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There are certain things in life that you just can't do for yourself, but you also can't do without. You need a good dentist. You need a good butcher. You need to have a plumber. And, everyone north of the Mason-Dixon line needs a good Wood Guy. I remember fondly when I was but a lad, my brother and I helped Dear Ol' Dad and our Wood Guy lay in the cord wood so that we could survive those brutal Houston winters. I guess the need was not quite so dire in Houston, but we had a great Wood Guy. Mr. Something-or-Other...I remember him well. He was about 106. A wiry old Texan. But the lessons I learned during those southern winters have stood the test of time. I still have my young lad (BoyHead) help me and my Wood Guy load up the stack. Always help your Wood Guy. After all, If you take care of your Wood Guy, your Wood Guy will take care of you.
A chill is in the air, the days are shortening rapidly and the leaves have mostly turned and are littering my yard. It's the peak of fall. We're beginning the long slow slide into winter. I called my "wood guy" and he will deliver the seasoned hardwood tomorrow during halftime. The house is all decorated with pumpkins and scarecrows. I love this time of year. There's football. Pumpkin pie. Fires in the fireplace. And children dressing up in their costumes. Lovely Wife (just a child at heart) went as a scarecrow to her halloween Bunko party. Lovely Daughter went to her soiree as a Nerd. Most of what nerdy daughter wore belonged to L.W. and I. I'm not sure that I like what that infers.
Family of four--four drivers. Well... our youngest, Lovely Daughter, only has her learner's permit but that's close enough. I don't take my responsibility to teach L.D. to drive lightly. As I tell her, "if you're going to die in the next 10 years, it will probably be in a car". I want her to get as much driving experience as possible while I'm in the car. I want her to instinctively know what to do in tricky situations. It's my job. It's important. Also, I haven't had the opportunity to teach her anything substantial since she was like 10. Okay, eight. Walking, talking, reading, being honest...those are the biggies. After that, there are many lean years. Believe it or not, she tends not to listen much to Dear old Dad these days. But driving, that's different. She needs to know, she wants to know. So, I've been enjoying my time with her, teaching her the finer points of self preservation driving. After all, once she gets her license and gets a car, I won't see her much. So I better enjoy it while I can.
Everytime I see the BoyHead lately I think, "he's very nearly a man". Well, today he got one step closer--he turned seventeen. It's not the big milestone of sixteen (getting to drive) or eighteen (getting to vote), but as he reminded me, "Hey, I get to see R-rated movies". Two days before his birthday, BH finally comes out with "The List". Of course at that late date there's no time to acquire most of the "must-haves". We had been kidding him that we were getting him all clothes. Of course L.D. loved that; clothes, earrings...ya know, girl stuff. Well, we were pulling that with B.H. too. I told him, we were getting him a nice windbreaker. Maybe a sweater vest. Just what every 17 year old boy wants. To make the whole ruse complete, Lovely Wife and I took some Dillard's boxes, put some old clothes in them and stuffed the pockets with $$. We wrapped them up and put them on display in the traditional location: in front of the fireplace. You should have seen his face as he attempted to appear happy upon receiving an old windbreaker that he would never ever! wear. I asked him to check and see if he thought the pockets would be big enough. After that, he checked every nook and cranny of every article he opened. The BoyHead is growing into such a wonderful, responsible, hard-working and compassionate young man and I'm proud that he's my son.
Yes, it's that time of year again. There is a chill in the air. The Monarchs are flying south. Homecoming weekend has arrived. And a busy weekend it is for a young cheerleader. Friday night: bonfire and pep rally. Saturday morning: Parade. Saturday afternoon: Homecoming game. Saturday night: The Dance. L.D. marched in the parade and participated in the halftime show of the football game. Then, miraculously, after merely three hours of preparation she was ready to meet friends for dinner before the big dance. And I was there to catch it all on...film CF card. I even managed to get a short video clip of the festivities.
The highlight of the day, however, was the Homecoming Dance. Lovely Daughter met up with all her Lovely friends and went out for a Lovely dinner before the dance. They were all very beautiful, very happy and very excited. I'm sure that a good time will be had by all.