the building, where he parked in back, a ways away from where we needed to be. Then we had to walk to the front anyway, since we had to help unload the truck and bring everything inside. I kind of got stuck with him on one of the jobs, and though he seemed to be trying, he definitely had some issues climbing the ladders. He said he was terrified of them, but for being so small on such new, sturdy ladders, I just couldn’t see it. I tried not to be too frustrated with him, and definitely tried to nurture him along. I still ended up doing most of the climbing, and an hour job ended up taking us the whole day.

We tried using a couple of old lines that were already in the room, but only one worked. The others we found went back to where an old switch was located. There, we discovered a huge bundle of cables that had just been cut and left in the ceiling. We’ve been struggling to find work all week anyway, so I decided we should clean out all the old cable from the ceiling. We got most of it done before lunch, when Kyle dropped me off back at the shop.

I rode to Taco John’s and met with four of the others for a cheap lunch. I hate when they don’t automatically print receipts, because then I don’t get extra rewards points. The tacos were incredible today though. They were loaded with well-seasoned meat, and were some of the best tacos I’ve ever had from there.

We went back to the middle school to finish in the afternoon, but still had a couple hours to kill before quitting time. I took the old cable to Cunningham for scrap, then stopped at Casey’s for some snacks. When I got back to the shop, they had received one of the Dell dock/port-replicating monitors to test out, and everyone was in Thomas’s office trying to get it to work. I sat in the shop for most of it, since I was completely beat from going up and down ladders all day, plus I stank from the sweat, and I wouldn’t have really added anything to the group that was already working on it. Greg came back and ate some deer, offering me a couple bites, and then shared the top secret location of his cabin. It was neat that he wanted to talk to me about hunting for a bit, because it wasn’t like he was just talking to another hunter about things he had killed.

After work, Gary followed me home to get the weighted blanket I picked up for him. Then I went to my parents’ house to swim for a bit before picking Autumn up from karate. She wasn’t at all happy to see me, but she became nicer once we got home. Summer worked from home and made a corned beef for dinner, so the three of us ate at the dinner table before Autumn got current with Stranger Things.

I had sent Eaddie a picture of the corned beef, and she asked me to bring her some to band camp after nine, so I had her call me once she was ready. My old buddy, Neal, was there delivering some pizzas, so after I got my hug from Eaddie, we stood outside and chatted for quite a while. He always has all kinds of random stuff to talk about, and it was fun catching up a bit.

Everyone was off to bed when I got back to the house, so I tried not to waste any time myself. Hopefully I’ll sleep better after such a long day today.

Add it up.

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This Time, at Band Camp

I slept in a bit today before getting up to take Eaddie to band camp. We all loaded up to take her to Paine Hall and found her dorm room. We didn’t stick around very long, because she was excited to get started. On the way back to the house, we stopped by the Murano to get an old Quiz Bowl buzzer set out of the trunk. I was curious to see if it would work. Summer briefly daydreamed about having a trivia team builder for work. Aside from some broken cable clips, which appeared to just be RJ45 connectors, everything seemed to work fine.

Autumn had been a bit argumentative all morning, but then tried to convince Summer and me to play Monopoly with her. We just kind of stared blankly at her for a moment, since she couldn’t seem to process why we might not be interested in playing board games with someone who says she hates us. She acted like we were only going to ignore her for the week because Eaddie’s gone, but Eaddie has been over her shit for just as long as us.

Summer eventually went to the gym while I tinkered around. I ended up taking a shower, and then the two of us went to New China for lunch when she got back. Autumn spent all day banished to her room, and that’s how she’ll stay as far as I’m concerned. She verbally expressed that she doesn’t want to verbally express anything to us, so I see no need to dance around each other pretending like everything is fine.

Autumn was out of her room making some food when we got back, and it didn’t take long for her to have an attitude with Summer, so she went back to her room for the rest of the evening while Summer and I laid around being super lazy for the rest of the afternoon and evening. We both struggled to stay awake. At one point, I put on School for Scoundrels, and then we watched some standup on Netflix before bed.

Ants everywhere but in my pants.

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The Parent Trap

Today was our first day of our three week “summer hours” nonsense, and it turned out worse than it had any right to be. I actually went to bed super early, so I didn’t have much trouble getting out of bed. It was cool outside for the drive in, but I knew it was going to heat up to an uncomfortable high on the bike. I kind of assumed I would be left alone again, but instead I was sent with a group to the high school. We had to possibly relocate some network lines to move the student computers in the library, and then remove the old journalism computers from the lab. Beyond that, we had to start inventory at that building, and there’s no mistaking how I felt about that.

Kyle and I rode with Brody, and I convinced them to work on inventory while I did all the network and computer pulling by myself. We ran into Al on his last day there, and I chatted with him for a minute before we started. From that point, the morning actually went really well by myself. Lunch time was an about-face.

Brody and Kyle were slow coming up to the office, and Kyle didn’t want La Chiquita, so I took the opportunity to skip as well while Brody caught up with the others. Instead, I ate an apple and chatted with Tammy at the shop until people started showing back up. Gary was the only one to ever come back, and it took me a while to find anyone else. I had to go back to the high school anyway, so I could unload the old computers from the cart I borrowed.

I finally found Brody, Jacob, and Kyle trying to pull a bunch of network lines to the old journalism room, and I caught them just as they discovered that three of their eight boxes of cable were not long enough for the run. The excuse was that they checked the length of available cable in the boxes, but not the actual length of the physical run. Frustration mounted as we finished that run, and then tried to wrangle up more boxes of cable to make another run. In the end, we decided to wait for a new delivery of cable, and I sent everyone to work on inventory for the rest of the day.

I went back to the shop and just announced very loudly outside the offices of the holy trinity that I needed a safe space where the republicans couldn’t get to me. Thomas jokingly called out to me, and I took his leave to cry exasperatedly at him about my experience with the crew. Zach came around the corner and joined in on the conversation, and we set forth a plan to grow from the experience. I spent the rest of the day hooking up a new-to-me desktop in place of my frustrating laptop.

Summer said Autumn was cooking dinner, so I went home to change before heading up. I was already emotional from the day, on top of being ignored as a parental figure yesterday, so I fell apart once I got there. I took Summer aside to talk to her, and found no comfort. I finally came out to the dinner table and started the uncomfortable conversation about whether I improved any of their lives. I knew what Autumn’s answer would be, but as usual she fell silent when confronted. Eaddie wasn’t any comfort either, but at least backed me up when I called them out for bad vibes. It took a couple of hours of talking, but we finally dug deep enough to find the root of some of the issues, and hopefully the growing and learning will continue with some action.

Obvious Protip: Don’t vent to the children.

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Dentology

I knew I had to take the girls to the orthodontist this afternoon, but I nearly spaced and took the bike to work this morning. I caught myself on the way out and took the Murano instead, but it wouldn’t have been a bad day for a ride. We had a short meeting, and then I was mostly left alone to do my own thing. Gary had me update SCCM, which was a relatively easy, but long process that took me all morning to complete.

The guys went to Taco John’s and invited me along, but I was on the fence anyway, and then traffic didn’t allow me into the right lane to make the turn, so I headed on up to Summer’s instead. The girls were up but sedentary. I warmed up some leftover Mexican chicken casserole for lunch, and then we left for Dr. K’s.

When we got there, the doors were locked for lunch time, so we waited under the shade of a nearby bushy tree. It seemed a little silly to see so many people waiting outside the door in the heat, but I guess they’ve gotta eat too. Autumn filled out some paperwork while Eaddie went back. Then she wanted me to go back with her for the consult. Autumn really wants braces, but Invisalign is about 400 bucks cheaper. Evidently they don’t have insurance to cover anything, so I don’t know why Summer’s trying so hard to spend money on the kid that’s giving us so much trouble.

After the girls finished, we went to my house so I could change out of my work jeans into some shorts, then headed back up to their house until Eaddie’s flute lesson. They watched Stranger Things for a little while, and I baked the Surfer Boy branded pizza we got for them. Then Autumn took a nap while Eaddie painted. When it was time to leave again, Autumn pitched an absolute fit about being woken up, and was super bitchy for about two hours.

We dropped Eaddie off for her lesson and then went to my parents’ house for half an hour. Eaddie finished up after about 45 minutes, and I took them straight to karate. They had both started to get moody, so I decided to go in to watch them for the hour. They begrudgingly worked out together, and flailed their limbs around loosely the entire time. On the way home, Autumn wanted to get some sour cream for barbecue nachos, but then went straight to the Takis and Dr. Pepper. I didn’t have the energy to fight her there, so I got the corn chips we really needed, and we continued home.

It was a little late, but I wanted to eat a little bit for dinner. Then I had to threaten to take her snacks before Autumn made herself the tiniest plate of smoked pork and shredded cheese I had ever seen. She didn’t even open the sour cream she begged for. After she ate, I made her clean the kitchen while Eaddie cleaned her room. Then I killed time until Summer got home super late. She went straight to bed, and I played Puzzle Quest on my phone all night.

…but I’m a creep…

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Burger Time

We got up this morning, and Summer had trouble getting Autumn outside to start mowing. She mouthed off for a while before going out and getting started, but after that she settled down and got the back yard done without a fuss. I ended up taking a bunch of blankets and pillows away from her again, and I guess it worked, because she was on her best behavior the rest of the day.

Summer went to the gym while I babysat. Afterward, she and Eaddie dropped me off at home to clean up while Eaddie practiced driving. Then we went to Walmart for burger parts for dinner. The girls’ brother Zack wanted to take them out, but came over for dinner instead.

I made fresh-cut fries and all-beef burgers without any filler for a change. I don’t know that I prefer that over having some shredded wheat in them, but they tasted great. The grill caught on fire for a while, so we had to let it burn off a bunch of old oil before we could grill on it. The mango habanero pickles I got on clearance were a delicious addition with an unexpected sweetness and punch.

After we ate, the girls wanted to play Phase 10, but they had to painstakingly teach Zack the rules. He left after the fifth phase, and we played a little longer, but never finished the game. Autumn and Summer went to bed really early, and then Eaddie planned to sleep on the couch. I was pretty tired after grilling in the heat, so I didn’t waste any time getting to bed either.

Why are weekends so busy when it’s miserably hot outside?

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Facebook Medical Supplies

I slept in a little bit today since I took the morning off for my wellness exam. The girls stayed home since Summer was working in town. I went in for my visit, forgetting that I had filled out my medical form with my preferred first name of Captain Michael of HMSV Manatee. Keely came in wanting to know the story behind it, and we shared a few laughs. We decided to schedule a pulmonary test to make sure my lungs are back up to snuff after COVID, and then I got stuck in both arms looking for enough fluids to get my required bloodwork.

I was pretty hungry when I left, so I went by Superfast to see if Summer wanted to get lunch. She needed to run some errands anyway, so she took me to Harbor Freight, Walmart, and then Western Sizzlin to eat. When I made it to the shop, Gary was the only one there, and he was on his way out. They were shorthanded, so I was the only one in the shop all afternoon.

After a little bit of tinkering, Gary asked me to run over to the new maintenance building with a hotspot, since those guys already started moving computers before we even had internet run to the building. When I got there, they still didn’t even have all of the power run either. I ended up having to bring Chris’s computer back to the shop. I got it going, and then Gary showed up after letting everyone else leave a bit early. We worked out the day, and then I headed home.

Summer said we had an interview with someone from the state police right after work, so I ran home to change and then headed up. There was a wreck holding up traffic along the way, so I was a bit late, but I didn’t really miss anything. The girls were hanging out in the living room, and it was clear with the way Summer was talking that she was just closing things up. We shared some more stories, and then she left, saying the case should be completely closed within a couple days.

Summer left for the gym, and the girls wanted to hang out for a girl’s night, but I never left. They were watching Stranger Things and had Summer come back with some pizza, along with my blood pressure medication. Summer and Autumn went to bed first. Eaddie stayed up doing her paint-by-number, and I tried not to stay up too late.

Teenage girl drama

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Lipstick, Plastic, and Paint

I slept in a little later than I wanted this morning, but I needed the rest for what the day would bring. I ate some leftover carrots, cabbage, and potatoes from the corned beef we made weeks ago, along with a fried chicken breast from last night. Then we started going through Autumn’s room to clean everything out. We loaded the Murano as full as we could get it, and took it to storage.

Eric said they would be on their land later in the day if we wanted to bring Apollo by to release him into the pond. I grabbed the old turtle just as we were heading out the door, but we ended up having to hold onto him until the evening anyway, because they didn’t get out to the land as early as he originally anticipated.

Summer rented a storage unit, and we started loading it up with Autumn’s things. We got the smallest one they had, and then just stacked boxes as high as we could. It was actually a surprisingly small amount of stuff we had to move, but it would ultimately take us two trips. Summer went to the gym while I cleaned up at home, and then we went out for some CiCi’s for dinner.

After we ate, we went back to my house to grab the turtle bucket, and headed to Pottsville to find their land. I thought they were already living out there, but apparently they were only just starting the build. It was a beautiful plot, but a bit close to the interstate for me. The pond looked like it was going to be a great home for little Apollo to live out his days, stocked with all kinds of fish. Carley’s dad was out there fishing, and constantly reeled little bass in the entire time we were standing out there talking.

From there, we headed on back to Summer’s to finish packing Autumn’s room. She did a great job of cleaning everything out, and we ended up with an empty closet and room, aside for the bed and some band and JROTC stuff. Just as we loaded the last trip into the car, Summer got a text from Eaddie that they were coming home tonight. We rushed to put everything into storage, and made it home just in time to greet the girls as they got home.

Autumn hopped out of the car and bypassed us both to walk straight up to the house, but I had locked the door on our way out. Eaddie wasn’t very talkative either, and had apparently spent the entire trip quietly to herself in the trunk of the car. Nick said he knew things were going to blow up as soon as we got inside because we knew they had snuck a laptop along the trip, so he was quick to leave after pointing out that Eaddie had a hand in sneaking the laptop out as well.

Things inside probably went about as well as they could have. Autumn got it into her head that she was just going to leave and not talk to us at all. We cornered her in her empty room for a bit, and she mouthed us for a while, but then she ran out the back door and took off down the road. Summer called 911 and had the cops chase her down at the top of the bridge over the interstate, which was a lot farther than I thought she would make it. We had to fetch her, but they couldn’t keep her overnight or anything since running away isn’t a crime. Fortunately one of the half-dozen or so officers that showed up was one that came to the house the day that I had slapped her. As soon as Autumn said something about us beating her, he made a comment about how she had slapped herself to get out of mowing, and then got kicked out of the Explorer’s program. I wasn’t going to correct him on the side of the highway, but it was clear that nobody was going to believe her, and they convinced her to take the ride home.

Once we got into the house and let her chill out, she actually came out to the dining room and talked to us a bit. Things were basically back to normal, and she was smiling and laughing at things again. She eventually pulled her shirt off to show her gnarly sunburn, and Summer took care of that the best she could. We called Eaddie back out of her room, and I swatted her for bullying Autumn too, but it was clear to everyone that they were both guilty. We tucked Autumn into bed, and Eaddie took a late shower before following suit. For some reason, it still took me forever to get to bed myself.

I never wanted to be the villain, but all the hero suits itch.