Chorin'

As I write this, the dishwasher is drying the second load of dishes today, the washer is working on it's first load, I've taken stuff out to the shed, and walked over to the 'Rents homestead to pick up the OG BW. Ember and Noodle came with me. I tried to wear him out, but Noodle is just too much of a damn puppy. 

Fitness, or Lack Thereof

Being a modern dad is super challenging. Physical fitness is one of the jokes that we like to tell ourselves about. It's a joke because a good dad never has the time. I'm writing this blog at 5 am, for example. Maybe I'll get some time to workout, which will likely include a short walk, a short run, some pushups, some situps, and a bunch of stretching. Lots of stretching. Stretch the hips, the back, the neck. All this to do the kid stuff before and after work. Every. Single. Day. Dad's don't have dad-bods because they are lazy. They're a product of working too many hours, eating unhealthy food on the fly, and still wanting to be snuggly. 

The Dad Grind

If there's anything I'm learning to hate, it's repeating myself. Go brush your teeth. Go brush your teeth. That's cool, brush your teeth. Neat. Brush your teeth.

This is the way of things. Every day. Every night. It's... painful.

Looking For Creative Solutions

My current big-picture deliemma is trying to figure out how to motivate and intrigrate the kids into the kind of outdoor lifestyle I've been looking to get back to. Asking them to live in a van is bullshit, and I understand that. But camping regularly in a kick ass van may be fun. But the age-old question of juggling time and money comes into play. How do we balance it out? Well, for me, it's trial by fire. Let's go.

Methodist Mountain

The other day, I took the family up Chaffee County Road/U.S.F.S. Road 108 up into what's locally called "The Boot" on Methodist Mountain. We opted for the BattlePatrol, my designation for the 2006 Nissan Do-Everything Pathfinder. Patrol is an homage to the Nissan Patrols of Australia and yesteryear, a real Toyota Land Cruiser fighter. At any rate, the whole area burned a new years ago in the Decker Fire, and thus had been the first time any of us had been up there since it burned. I was so happy to see all of the vegitation up there. Plants and bushes waste high. It was incredible.

The General Malaise

As a father, trying to kick this project open again has been very emotionally difficult. Forcing myself to commit to taking a few minutes with an update seems exponentially more difficult after caring for three kids. The freedom is still here, but it's to be earned these days. After a long day of running to the grocery store, the butcher shop, the comic book store, and the grocery store again, and picking up my daughter from club...

I did manage to squeeze in a nap today in between errands and chores. All in all, it wasn't terrible.

State of the Union

Yesterday, I woke up to news of our hasty exit from Kabul. Life changing videos and images came pouring over my news feed. I can't even begin to fathom or comprehend... anything in regards to that.

This country fucked up. Plain and simple. Just like Vietnam. Just like Iraq. Why don't we learn? Frustrating is such a benign word to use. Just a thought for the evening. Hold your loved ones close. It's crazy out there.