GROWING UP AND STAYING SHARP

Growing up is a decision.

It’s a decision to be on time, show up ready to go, and inspire others by your example.

Like writing a blog, lol.

The biggest decision to make? Decide to stay sharp, in spite of having sons.

One way is making fresh memories as you age, then connecting them to earlier memories with their mom.

However, if you have eight kids with five women, it might be a challenge.

I have two kids and one wife worth of memories to keep straight. It’s more than enough.

To check my thoughts on multiple kids with multiple women I looked to my reliable source of internet information,misinformation, and everything in between, Reddit.

Mostly, it looks like the men who have multiple baby mommas who say they’re “poly” are pretty similar to the bulk of men who have multiple baby mommas who aren’t poly. Which is to say:

They suck as fathers

A very very small number of these men may make it work without just being shit, but usually the way they make it work is by fucking over their baby mommas and their kids.

 

Is it boring to be married to the mother of my children, each planned and prepared for?

Naw, it’s on the achievement side of my ledger, not the regret side.

I know a few characters in the same condition and they carry on just fine.

We don’t preach about it, brag about it, explain or complain about it.

The sons are going to do what sons do and what’s it got to do with dear old dad?

Our job, the one we’re continually growing up to do, is to mesh with the momma gears and keep the family machine in motion.

 

Staying Sharp As A Family

Too many of the fellas think about what they’re missing out on with their Bros.

That’s when they miss those glimpsing moments when the world is at peace, dinner is done, and the roof don’t leak.

In a treacherous world you get to stand in the door crack watching a life in action at rest.

I’ve had that view of one son, then the other. They shared a room.

We read stories, told stories, and talked it up before bedtime.

Call me soft, but spending that time with them was more important than anything on TV.

When people talk about living in the 90’s, all I remember is life with them.

 

As a fan of Oregon history, to the point of getting a bachelor’s degree in history, I learned about kids on the Oregon Trail.

 

According to Peter D. Olch, being run over by wagon wheels was the most frequent cause of injury or death. Both children and adults could slip while getting out of a wagon and fall beneath the wheels. Children were especially susceptible to being run over by heavy wagons.

 

My boys grew up crossing railroad tracks on their way to middle school.

They walked past a meadow with horses. It felt like an old fashioned childhood.

Then they got on with growing up.

Today it’s all blocked off for safety’s sake with the horse meadow replaced by houses.

 

Looking Back

While I was growing up we had guys like Frank Sinatra and Jackie Gleason on TV.

Jackie had a show but didn’t tell everything.

Dean Martin had a show. Johnny Cash had a show. Frank made them all ‘cool’ when he came on.

We had this gallery of drinkers and drunks to balance Green Acres and Petticoat Junction.

They weren’t role models for kids who sat in front of televisions while their parents smoked and drank on the couch.

We were growing up and they were staying sharp?

Or were they waiting it out for a respectable time to get divorced?

With role models from their own generation influencing their kids, what could go wrong?

 

Growing Up To The Unexpected

Today is a day of joy with the University of Oregon Ducks the unanimous #1 team in the nation.

This is a far cry from past Duck teams that showed flash.

The current roster shows tenacity, speed, and skills like never before.

That’s what you say when your team is on top. They are not just better, they are the best.

And they make their fans better.

If they win the college national championship in their third appearance we’ll all have to memorize the players and get tattoos.

We’ll have to make room in our brains for ‘The Catch’, ‘The Run’, ‘The Tackle’, the kick.

With a team on the edge of greatness, all other sports memories step back.

Now I have a chance to erase Joe Montana’s throw that doomed with Cowboys with ‘THE CATCH.’

I can forget Jackie Smith’s drop that doomed the Cowboys Super Bowl against the Steelers.

But that’s not how memories work.

We keep the good and the not-so-good. Then what? (Hey Allison)

 

Feeling better? Me, too.

See you tomorrow.