Man-to-Man vs. Zone

Days are long this time of year. Maybe it’s me. Maybe it’s because I have a case of SAD. (Seasonal-Affective Disorder) Maybe it’s because the kids are driving me crazy all of the time. At any rate, this is not a good time for me. Why anyone would want to raise one or more kids without a companion is beyond me. Upon learning she was pregnant while not married (OHHHHHH shame on her to let herself get in that situation!), didn’t Rachel on Friends say, "I can do it. I’ll do it by myself."? I know that she is a fictional character on my favorite TV show - but there are women who say that for real. And they are insane.

I am, in most situations, a very calm and collected individual. HOWEVER, when dealing with my kids lately I am not a) calm, or b) collected. Don’t call DCFS. I am not injuring or hurting the kids - but I am not the parent I was when there were two of us doing the parenting. I was good at the good cop- bad cop thing. Also, the kids are not the kids they were when there were two of us.

When there are two parents with two kids - both can be involved in the man on man coverage most of the time. You can also do temporary zone defense when one of the parents needs to leave - again temporarily. Zone defense is not good when you have an active offensive force with a strong physical and mental presence set on breaking through the zone. I am good with man to man. Or in my case, man to kid. When you are constantly playing the zone - someone doesn’t get the attention. All the attention goes to the kid nearest a stove, a stairway, a hinge, is crying, hungry, or not sleeping.... or all of the above. That means the one acting good doesn’t get the attention they will shortly realize they are not receiving. Of course, that means the one that was acting like an angel suddenly has to pick a nit on the one who was already grouchy or hurting or otherwise getting attention. This vicious circle was 85% of my day today. It was a Top 10 bad day in my book. (Not involving a death or hospitalization.)

And to top it all off, Amanda for the first time cried this weekend and blamed the crying on missing Cindy. Yeah, it was a great weekend and it’s only Saturday night. Why again did I take Monday off from work???

Random Thoughts - Christmas 2008

I’m glad this Christmas is over.
I think God that eternal life for us started with a baby.
Luke is entering the terrible 2s and Amanda her teens a little early.
Christmas sales need to start after Halloween - since they have the decorations out anyway!
Wrapping presents is easier with plenty of tape on hand Christmas Eve.
I got more gifts than I wanted and way more than I needed.
The after-Christmas cleanup is best left to next year.
Seeing a rushing ambulance on Christmas day is very sad.
Coca-Cola ball bottles are the cutest soda bottles of all time.
Crying is part of grieving, but it still sucks.
Right now is the time Cindy and I would exchange our gifts.
Right now Cindy is wrapping up her first Christmas with Jesus. Definitely a better Christmas for her!!! (You think they do a live nativity with the REAL people??? And playing the part of Joseph..... Joseph!!!!)
I am going to shoot the radio if I hear It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year again.
No matter how much I thought I was ready to handle something that I knew was coming....I wasn’t.
I hope everyone understands that I was only able to do the bare-bones version of Christmas this year.
I hope I don’t feel this empty next Christmas.

Iceberg Ahead - Too Late

Isaiah 1:4
4 Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the LORD; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him.

Isaiah 1:23
23 Your rulers are rebels, companions of thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. (from NIV)

Just a thought from Isaiah but kinda relevant today in Illinois and elsewhere.

Alone Isolated Remote Solitary

Ps 145:17-19
The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made. 18 The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. 19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. (from NIV)
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I am ALWAYS in church on Sunday mornings. I have been in church nearly every Sunday since I was born. Barring a medically-necessary absence, I have been there. Especially on a C and E Sunday. (That’s what us church-y people call the Sundays the heathens show up twice a year on the ‘important’ days. You call us hypocrites on the other 50 weeks. I think we’re even.) This Sunday, though, I went to the Rams game in St. Louis. Now don’t get me wrong. I think it is still a bad precedent to skip church on a Sunday morning to go to a sporting event where the only worship is of overpaid, over-hyped, overly worshiped freaks of nature (kickers/punters not included) who happen to be able to throw, catch or run with an oblong ball all the while trying not to get pummeled by other freaks of nature.

HOWEVER, I needed time to: a) be alone, b) not think of any problems, and c) do something that I have always wanted to do. So I went to the Rams game alone, froze my keyster off walking the 4 blocks from the car to the Dome, didn’t think about my upside-down life and enjoyed a NFL football game in person for the first time in my life. Besides, the tickets were FREE!!!

Was it fun? Sure. Did I have a good time? Yeah. Was I close enough to get a feel of the speed of the game and a good look at the "2008 - 2009 St. Louis Rams Cheerleaders Sponsored by Russell Athletics"? You bet! (They only say that about 250 times during the game.) Are the Rams horrible? More like pathetic.

Anyway, I had a fun time at the Dome. I also even had fun afterwards shopping at ToysRUs, the St. Clair mall, and Krispy Kreme.

What did I learn from my day of Joe?
1) My car still can drive to St Louis on Auto Pilot.
2) Everything is more expensive on Game Day. ($16.50 for a cold cheeseburger, fries and a medium soda. $15-20 to park.)
3) The Saturday before Christmas at St. Clair is not a wise use of my time.
4) Talking to God in the car will get you some weird looks.
5) I still like to play music very loud in the car when I am alone.
6) Problems won’t be solved and I am still alone even when you try to run away for a while.