Reverse Father’s Day

Father’s Day is coming up.

I know I had to tell you that because you’ve probably missed the hundreds of ads letting you know that your dad needs new BBQ tools, or that this tie is perfect for your little one to give – and nothing beats the WORLDS BEST DAD coffee mug.

The tie Mr. T gave me for Father’s Day one year.

This time of year also gets me thinking about Father’s Day in reverse.  I look at my son, and the man I am raising, and wonder what kind of father he will be.  Being a single mother, have I given him the skills necessary to transition into fatherhood?  While this question doesn’t haunt me, I will admit that I’ve given it some thought.

And, I’ve made plenty of phone calls to my male best friends.

“Is it supposed to do THAT?”

“How does that thing work?”

“Okay, how do I know what cup size to buy him?!? And are there instructions?”

“How do you shave?”

“Is this normal??”

As Mr. T has grown, I’ve learned that Yes, it is supposed to do that, Yes, it is normal and that the athletic cup isn’t as scary as I thought!

Now that Mr. T has hit the teenage years, he’s no longer content with a can of shaving cream and a fake razor.  For the past year he’s been closely monitoring his peach fuzz.

“Mom, feel this. I think it’s getting rougher.”

Or “Mom, look, you can see that some of the hairs are darker.”

Or the ever popular “Uh Mom, you need to shave, your mustache is darker than mine!”

Sadly, he was right on that one.

And this year, he finally got to break out the razor and shaving cream.  Now I get updates on how the shave goes.

“Mom, I think I’m always going to shave in the shower, it makes it easier.”

“Mom, can you bring my shaving cream and razor to the school, I think I need to shave before my performance.”  (No joke, this was yesterday’s phone call!  I explained that the pancake makeup would cover any stubble, not make it more pronounced.) (And really, his stubble after 3 days of not shaving is still not as bad as my stubble after 1 day of not shaving!!)

Sorry, that last bit was probably TMI.

Moving on…

A few months ago, he discovered the Dollar Shave Club, because apparently I wasn’t doing a good enough job in keeping him supplied with razors! It worked out though, because this kid is in heaven.

He gets online, places his order and sets up the delivery schedule.  I always know when a package is due because he starts to volunteer to go check the mail!

This was a win/win situation.  I don’t have to remember to pick up razors, and my son gets an easy way to learn how to manage his money and subscriptions.  But, wait – there’s more!

This is the inspiration for the post!  This is what got me thinking about Father’s Day in reverse.

It’s the end of the school year, and we were cleaning out Mr. T’s back pack.

His very manly backpack, custom made for him by a soldier on tour overseas.  It’s his favorite bag and he’s carried this guy for years.  And guess what I found in the side pocket?

One Wipe Charlies! I looked at him and he looked at me.  I looked at him some more and he goes “What? The toilet paper at school is so rough – these are much better!”

All of the sudden that little seed of doubt I’d been carrying around vanished.  Not only can my kid shave, he’s discovered how to make his life easier.

Yep, he’ll be just fine as he grows up, and this Father’s Day I’ll give myself a pat on the back!  And then I’ll upload our photos from camping and discover a dozen duck lip selfies on my phone!

PS – this post contains affiliated links, because Mr. T told me after I post this that he can get a credit if anyone orders based on him.  Naturally, I had to change my link for him! And, I think I should disclose that to you!

One for the Jar

A great weekend was had – great enough that T and I put it in our memory jar (have you seen these on Pinterest? You create a jar and throughout the year you put in memories and good times that you’ve had and you read them at the end of the year.  My Diva’s are all doing this and we will read them at the NYE party this year.  It should be awesome!)

Anyway, it was one for the memory jar.  Friday night Mr. T had his theatre banquet and won two awards! YAY!  Excellence in Acting and Excellence in Tech.  I’m so proud of my guy!

We did get together with the family and celebrated my sister’s birthday and Father’s Day.  There was an odd moment when mom said she wanted to go through Lee’s items.  Neither my sis nor I had any idea this was planned, and it surprised both of us, cause as you know, my mom doesn’t get rid of things.  We did expect that a few sentimental items would be doled out, but never expected, especially so soon, that we’d go through his items.  Well, my sister had a meltdown.  I really thought that I caused it, that I was going through things too quickly and it upset her.  She says it wasn’t me, and after talking to her, I kinda believe her.  She’s just still emotional, and being weeks away from having a baby, a bit more hormonal, too.  Ask how much fun it was to celebrate her birthday after she’s been crying… yeah.

We did survive!  We did not go through the items, though.  And that is okay!

This has no relevance to the story. I just haven’t shared my love of Dean Winchester lately. That is all.

Sunday was a crappy morning, we were running late for church and ended up forgetting a couple of things… and church just drove me nuts.  I’m so struggling there – but working on it and praying about it – and really, T is happy, and that’s all that matters.  We didn’t stay for service, but left and drove through Micky D’s for breakfast and then over to a friends house for a pool party.  So totally worth it! We had so much fun!  Mr. T got lots of compliments, which makes us both glow!

Monday we asked mom and dad if they wanted to meet us for a movie.  Star Trek baby!!  We met at the movie bistro and ordered lunch and watched the movie.  It was awesome! It really made my inner nerd happy!

Today I’m back at work and actually being productive! It helped that my boss is out of town, so I was able to get caught up on a lot of things without his interruptions.  I’m ready for the rest of the week to fly by – and only 5-1/2 more days of school left! Yay!

And now, just cause I love you and we can all use a break, I present a You Tube video that I just love of Jensen and Misha (Dean and Castiel) doing a panel.  Someone from the audience brought an old headshot of Misha… and actually, as I type this, I think I might have shared it with you before… Huh.  Have I blogged so much that I can’t remember what I’ve shared OR do I just love this clip so much that I have to keep sharing?  You be the judge! If I was a good blogger, I’d go back and look and see if I’ve ever titled a blog called “Acting on Camera”.   Well crap, I am a good blogger and I went back and checked, and yes, I have shared this before – but I have some new readers, so I’m sharing it again!  (I’ve had issues with it embedding properly, so if you can’t click to watch, feel free to do the hard work and copy/paste in your browser!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj4kn-RADME

 

Picking up the Pieces.

By nature, I’ve very happy.  I smile and joke about everything.  I am also super positive.

As such, it is very hard on me when I struggle with being depressed.

Fortunately, for me, being depressed manifests in more of an apathetic and listless lifestyle.  I just don’t want to do anything.  I don’t really have the energy to care.  (I think the side result of this is that the people in my life aren’t peppered with so many questions – being nosy, err, I mean curious by nature, I’m all about asking you about you!  So, some people have been spared my constant interrogations questions, and they probably welcome the break!)

What my friends probably feel like when I’m on a roll!

Some people would see it as a good thing that I recognize that I’m struggling and taking the steps to correct it.  Personally, it drives me nuts that I recognize the issues, as I’d like to just wallow a bit more!!  That’s just me being ornery I suppose!

This will not define my life, though.  This is a part of what has happened along my journey, so, I have begun moving forward again.

Last weekend I spent time with the family and then down at my Amy’s for an impromptu pool party.  This weekend has already been busy.  I had lunch with my BA on Friday.  He goes “You look… good.  Considering.”  LOL, Okay, I’ll take that compliment – hey, I’ll take it anytime someone tells me I look good.  I know I do – but it’s cool to hear it reinforced!  Okay, I jest!

If you don’t know Zoolander by heart, you are missing out!

Friday night my mom treated the girls with a trip to the salon.  Okay, this is a funny story.  I’m sitting with BA at lunch and my dad calls to see how I’m doing (I had more massive work done on my mouth this week, 4 hours Tuesday and 4 hours Thursday).  I assured him I was much better.  Then my mom calls.  She wanted to see how I was doing.  I told her I was good.  She then proceeds to tell me that she is meeting my sister and niece at the nail place tonight.  They are all going to get mani/pedi’s and have a girls night.  It’s my nieces first time, so mom is surprising her with the treat. I told them to have fun, it sounded like a blast.

Mom calls me right back.  “I didn’t mean to exclude you!  I know you just got your toes done, though.”  Yeah, three weeks ago…  I told mom that I didn’t feel excluded, it was okay, I wasn’t due for another week.  She goes no, I thought you just did them.  I reminded her that I had them done the day Lee died, cause it was past due and I couldn’t face the family and friends with nasty toes, but it was okay, they should have fun, I didn’t feel excluded at all. Plus, Mr. T has his theatre banquet tonight, so I had to take him back to school at 6:45.  In the end, to satisfy her, I told her that I’d check my budget when I got home, see if my pedicure had come up in the rotation yet, and if so, I’d meet them up there.

I went back to my lunch.  Then I got a text from mom… “My treat, I’ll call and change the appointment to 4 people.  Dad will take care of Mr. T, just bring him to the house”

So – anyway – that’s how I ended up at the nail salon with the other females in the family.  I actually got a manicure! I haven’t had one in like 12 years! There is polish on my fingernails!  The only time this happens is at Halloween, and normally you don’t see that unless we are in the dark – cause I love my glow-in-the-dark polish! 🙂

Then I got my toes done.

It was a fun night!

Today we are celebrating Memorial day, my sister’s birthday and Father’s Day all at the same time.  With my sister just weeks away from having another baby, it’s getting harder for her to make the hour drive over, so we are doing it all in one fell swoop! I hope there is cake.  I want some cake.

Party Time!!

Sunday Mr. T and I are going to a friends house for a pool party – she just got it installed last week, so we all have to go break it in! 🙂  If we didn’t have cake at mom and dad’s, then that’s what I’m taking as my side dish to the party.  I want some cake.

Monday, maybe some of dad’s BBQ ribs, or a nice cool movie theatre (still haven’t had time to go see Star Trek!), we haven’t decided yet.

One way or the other, I’m picking up the pieces in my life and moving forward.

Thank you to all of the military men, women and their families that have kept me safe and allowed me the freedoms that I enjoy.  I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend.