Guest Post-by Amy Roller: Perspective

Back in 2001 when we moved to this town, Emma was two, and Charlie was yet to be born. Lucy was yet to be considered. One thing Dave and I have in common is our love for reading, books, libraries, etc. So, before we even bought this house, we sought out the local library. It's a good one. When Emma was two, she didn't like to go places or leave them. She would cry both times. Going to church: cry. Leave church: cry. Go to grandma's: cry. Leave grandma's: cry. You get the idea. Same was true for the library.

Many hours of training produced little result. "Okay, Emma, we're going to play at the library. When we're all done, we will stand by the lady and wait our turn, and give her the books, and she'll give them back." What? I have to give the books to the librarian? I just spent hours picking them out, listening to you read them to me, and planning how many book parties we are going to have at home, and NOW, you want me to GIVE them to this lady with the long blond hair? She might TAKE them, hide them, put them away, mom, I'm quite sure, I'll NEVER see them again. No, I won't do it. Screaming ensued. Every. Time.

Okay, finally after a year or so, Emma gets the idea. Then comes Charlie, who tended to be calmer than Emma. Same thing. Crying, tears, shrieks, etc. Couple years down the line, Lucy does the same thing, but to a lesser extent. She watches Emma and Charlie's reaction to handing the books over, and discovers that they always give them back, that nice blond lady, especially.

Flash forward to today. I spent my day at the library working on some reports for work. I was tucked away in a far corner, but I could still hear those two year olds shrieking. MOM! I need that book! I LOVE that book! NOOOOOOOOOO! Now, give it to the nice lady, and she'll give it right back, dear, like we practiced at home. Why mom? Why can't I just keep it? I promise I'll bring it back next time? Sorry honey, like I told you at home, I....MOMMMMMMMMM!!! I didn't chuckle, exactly, so much as, said a silent "thank you" for being past that stage...

Next Time: WFMW

It's Not Uncommon, It's Not our Problem.

When I lived in Russia, someone sent me a copy of an article from the English version of a Moscow newspaper. The story told of hundreds of bags of undelivered mail being dumped into a lake near Moscow. When some Russian government official was contacted, his comment was: "It is not uncommon, it is not our problem."

As I approach my 45th birthday, it is natural for a certain world weariness to creep in from time to time. When you are younger, you seem to have boundless energy to solve all the problems of the world. As you begin to see the same problems over and over again, it is easy to get the "not uncommon, not my problem" mentality.

Empathy covers apathy in the same way that paper covers rock. As the world and its worries harden your heart, putting other peoples' troubles in front of your own soften it. So, next time you have the opportunity to help someone in need, tell yourself it may not be uncommon, but I can make it my problem.

Next Time: Perspective

They Call it Puppy Love

Every morning my youngest daughter wakes me up. You know how some people are morning people, and wake up eager for the day to begin? That's my daughter. Other people welcome morning like a warden welcomes jailbreaks. That's me. Yet each morning she scampers in the room with unbridled enthusiasm. Always going to my side of the bed always saying the same thing:

"Let's be a puppy on the floor!"

Every morning, always the same, let's be a puppy on the floor. And every morning, generally against by better judgement, I crawl on the floor with her, barking and yipping. I am not sure how this ritual began, and often, I am unsure why I let it continue. There are only two reasons why I endure this perpetual puppy practice:

1) I don't think she enjoys anything in this world more than playing puppy with her Dad.

2) Some time in the not so distant future, she won't come in anymore. Our time as Daddy puppy and Baby puppy will be through. While I certainly won't miss the interruption of my sleep, I will certainly lament the ending of that season in our lives.

So until that day comes I will spend the first part of my day "ruffing it" with my daughter.

Next Time: It's not uncommon, it's not our problem.

NABLOPOMO Mid month update

This month I have taken the National Blog Posting Month challenge to blog everyday for a month. I planned today to give an detailed update of how my month so far has gone.

I was just told by my wife that she is taking me out for dinner in ten minutes and if I want to blog for day, do it now. So, update yes, detailed, not so much.

That is certainly a negative of everyday blogging: to have to rush yourself and to lack quality for the sake of quantity.

A positive is that blogging everyday has really stretched me in what topics to choose. Wednesday and Thursdays blogs may not have occurred, if I didn't have to produce a post each and every day. Amy has told me that those posts have been some of my best.

Well I am off to dinner with the love of my life.

Next Time: They Call it Puppy Love

Blah, Blah, Blago

My son thinks Rod Blagojevich was framed. He just cannot believe that the most powerful government head in our entire state would say he was innocent if he wasn't. That's my son, he's seven. Of course, by thinking that Blago is innocent he is definitely in the minority. The only other person I know of who thinks the former governor is innocent, is the former governor himself.

Blagojevich reminds me of Jack Nicholson's character from A Few Good Men. At the end of the movie after he admits to ordering the Code Red that killed Private Santiago, he cannot understand why he is being arrested. Even though he has just acknowledged culpability, he thinks that he is beyond the law. (Just as an aside, thanks to the Pepsi company, it is no longer an illegal action to order a Code Red. I rather enjoy them.)

This is exactly what Blagojevich is doing. He doesn't seem to dispute the facts of the case. He just doesn't think he did anything wrong. He points to all "the good" he did for the state, and thinks that selling a senate seat, like you might sell Cubs rooftop tickets, is just part of the job description.










The former governor also reminds me a lot of Nicholson's "A Few Good Men" costar, Tom Cruise. He definitely has the hair for it. I don't mean Tom Cruise, the actor. I mean Tom Cruise, the couch jumper. Because couch jumping is exactly what Blago has been doing lately. I mean they have actually had to create new talk shows for him to appear on. Network news for the past two weeks might as well have been called, Blagojevich and the weather.

The thing I like best about this entire debacle is that when Blagojevich was removed from office and then banned from holding any office in the state of Illinois, he was out jogging. The reason why I like this best, is that it capsulizes what he became: a running joke.

Next Time: NABLOPOMO, A mid-month report

My Music A-Z

Blog Insider - A look at the widgets, gadgets and whatnots of Home School Dad

Tonight's Episode: My Music A-Z

I am by most accounts a disorganized person. Many people have tried to get me organized, and they have all failed. Sad, really. It's not that I don't have developed storage systems. It's just that none of those storage systems ever get properly utilized. My brother says my organization motto is: a place for everything and everything on the floor.

There is one area in my life that is impeccably organized: my music. My 8-track collection, which gave way to my record (aka LP) collection, which gave way to my cassette and cd collection were/are all catalogued alphabetically or by genre.

I also have in the past established elaborate systems by which cd or which track I would play. So, it should come as no surprise that the music blog is subject to the same blend of order and chaos that I subject all my other music collections.

My music is brought to you by playlist.com. They are awesome. Each Sunday I switch the songs on my blog, generally in accordance to some mad scheme. One week, I had two songs for each artist I chose. Another time, all songs I chose were performed by 2 artists. This week, I went wild, even by my standards, and have 26 artists all beginning with different letters of the alphabet. All of the artists or songs do have a special meaning to me. Until I got to the x's. X-sinner is not really my cup of tea, but it's not like I had a lot to choose from. The music represents a kind of musical history of mine. Amy's message board friends say I look like Donny Osmond, so that explains that. Some songs like Steve Forbert's, "Romeo's Tune" or Rupert Holme's, "Escape" I haven't heard for years. But they were songs I really liked in the late 70's- early 80's when I was an AT40 geek. I was keeping my feet on the ground but I was definitely reaching for the stars.

Amy was a little surprised that I would choose a song like Escape, since it is about a man stuck in a bad relationship, itching to get out. And, that is so not me. That's not how I see the song though. I see it like an O'Henry short story set to music, with a little twist at the end that changes the whole song.

I hope you enjoy the music as you look through my blog. Some time soon: Christmas in February or March, cause ANYONE can do Christmas in July.

Next Time: Blah Blah Blago