This year, my wife has spent seven long (to me anyway) weeks visiting her family back in Liverpool, England. She is coming back to me today.
If my life can be described as a tree with all of the branches and leaves as my personal choices and experiences, then our marriage has been the tree’s trunk and my Hil has been the tree’s roots, binding us to the good earth. Winter is over and Spring has arrived!
Last year, my son (“Jim” / James) and I were binge-ing on the “Vikings” series on the History Channel. On 18 April 2018, we agreed to grow our beards out for one full year to see what they would look like and if they would be long enough to “viking braid”. (Yeah, I know, very mature…) My son is working on the 18th, so he came by today for a selfie. (See below…)
Jim and me rockin’ the chin locs.
We’ve concluded our beards are not really long enough to properly braid. Jim says his wife can braid his, but they are very short braids. I think I would need at least another year to have a decent shot with mine. My Hil hates my full-out beard, so I doubt it will survive her return (this Sunday) from her family visit to Liverpool. I don’t know if I’m going to miss it (the beard) or not. It’s relaxing to stroke, but annoying when it catches in your zippers (coats and sweaters). Ah, well, life is full of trade-offs…
When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.
–– Mark Twain (attributed to)
Children begin by loving their parents; as they grow older they judge them; sometimes they forgive them.
I grew up with divorced parents, back in the day when 90% of marriages / parents stayed together. My mom raised my sister, brother and me all on her own. It was difficult. We were a handful. I appreciate it more every year (particularly now that my own three are full grown). The song / video below is about a dad who looks after his son. When I hear it, though, I hear a song about a parent / provider who looks after his (or her) children. Happy 92nd Birthday, mom. Thanks for being my role model.
Just give me a comfortable couch, a dog, a good book, and a woman. Then if you can get the dog to go somewhere and read the book, I might have a little fun.
― Groucho Marx
[Just sitting here on the couch, scratching my dog’s back, reading a book and missing my Hil who is off visiting her family in Liverpool… Happy Birthday to me! — KMAB]
Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it’s at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored.
— Earl Nightingale
[Happy Birthday, Bro! And, hopefully, many more to come… — KMAB]
