Ten Years Later....

It's been ten years since Lisa and I got married. Ten years since we shuddered in fear at the thought of bringing a little boy into this world. Ten years since we took those first few brave steps, side-by-side, into a world of worries & reliefs, failures & triumphs.

TEN DAMN YEARS.

And since that fateful day on 4-28-1999 in Raleigh NC, my life has been a constant game of catch-up, frustration, worry and ordeal. Every week brings a new challenge to our lives. Bills to pay. Papers to write. Exams to take. Amy always needs a nap and Vince is always one step behind. One great big game of catch-up.

And through it all, there's always been Lisa.
In this experiment that is our marriage, Lis' and I have ran the gambit of emotions.
We've loved, we've laughed, we've cried and we've fought....a lot.

I suppose it's nothing any other couple doesn't go through.
Sometimes problems will pop up and we'll form up like Voltron to knock 'em out.
And sometimes both of us will smell Amy's dirty diaper and we'll stare each other down like the O.K. Corral.

Our relationship is a constant negotiation; a constant play of give and take.

But you know what?
I think that's how great relationships should be.
Life is always a chain of problems broken up by fleeting moments of joy and bliss.
There is no comfortable plateau and great couples are always mediating, negotiating and most importantly, communicating.

To get a lot, you've got to give a lot. That's the only way.

The great part is, eventually life's obstacles and the encompassing negotiations and compromises become an old comfortable routine. That's when you know that you've made it.

Readers, I've been damn frustrated with Lisa plenty of times.
But in retrospect, I'd be miserable and lonely without her. I'd miss her laughter, her cuddling, her beautiful blue eyes. But most of all, I'd miss her wisdom.

It is because of Lisa that I went to college. Now I'm lined up to receive an advanced degree.
It is because of Lisa that we moved to Utah. Now my son's development has improved exponentially.
It is because of Lisa that we had Amelia. Now my life is richer than it ever was before.
It is because of Lisa that we're a stronger family.

That's why we've made it for ten years.
That, and the fact that Lisa is still willing to play make-believe with me.

To my darling wife, you are and always will be my Muse.

Happy 10th Anniversary, baby!

Start your engines!

Every now and then, our family allows itself the occasional "calculated extravagance" to help enjoy life's long journey.

For 2009, we busted open our penny jars and got ourselves a Nintendo Wii. It's great fun. No regrets.

Anyhow, one of the games we acquired (at my insistence) was Mario Kart. As an original Nintendo junkie, I had played this game all through the years since its inception with the Super NES. And in every incarnation, this game has always hit it out of the park. Yeah, it's that damn good.

But I digress. I had originally bought this game to play by myself and hopefully hook Lisa in the process. However, I had no idea how addicted my Muse would get when the bug finally bit. As it turns out, Lisa's got very little to do at home once Vince is at school and her lofty list of chores are done. So when these precious periods of free time pop up, Lis fires up the Wii and tears around the many racetracks of Marioworld making her mark on the kart racing scene.

(Woah, there. Before you concerned moms start crying in anguish about Amy's neglect, let me just say that baby-girl love's to watch Mommy race. She can't get enough of it. It's an activity they enjoy doing together as she'll sit on her lap and cheer the whole time. So cut my Mrs some slack, check?)

So now it has come to my attention that our sleepy little quasi-family housing area is holding a Mario Kart tournament with prizes for the best drivers. Naturally, I want Lis to test her skills against all the single student wannabe "Tony Stewarts" to hopefully crack 'em in half and score herself some keen prizes! It'd be a great ego boost for her, I'm sure!

Now comes the tricky part of convincing her to compete....

I can't have anything nice. :-(

It's a sad, sad time.
The mug you see on the left was a keepsake of the time Lisa and I went to the Sterling Renaissance Festival in upstate New York.

The year was 1997. A newly acquainted Lisa and I traveled to her old stomping grounds of Ithaca, NY to partake of the beauty of Lake Cayuga and the Finger Lakes region.

It was a giddy and carefree time. Lis and I had been dating for a couple of months, I had just been hired with the fire dept and neither of us knew anything about children, debt or autism.

Once there, Lis convinced me to shuck my machismo and rent a ren costume along with her. It was a little awkward at first, but by the end of the day I had been swept up in the spirit of faire; I was singing old sea shanties and parlaying with the locals in the Queen's English. (Something tells me the four hard ciders and two shots of mead had something to do with it, too.)

Lis and I gelled like never before. By the day's end, I knew that this was the eccentric little dreamer that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. As we walked towards the exit, I had the sudden impulse purchase a momento to help me remember one of the greatest days of my existence. The cup in the image above was that momento.

Sadly, Old Cuppy met its match while being chilled in a freezer.
(Yes, yes. NOW I know it was a big mistake. Gimme a break. I'm not a ceramics guy.)

But when I expressed my forlorn lament to my Mrs, she took the whole thing in stride.
For her, the most important keepsakes were the memories we made that day and all the other days we went to faire after that. (8 different faires, over two dozen visits.)

As usual, I felt better after talking to her. She's pretty smart about this kind of stuff.

Still, I am a little bummed about Cuppy's demise.
HA! I know what to do!
I'll just glue it back together and use it for a pencil/pen jar at my TA desk next semester.

Hoo-ha! Everything old is new again!
(Until it breaks.) ^_^;;;

.

Pancreawhatis?

Prancreatitis...or an inflammation of the pancreas.

Lisa's surgery has come and gone. And as predicted, her real trial has started.
She was laid out after the procedure, in horrible pain and unable to move.
It didn't matter to her though, because she was certain that she would be coming home on Tuesday...today.

Sadly, her release has been postponed due to an onset of pancreatitis.
I never quite caught the how's and why's, but I imagine it had something to do with her gall stones and the Docs roto-rootering her guts to remove the gall bladder. Yep...good stuff.
As of now, she's resting "comfortably" and preparing herself for her eventual discharge.

As for the kids, I guess they're doing as well as can be expected.
Some of Vince's anxious ticks have returned. (Collar-chewing and Nail-biting.)
As for Amy, I think she's finally getting used to me. Her nighttime cries aren't as harrowing as before and she's finally getting used to me at night.
...In fact, she woke up last night to make sure I was still nearby before drifting back to sleep.
Eureka, I've been accepted into her culture!

In regards to classes and other school responsibilities, I've been in touch with all my bosses and professors. And so far, everyone has been cool with my family's predicament.
It pays to be a good student!


Nonetheless, I'm worried about falling behind. And the fact that I can't work is a bit of a burden, too. I guess my report to you, dear readers, is that we're holding steady....for now.

The only unknown is Lisa's recovery time.
I'm not too sure we can keep this routine going for long.


CRAP! What the heck am I going to do about scouts?!?

Gall Bladder Blues...

Man, what a bummer.

Lisa's GB has launched its most brutal attack so far. So brutal in fact, that it's laid my muse out in the hospital for about three days. Yeah, the pain was pretty rough when she went to the ER. But now she's safely tucked away, undergoing her medical tests / procedures and living pain-free thanks to St. Morphinius.

(Yeah, Lisa's Gall Bladder saga will probably start after her surgery....my poor sweetie.)


As for me however, my GB epic is in full swing.
You see, I've got the pleasure of looking after a nursing infant without the support of nursing implements. Oh sure, I've got plenty of bottles and sippy cups; not to mention enough milk, formula and pediasure to put a Babies R' Us to shame.

But is that good enough for baby-girl? Oh, nononononooo.
She can spot a fake blindfolded in a pitch black night....which is usually o'dark-thirty here in SLC when she wakes up lookin' for liquid goodness.
Needless to say, when dumb ol' pops tries to feed her with a bottle, she starts kicking harder than Chun-li. Good times.

Thankfully, Vince's been a champ throughout this whole ordeal. (Actually, "Ordeal" is more my label. Vince thinks of this more as "That-Time-Daddy-Was-Trippin'-'Cause-Mommy-Was-In-The Hospital" or "Saturday.")
In all seriousness, Vince has been incredibly cooperative, helpfuland even supportive. Nine years old and he still finds ways to surprise me. I'm getting that boy a Sundae when this blows over.

What's really lifted my spirit though is how much folks have been looking out for the Kids and I. We've gotten tons of phone calls and favors from all my friends and neighbors. Heck, we even had one of my Cub Moms grab us a pizza and agree to watch Amy on Monday for the first day of Spring semester classes. (What a peach! She gets a gold star in my Cool Book.)
I've got to admit, it's nice to feel the love. Thanks to everyone for thinking about us.

In the end, I imagine this is one of those adventures in fatherhood that I'm going to laugh about when I'm old and grey. (Well, old-er and grey-er.)
Nonetheless, this whole experience has given me a newfound respect for my wife and what she endures. Amy's perfectly content with Daddy when its daytime. But when it's dark, no one but Mommy will do.

"Mother" really is the word for "God" in the mouths of infants.

Gotta go. Amy's waking up.

A Tribute to my Wife

I 'd write you, Love, but cannot do it;
For, when I take my pen in hand,
I see your face and can't withstand
The impulse to quit all and woo it.


Happy Birthday Lisa.