This weekend was the weekend where I had to spread bark in the yard. Now, I have a small yard and about 2.5 yards of bark is more than enough to cover everything we want. Friday, after work, I got started on the job. It was a little over 90 degrees out. I figured I’d work for about an hour and then get ready to go have dinner. Apparently, this didn’t sit well with my wife as she kept telling me I was stupid and that I was going to give myself a heart attack. Apparently I was sweating like crazy, but it wasn’t due to overworking myself. It was just that the sun was beating down on me and it was hot as hell. Saturady AM, I woke up and finished the rest with some unexpected help, my 5 and 8 year old sons. I shoveled and dumped the bark and they raked. It was great. My 5 year old has a broken wrist and he was out there with the grass rake trying his best to move the bark. I was really proud of my sons. Of course I also know that in another couple years, I won’t be able to get them to help with any work.
I started a new infused vodka this weekend for our trip later this Summer. This one is a basil and red grape infusion. After 1 day, it is much different than expected. It smells like green olives to me. The basil, which I will have to really keep an eye on, is fantastic in the vodka. It is sweet and not overpowering at all. So far, I cannot taste the grapes though. There are 5 pounds of grapes in total and I made sure they were sweet tasting. I think that once the vodka gets mixed up a bit more, that I will taste them more. I actually crushed the grapes after I put them in to ensure that I got a lot of the juices out. Though it doesn’t look like we’ll be having a contest at this years trip, I figure this will make for a refreshing drink over ice. I’m also bringing the infused tequila I made over Christmas. I think it is pretty good, but it did not come out as I hoped. People either really like it or they hate it, so I consider it a disappointment. Hopefully we have another infused vodka contest soon as I want to regain my trophy.
I am sick, again. I thought it was the flu about 2 weeks ago when I was achey and getting hot and cold. Never got a fever, but would start getting really cold when I was inside and hot if I walked someplace where it was cold. It may have been male menopause, but I’m not sure. What I was left with, after a few days of hell. was a cough. This wa not any cough, however. This was a cough that would wake the entire house up at 1, 2, 3 and 4:00AM. This was a cough that would not go away and only had one volume, 11. I had no stuffy nose or leaky sinuses. I took cough medicine. It would last 4 hours and I would wake everyone up at 2:00AM. Very helpful. I went to see my Dr and was given 3 prescriptions. I slept the whole night for the first time in 2 weeks. The cough is still here though. When I read something funny, I start coughing and cough for about 10 minutes. This is ok with me. It beats the brain rattling, lava throat inducing hacks that have tortured me for 2 weeks. Ok, torture might be too strong of a word. Bothered immensely is more like it.
So, it has been over a month now since my Father was killed in an accident. It still feels unreal to me. Though I am sleeping better now than I had been, I still have nights where I end up crying for a couple hours. I end up having to go downstairs so I don’t wake up my wife. It’s hard. I want to pick up the phone and call him, but I’ll never get the chance to do that again. It’s a personal tragedy that I am not sure I will ever fully recover from. I loved my Dad. He was a hero. Just today a friend of his left me a voicemail telling me how uch he appreciated my Father. Earlier this week I got a card from someone I work with. Seems like there are constant reminders. Every time I see a Dodge Durango, I want to tell the owner to be careful, that their car might mistakenly go into reverse and kill them in their driveway. I can’t get over the feeling that if I do, that people will think I am a raving lunatic. Maybe that’s ok though. It would be worth it if it prevented someone else from experiencing the loss that I have. I don’t know how people survive losing entire families in accidents.
I’m a firm believer in God. I say my prayers twice a day. I send my kids to Catholic school. I have found myself angry at Him for the first time in my life. I told Him that in my prayers the other Morning. I do not believe it is fair for good people to be dying while there are so many horrible people in this world. How fair is it that my Father had to die, yet some guy whose molested 50 kids is out walking the streets? Where is the justice in that? If God truly loves us, I wonder why he would choose to leave us with such terrible people. If I was going to choose someone to leave my children with, it would be someone who is loving, caring and kind. Not someone who is going to kill them. At the same time God I was mad at him, I also asked him for his forgiveness. Someday I hope to see my Dad again.
Well, weekend is almost over and back to work in the Morning. My youngest son was up all last night throwing up, so we’re all pretty exhausted. Seems like he got the flu, but he had no other symptoms. Thought maybe it was food poisoning, but he really didn’t eat anything he hasn’t eaten before. Urgent Care gave him something to help the nausea, but all it did was make him throw up on a more regular basis. Thankfull, he is doing much better today, but he will have to miss school tomorrow.
My wife showed me this video clip from SNL the other night. If ou remember Dick in a Box, it is sort of a continuation of that. It’s really funny and I thought I would pass it on.
