Saturday, January 16, 2010

My Personal Insomnia Cure

Meet Bear. He lives in a big, blue house with his friends. Bear is Poet's current fave in the realm of DVD watching. Every night after dinner, she marches into the living room, points at the TV, cocks her head like a sad little puppy, and says "Bear?" Only you know it isn't a question, no sirree, it's a demand. Well, more like a threat: Play Bear for me, or you won't know a moment's peace for the rest of the night. But I digress. This post isn't about Poet, it's about Bear, and his effect on me.

Our routine, once Bear has been demanded, is for me to sit in my seat and start the DVD, then Poet jumps up in my lap while Happy dances in front of the TV. I recline the chair, I hit the play button on the remote... and I'm out. I have no idea why, but for whatever reason, I conk within two minutes of the video starting. No, it's not the chair, or the position, because I sit in the chair often, and even frequently recline. It's Bear. He's magic, I tell you. I've slept through an entire three episode event before, even with Poet getting bored and jumping down, and the kids playing noisily nearby. It's kinda weird, but it's almost worth me buying a TV/DVD combo for the bedroom and putting the darned thing on continual play overnight. Almost, but I don't think Amy would approve...

Monday, January 11, 2010

Thankful

There are moments in our days that sneak in our hearts for us to hold tight. Tonight was one of those moments. I never thought I would hear singing in our houses. We did not know what the cleft or the repair would do to Poet' speech let alone her ability to sing. Well she has been on a singing kick for the last few days- Jingle Bells and Frosty the Snowman (or Mailman), " Here come the Geese" Ring Around the Rosie, and " What's in the Mail today?" just to name a few.

I love that she sings with passion and dancing, I love that she sings duets with Daddy, I love that she sings to make her brother happy, I love that she sings.

Thursday, January 07, 2010

You Know You're Getting Old...

Being a man of a certain age, my annual physicals now include a very... uncomfortable... routine: prostate exam. My first one was yesterday. Yay. I'll not repeat the details here, as this is a family-oriented blog, but I'm certain that a quick perusal of your search engine would give you that information, in the unlikely event that you've been living under a rock. Now, I'm not saying that the experience was even remotely enjoyable. Not at all. However, I will say that it wasn't nearly as bad as I'd thought it would be. In fact, it's not even the worst medical experience I've had in the last five years. That'd have to go to the tube incident from a few years ago. As opposed to the tube, this procedure was over and done in a matter of seconds. So, here's the PSA for all you men of a certain age out there: just suck it up and get it done. A few seconds of discomfort is a small price to pay for early detection of a potential problem.

Thank you, and God bless America.