Will you still need me, will you still feed me . . .

So we are crawling into bed last night. My wife is enduring some pain in her shoulder and neck that has resulted in multiple MRI's, chiropractic therapy, etc. She also is getting some orthotics in the next couple of days. A year or so ago she got bifocals. Today I picked up my new glasses - with bifocals. I've been dealing with some substantial sleep problems that has resulted in my just getting a CPAC. So as we crawl into bed, I turn to her and ask; "when did we get this old?"
I don't know if she was kidding or not, but she turned to me and said "what?". We are in our early 40's. We are too young for this!!!!

Looking back the picture ain't what it used to be

While growing up my mom kept a log of stories about the three of us kids - my brother, sister and me. Many of the stories recall trips to the ER, running wildly through stores, general misbehavior, broken things, etc. Years ago I thought of these stories as funny, amusing. Today I realize they capture the story of a home that was out of control and lacking proper limits. Sad.

Trifecta

The last eight days have been fantastic for our family. The kids got on the honor role for school, my son celebrated his bar mitzvah, and he earned his black belt. I can't recall so many feel good celebratory moments ever happening in such a short timespan! It's good to be their Dad.

I Have To Go Lose My Retainer

So about three weeks ago my son had his braces (teeth) removed. Time for the retainers. Luckily they cement in the bottom retainer. Not so with the top - it's removable. Now my son is much like most boys. Thank God his head is attached otherwise he would have lost it years ago. So we told him that we bought the first retainer. Replacements are his responsible. Their cost - $225. He said no problem.
As we were driving him to Tae Kwon Do he asked us to book an appointment with the orthodontist. We asked, "why?" He said that he lost his retainer. We reminded him that the $225 is coming out of his pocket. He said no problem. I asked him how did he lose it. He replied with, "isn't my paying for it enough?". At this point my wife and I realized something was up.
So we asked again, "how did you lose it?". My daughters face broke out into a smirk. Ah ha, she was in on it - she knew what happened. Our son had a pained expression on his face. "Well, uh, I um, lost it at school." Where? At this point I should point out that he doesn't lie. He'll try not to tell us something, but if asked directly he won't lie. "Um, in the bathroom". How? "Well, I was pooping and it just fell in." Uh? What? How? At this point his sister starts laughing. I have a mental image of this and start laughing too. My wife doesn't share in laughter - she wants answers. It seems he was popping it in and out with his tongue while sitting on the mug. One pop too many and it fell down . . . and in. I asked him did he think about fishing it out. "Heck no, I just finished what I was doing, flushed, and walked out." I can't blame him. $225 is a lot of money, but it's better than putting something in your mouth that was once in the toilet. There's just no way you could clean it / sanitize it enough.
The result of the. We now have a new phrase in our house. When you need to use the bathroom you can politely say, "I have to go lose my retainer".