Welcome to our family blog where we will share our activities, thoughts, opinions, likes, and dislikes in an effort to stay in touch with our family and friends.
I don't mind being called "Pa" even though I'm not that old in the grand scheme of life. There's a sense of experience and wisdom in that word to me. However, since we updated the blog using pseudonyms I haven't been able to get comfortable using "Ma" to describe my amazing wife. She is loving and she enjoys cooking and baking, sure. But there is much more to her than that. She is funny, whimsical, silly, affectionate, and serious when she has to be. Those that know me at all can pretty much surmise that music and quotes play a big part in my thinking. I'm also an ex-smoker and still have a hard time avoiding the temptation to join coworkers in this habit at times. So in trying to come up with a new blog handle for Ma the song "Smoke" by 1000 Horses took the lead (although I decided not to use the official video because it gets a bit racy). So from now on, Ma will be known as Smoke on this blog. She goes where the breeze takes her at every moment and fills any space with her personality.
Love you Smoke!
She's Smoke
I pull her in nice and slow
She's a habit and I can't let go
Blowing rings around my heart
The one she stole
Watching her sway and go
It's killing me and I know
Can't stop her once you start
She's Smoke
During hour 45 of her life, after a diaper change and while enjoying her 8AM feeding, Froggy listened to her first vinyl record with Pa while everyone else was still asleep. It was the 1979 album "JD" by John Denver and appeared to be enjoyed by Baby & Dad alike, much to Ma's dismay.
We listen to a classic rock music station in my office all day every day and a question occurred to me while listening today. What would you consider the best song ever written? That's it, no limitations, no stipulations, no additional information needed. As I mentioned, we listen to classic rock at work all day and I listen to country music most of the time I am in my car. I also listen to a bit of a variety when it comes to my vinyl record collection but lately it's mostly folk or "easy listening" type stuff like John Denver. Anyway, as I pondered how I would respond to this question over the course of the day in between tasks there was only one possible answer that came to mind...
I really like that I live somewhere with a radio station that still plays old country and not just the new stuff. And I always love some music from The Snowman.
I've spent most of the past two days in a car for work and heard this song a few times. I'm a fan of jumping in the car and cranking up the music to relieve a little stress sometimes so it's growing on me. But it's also one of those tunes that is better heard than seen because this video is terrible! It looks like an extended version of one of those pretentious Dior perfume commercials like the one with Johnny Depp in it. How are you going to sing about Hank Williams and Johnny Cash while driving around in an ugly old Mercedes-Benz and picking up a guy on a broke down Triumph motorcycle?! The thought did occur to me that she may be a Brit singing country music so I checked; American and born in Dallas, Texas no less. Maybe this type of video would be better suited for a Janis Joplin cover.
"He was born in the summer of his 27th year, coming home to a place he'd never been before."
I realized this morning that I took a little longer to get here than the gentleman in John's song. We moved to Colorado in the summer of my 37th year. But that doesn't mean I appreciate it any less.
This has become not just a personal favorite, but a family favorite of Ma's & mine. When we start getting overwhelmed with the nonsense of life we send it to each other as a reminder. So many people think elaborate trips, mansions, perfect yards, or the accumulation of things are important to a happy life. They're missing the point and will never be truly satisfied.
Ma and I have talked a few times about what would be a good outdoor family activity for our little clan. I think something we both agree on is that our girls need to be able to appreciate being outside and unplugged as much as possible in today's tech heavy society. We've taken Monkey to the park many times, to the beach or pool to go swimming, on hikes at the lake and other places, and we even did a family 5K for Independence Day once. We've also talked about other activities like biking, archery, camping, canoeing/boating, raising animals, and even target shooting someday. But the one activity that Ma continually brought up that kind of surprised me was fishing. Even when given the option to feed her desire to be like Katniss Everdeen from "Hunger Games" (I actually just had to pause and look that up to make sure I was right), she chose fishing over archery. When I asked her why she said it just seems like a nice relaxing hobby, a way to spend time together, and because she really likes being near the water. Unfortunately it has probably been about 30 years since the last time I went fishing in Cub Scouts. So about a month before Christmas I bought an empty tackle box and little by little over the past few weeks I have been gathering the necessities of fishing from what I could remember and from a couple of very helpful state wildlife websites (Minnesota & Colorado). I even texted an old buddy from high school for any tips he may have been able to share. Then for Christmas Granny & Grandpa caught word of our plans and just happened to get some nice basic fishing rods and reels for Ma and I and a toddler sized Mickey Mouse Clubhouse version for Monkey. I only had to buy one license since Ma said she will have to wait until "Deuce" makes her appearance to really get into it but will go with us and keep us company until then and Moneky doesn't have to get one. So right when we were all set to finally start this fantastic new hobby, the cold of winter finally decided to show up and put the brakes on our plans. To top it all off, it seems like I have heard the 2011 Trace Adkins song "Just Fishin" almost every single day since renewing my state parks annual pass and buying my fishing license. A live version from the Grand Ole Opry is posted below for anyone who hasn't heard it, but the basic premise is that Daddy takes his little girl fishing and even though she is talking about everything but fish and doing everything but sitting still the little girl thinks they're just fishin' while Daddy knows there is much more to the moments they are sharing. Every time I hear it I want to run home, load the car, corral The Ladies, and head to the lake. I don't think they would appreciate it though since it's currently 28 degrees outside and it's been snowing all day. I love the winter, but right now I can hardly wait for Spring to get here.
