Thursday, October 23, 2008

It's Bad When You Tell Your Kid to Take the Shop Vac to His Room

It's fun to watch currency rates change as our economy tanks.

First the Euro: 0.7814 U.S.1.00

Next the Canadian Dollar: 1.2636 U.S.1.00

Then the East Caribbean Dollar: 2.6705 U.S.1.00


Where would you head this time of year?

Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes
Jimmy Buffett 1977


I took off for a weekend last month
Just to try and recall the whole year
All of the faces and all of the places
Wonderin' where they all disappeared
I didn't ponder the question too long
I was hungry and went out for a bite
Ran into a chum with a bottle of rum
And we wound up drinkin' all night

Chorus:
Its these changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes
Nothing remains quite the same
With all of our running and all of our cunning
If we couldnt laugh we would all go insane

Reading departure signs in some big airport
Reminds me of the places Ive been
Visions of good times that brought so much pleasure
Makes me want to go back again
If it suddenly ended tomorrow
I could somehow adjust to the fall
Good times and riches and son of a bitches
Ive seen more than I can recall

Chorus:
These changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes
Nothing remains quite the same
Through all of the islands and all of the highlands
If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane

I think about Paris when I'm high on red wine
I wish I could jump on a plane
So many nights I just dream of the ocean
God I wish I was sailin' again
Oh, yesterdays over my shoulder
So I cant look back for too long
Theres just too much to see waiting in front of me
And I know that I just cant go wrong

Chorus:
With these changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes
Nothing remains quite the same
With all of my running and all of my cunning
If I couldn't laugh I just would go insane
If we couldn't laugh we just would go insane
If we weren't all crazy we would go insane

I have a brilliant, disorganized teenager.

In each room is a twisted pile of amazing stuff that lays as a tribute to the disorganization and randomness of a teenager. The Tasmanian Devil.

The Kid's travels and mine will vary greatly in the future, but right now, we're traveling the same path. His path to launching into the adult world. I can push him along, I can drag him along or we can walk side by side. Some days I do all three with him.

My job is
to get him to study and put education first, but also to to nag him to get organized, get things done, to do the things he is supposed to do in order to become an adult, an adult that can take care of himself .

I am The Nagger, he is Taz. That's life at my house.

Above The Kid's desk is a sign I made that says:
TODAY IS ABOUT TOMORROW
Above my desk is another sign I made that says:
WHEN YOU GET TO MY AGE YOU CAN GOOF AROUND TODAY
We have a group of friends who are meeting up in the Caribbean. These are friends we met sailing on the S.V. Mandalay and traveled again with on the S.V. Polynesia. We'll probably hook up with them as we need a break from being The Nagger and Taz. We're also looking at an immersion language class. Maybe we can do that in the Caribbean too. We'll see. Anyway, travelin' feet are moving again!