Steps to Avoid When Trying to Sneak Downstairs

As the little guy naps, its wise to avoid the step that is fourth up from the bottom, or to at least use the step on its very edge, so as to not make it "squeak" as you make your way down while he naps.

Same can be said for steps number six and eight from the bottom.

Or, perhaps better yet, maybe try crawling down the steps, backwards, on your hands and knees (like the older two brothers do to you, think Spiderman) to avoid detection both visually and sonically, when they are trying to get up early to kickstart their cute little hearts with a couple episodes of Power Rangers via the Xbox and Netflix.

Also, as you wake up and try to ease your way outta bed thereby not waking the other half, (in order to prepare birthday breakfast), try slipping one leg out at a time first, then in one smooth motion (as in creamy rather than chunky) bring your further arm over your body and silently spin on the ball of your foot to the general direction of > out.

Don't actually pick up the covers and slide out, that doesn't work.

And don't let the cat go up, he seems to think its his mission in the morning to wake everybody.

May Don't Leave

I don’t want May to end…

because it starts getting hot. The door blows open with a southern gush of air -an opportunity for heat and humidity to mug us and drive us out of our comfort zone. The heat primes itself through June with shorter bursts of intense microwave action – less prone from invading cold fronts, readying us for persistent waves through July and August. The sun is higher in the air, offering more time for heat from daylight in the 24 pieced pie, making it tough to get the kids to sleep at night – though they seem to grow accustomed to it.

because Memorial Weekend comes about. A time to reflect and think back on loved ones who left impressions in our head that don’t seem to fade despite their lack of being. Inconsistent weather on this weekend leaves one asking whether to picnic, whether to party, or whether to catch up on stuff… cleaning the cars out, sleep, gardening…

because of the hassle of changing closets from heavy to light - though increasing warmth makes it difficult to last through May. Traditionally, the khaki comes about, lighter, brighter, a little too approachable like an inviting glass of limeade - bright and cold but tart. Pack away the long sleeves, the sweaters, the jeans and make way for shorts, short sleeves, tank tops, muscle shirts, flip flops and other open toed shoes. What still fits whom? Who needs new? The boys socks have holes, can we get by without new ones until after summer?

because our youngest will keep growing. He can speak now and understands through disrupted communication and is napping less and wants to be outside with the older two. He will be that last one and soon won’t need diapers or that hefty toddler seat. He strives to keep up and to play, interact and fuss with and like the other two – who also keep moving on.

They don’t look back, they look out beyond May. They can’t wait for cool pool parties on hot days, special holidays and occasions like the Fourth of July, or to wear their swimsuits all day while blasting away with their squirt-guns.

Until they become us and start looking back - moreso than forward.

Meat as a Conditional Use

Heading into Memorial Weekend and the kick-off for many northern folks of the grilling season. Grilling doesn't mean just meat, but in this instance - we are leaning that direction, though as mentioned below, not quite as often. And with a few more exceptions - using meat as a conditional use if you will.

Photo courtesy via CC

Is living in the Midwest synonymous with eating lots of meat? Not necessarily. Though my family eats plenty. Or at least we usually have some portion of meat with each dinner. Yes, we use those sharper pointed teeth in the front of our mouths. But we're still nice people.

Also, we are eating less meat, overall, and the meat we eat is better quality. I think. Except for our occasional forays to the fast food joints, the majority of the meat we eat is grass fed beef, or bison, or free range something or other. This is the condition we in this household are placing on ourselves - that we eat better quality meat (hopefully). With the "better quality" meat comes higher prices - so we don't eat quite as much of it - thereby filling in our diet with other stuff... like raisins.

However, I have always grown with meat as the primary.
Imagine a plate in front of you. Broken up into various sections - like a pizza. The largest section is usually a portion of some meat... a chicken breast, a hamburger, a brat, a slice of meatloaf - whatever. Say 3/5 to 1/2 the plate is covered with that, then the rest the plate is filled in with some vegetable, finally maybe a slice of bread and a bit of Jello for good measure.

That's that.
Except when I eat some sort of delicious foreign cuisine. Say something good from Southeast Asia that has lots of spice, lots of rice and some sort of sauce with some sort of chunks of vegetables. Perhaps it's vegan friendly, it's filling, it's meatless and with the spice quotient there to pack a punch - it is delicious and satisfying. With this type of meal, meat is a non-necessity to me and my family.

I have also read that meat consumption in America is declining. Specifically beef consumption. And that's all right, just makes more room for bison- that which roamed the plains before cows were brought about and fenced-into lots of lots.

Of course the day may come where my kids don't eat a plateful of food. They may eat a tablet of food, as in a pill - kinda like Willy Wonka's three course gum. Oompa.

But, until that day comes we will still use the grill (charcoal), and I am anxious to start making my infamous bison burgers - as conditions permit.

My bison burger recipe:
- some bison meat
- some egg
- some bread crumbs
- some onion
- some Worcestershire sauce
- a bit of garlic salt
- a bit of ground black pepper

Blend all this stuff together with your freshly washed hands in a bowl; Separate and pat the concoction into patties, then take them to the grill (which was already started and is hot); Heat the patties, directly over the coals a few minutes each side - but beware bison is leaner meat, therefore generally cooks faster.

Viola! You're set, and it works well when there is perhaps a barley pop in one hand and when the raingarden isn't 'bout to overflow before your very eyes.

Tops Than Bottoms

Truly introverted, the carrot has an inner core which is smooth and round like a fiber optic cable... except it has a beginning and an ending.
The sheath surrounds the inner core and protects it.
The carrot is a stiff taproot that we eat, a ridged spike that deepens into the ground, surely a member of the earth kingdom.

What is it with these inner cores?
Is it just an earthbound thing or is there more to it?
As I eat baby carrots for lunch, I wonder what its like to eat a real carrot straight outta the ground, like a rabbit - do they actually eat the carrot part?
Bugs always did, not sure about Roger.

Though missing an inner core, broccoli on the other hand is a bit more extroverted, much like a bomb. A stem or rather "stalk" involving a smooth length of fibrous green flesh running up to the tightknit, though explosive podlike head (floret if you will), perhaps a shade darker in color and much more delicious, not to mention nutritious.

It's always pleasant when a bag of steamfresh broccoli has more tops than bottoms. The smell of freshly cooked, steaming broccoli is so good - but when cold it tends to get old - real fast.

delicious.

and action packed.

Ring Longer Than Index

Lately, I don't know what to wish for.
There is this lash, an eyelash, which, a moment ago, was at the tip of my finger.
(A world, "the" world was in my hands! At the tip of my fingers!)
(I can change the world! I can be the change!)
can - could  - will  - would  - shall - should

So, it rested, the eyelash, innocently enough, there, on my fingerprint.

If analyzed closely via some sort of zoom lens - it would have been evident that the fingertip was a round pad, the nail at the tip of the finger was a bit long, but not dirty, not cracked, not too long - solid and extending beyond this wistful (wishful) thing, this lash, which was most capable of being blown somewhere, onto something else, remnant DNA that "he" was here.

Then the view when panned out, would show a hand, not too large, not dirty, at least from soil, but cracked a bit into folds, some sort of lifeline, nimble fingers- ring longer than index, overall the hand not really chafed or callused, but appearing kinda dry and the lash quite puny - if evident at all.

Anyway, in the moment, as the lash sat on my fingertip, a wish did not come forth.
And I began to think too much.

"What if I was a coffee bean picker?"
"What if I worked in a coal mine?"
"What if I lived off the land somewhere in Zimbabwe?"

So, I set the lash down, on a white scrap of paper and pondered...
to myself, and now to you -
what to wish for?

but don't wish your life away...

I can change the world!
I can change the world!
I can change the world!
I can change the world!

Make New Memories

Some are silver, others gold and some may get really wet

Lately, it seems or feels like the chances or perhaps opportunities to have our house whipped up by some tornado are increasing. It’s a chilling thought. So many folks have had to go through this crummy situation; from Oklahoma to Tennessee to Minnesota (and all points in between and beyond). I can’t imagine.

Thoughts of the Wizard of Oz go through my mind, only worse – because some people have actually been through it and lost all they had – from their home to their photos to their loved ones. Of course the media makes it all visible – news coverage, internet headlines - nothing left to the imagination, not that you want to imagine such storming.

There is a drive that I take almost daily, through a neighborhood in Minneapolis. Driving past houses that are 80 – 90 years old, I am amazed at how this area looks as it did when first developed - like a new suburban subdivision. My meaning is that some great number (perhaps 93%) of the tall mature trees have disappeared – due to a “low level” (class 1?) tornado that hit the area a couple years ago. The sun comes through immense, there is not shade along the boulevard, the houses are all lined up, one after another, colorful boxes filled with photographs, memories and pride. There is even a house or two that still has tarp attached to their roof.

Joplin, MO tornado wreckage - Photo courtesy via CC

My oldest is not a fan of weather. He cowers at the thought of incoming rain or a passing storm – especially in the evening. We have tried to explain that if it storms really bad – we head to the basement, if there is a fire – we head to the neighbors. When we mention this, it sounds like we’re selling some odd insurance policy. I imagine our future conversations about drugs and sex will be the same way. Can’t wait for those.

Am I prepared? Is my family? U2 had that album, All That You Can’t Leave Behind and I take that title to heart (even moreso than the music within). I imagine a refugee, (a term I don’t use lightly) wondering about with the clothes on their back and not much else. Thoughts go to Haiti, Somalia, Minot, ND and yes our very neighbors in Minneapolis’ south and north sides.

These days - as if making your mortgage payment was easy - it would be a somber thought to have to make new memories encapsulated on film or some digital format - and have the old memories left as thoughts benign.

Today I am especially thankful for what I have.

And with every storm there is that “ender” - that last rumbling thunder that seems to say “all right, I’ve done enough, come out and see the rainbow.”

Natural Abilities

Our boys are going to grow up to be fine upstanding citizens. A butcher, a baker, a candlestick maker - a banker, an attorney, a professor - a farmer, a writer, a toy designer - a pastor, an entrepreneur, a stay at home dad - who knows? One may live in Vancouver, the other in China and the third... close to home, right?

Photo courtesy via CC

Or will all three live close to home to look after mama?

It doesn't matter, we can't determine the future - but my hope is that they don't follow their head, or their heart exclusively - that it be more of a combined effort. We can sense our boys natural abilities and can watch as they develop. We can hope they develop. Outside influence may be the biggest hindrance or adversary to whatever they become.

Should we be the compass that guides them? A thing they carry in their pocket (like an old watch) that occasionally provides them with direction and guidance when they think to use it... Or the wind that pushes them? A force, not a gale, but a breeze to guide them gently whether they acknowledge it or not? Certainly not the boat that they sit within... or the sail, they will want to create these themselves (with their natural abilities) and each bird must fly from the nest eventually.

At one point I was on track to become a pharmacist - which is an important position, which requires plenty of schooling. I soon found that this was not to be my expertise - and am still honing in my exact life occupation. (One set job, are you serious?)  (ah, ya - you have a family now...) I guess we all have to change to some extent.

What comes natural to you? Why do we fight nature? Will we continue to pour cement over our "natural abilities" - taxing and stressing ourselves out in order to fit into some mold? Will that natural state of being eventually reach some equilibrium and comfort level...? Or will the foundations be shaken - and we will be happy to find what we can - and hopefully not working for the man?

I don't know.


a Paleontologist, a Major League Pitcher, a Pretender, a Pretender, a Pretender...

What I Wrote

In reply to said situation "X", what I wanted to write:

“Ok… I would prefer it in cash as well – and everyone else, which is why the economy is probably going to retreat – it’s called austerity economics -  nothing wrong with it, except when you’re trying to grow and get out of a funk. Meanwhile those hanging by a thread, or in the middle are left with little hope because they are stuck with what they got – take a chance, stick your neck out and you and your family could be left with a van, unless you’re a lucky one - that dandelion growing in between the crack in the sidewalk, making your way, poking your little head out, aware that there are always bigger fish swimming in the pool, awaiting their opportunity to pounce, but you're still hungry for change, wondering what it takes to progress, to move forward, empowering yourself and your clan, anxious for the next big thing, the Gemini wanting something different, used to credit but trying to hold back, don't take the bait, but I wanna take the bait, don't take the bait - sigh, awe man, why can't we take the bait?"

and so in reality, what I wrote:

“yes, dear.”

yiddish proverb (stumbled upon recently) -
with money in your pocket, you are wise and you are handsome and you sing well too.