halloween

candy rush.

the kids dig halloween in a way i never did.

the boy especially starts thinking about costumes and drawing tableaus in the summer. the girl likes candy and dress-up.

gutting.

we bought these gorgeous pumpkins at the aldi store at the start of the month, but held off on carving them after the ones we did early last october rotted within a week.

drawing.

we didn't get to hacking until all hallows eve eve. (kris thought it was too late, but i knew the kids wanted to decorate, so i took on the task.)

the kids drew their designs and daddy carved them out. the funny thing was despite the large canvas presented on the large pumpkins, they both made small features — the girl especially.

but the templates each had their charms and turned out to translate well as kid art onto big gourds.

the big night took us out on a lovely fall evening for about an hour as they filled their buckets to overflowing. i just enjoyed greeting our neighbors and getting into the spirit of the holiday, if you'll pardon the pun.

upon our return, mama doled out their evening's ration and set aside some for later. the rest, daddy was taking to the office.

wonder twins.

the girl ate until her belly ached. the boy just knew when to stop.

mama figures the boy won't care nearly as much about his costume next year and will probably choose to wear it again. we'll see. he'll be 8 then, maybe more interested in being cool with his friends and not being seen with mom and dad and sis.

the kids keep growing. i'm doing my best to enjoy their being kids.

lit.

belated anniversary

sent to me at work, 23 october 2007.

so this girl's been with us now for ten years and one week.

when we first got her, we thought she was a boy, so we gave her a boy's name. then we found out differently.

also sent to me at work,
28 september 2017.

she lives with us under any number of titles — "dirty and smelly," "horrifying cat" or any combination of those and others too vulgar to write here — but she remains a member of the family, beloved, even by those disgusted or unnerved by her.

thanks for sticking around with us, smidge, and for making our lives so interesting.

progress, i think

selfie, yesterday.

i think the boy, in the background with daddy, is wholly in the throes of his hormones.

my old belief remains that the hormonal jangling that contributed to his harrowing toddler behavior has been somewhat modified to include his ridiculous 7-year-old boy behavior, including inexplicable decision-making, manic emotional swings and general goofiness.

so i find some consolation in hearing that he tests well, albeit points off in math for hurriedness, lack of care and the resultant mistakes, and that he is considered a kind and thoughtful kid.

today, though, his teachers reported that he exhibited a remarkable sweetness: he used his "good grade/behavior points" to "buy" a lunch pass to sit with whomever he wanted. the thing that killed them was that of all his classmates and friends, he chose to sit with his little sister.

first day of school.

she was apparently over the moon with his decision and very pleased, proud and happy to have a "big kid" sit with her at the little kids table. she came running out of school to her mommy to share the great news.

the boy explained to mama that after this year, he wouldn't have the same lunch period as his sister, so he said he'd dedicate whatever "points" he earns over the year to lunch passes with his little sis, so they could have as much time together as they could while they could.

i think mama almost died from the endearing display. she noted that for the rest of the day, the two were inseparable and very affectionate and kind to each other.

i'm telling you, while i have no idea how this guy's mind works or what direction it's headed in, i hope he never loses his sweet nature.

three-day weekend

this weekend's benefactor.

when you work at a daily paper, you learn there are no holidays you don't work: christmas, easter, election day — it doesn't matter. the news has to go out.

working now for the federal government, i'm getting days off i never imagined, like martin luther king jr. day, president's day and columbus day. columbus day!

at the paper, i could always count on two three-day weekends, memorial day and labor day. (the summer wild card was independence day. at the old charleston daily mail, you had to work at least one of those days.)

for some reason, that third day always held a sort of promise for me: the chance to unwind or get some housework done or something productive or beneficial.

more often than not, though, laziness, illness or an unscheduled commitment would steal a day and disrupt a flow or dither away a good start.

i'd wind up disappointed and regretful and wondering where the time went or why i'd even gotten my hopes up in the first place.

i've now got three days lined up, two sick kids, the promise of a sunny saturday and a wet sunday and monday.

my only ambitions at the moment are laundry and a state inspection on monday.

my only real pipe dream would be clearing out a corner of our cluttered den. (i'm becoming familiar with the term "managing expectations.")

that's it. the detours i see are an outdoor car show on the boulevard tomorrow and, if the boy is feeling up to it, hitting tennis balls at one of the local parks. there is also the distraction of west virginia's ballgame against texas christian in the afternoon.

but that's just one day. with any luck/planning/discipline, that can be the donut hole in an otherwise useful, three-day weekend.

october

Absolutely gorgeous day at the @YeagerAirport Airshow! pic.twitter.com/uUeTZ9Zjgm

— Tim Carrico (@TimCarrico) October 1, 2017

in three hours at coonskin park on a beautiful fall day:

• saw an aerobatics display 
• watched the kids play with their friends 
• had a nice chat with one of their dads
• caught a glimpse of the nation's no. 1 ranked, division iii men's soccer team 
• hit tennis balls with my son 

i'm tired. good night.