Sometimes I have these great ideas. Sometimes they just don’t work out. My latest great idea? Give myself a haircut! I youtubed it, how hard could it be? Yeah well there is a reason we have people who specialize in giving hair cuts. I am calling this haircut “the furlough” because lately, I feel as I am being cut back in all areas of my life.  I am going to list the pros and cons.

Pros: i wont need a haircut for at least a year.

Con: i look redonkulous.

Pros: military discounts. (not really!)

Cons: i still look redonkulous.

Pros: less shampoo needed, again, saving money!

Cons: yep…you guessed it, i look and feel redonkulous.

Pros: no more bed head.

Cons: see above cons.

Pros: for good luck, i rub my own head.

The last time I had it this short, my dad took me, and the above photo was taken to prove it, and yes my mom cried for days.

The following took place yesterday….all events happened in real time…………

6:00am Checked on a friends veggie garden to make sure they all looked OK. Most of them were dead. #FAIL

7:45am While making an attempt to urinate at work in a bathroom stall, I was shot at by what felt like a bullet bouncing off the walls of the bathroom. It turned out to be the button off my pants. I escaped with only minor injuries.

7:56am Washing my hands, I looked in the mirror and discovered I had only shaved half my face. #FAIL

11:45am Drove back to garden to water some more and then home @ lunch in 140 degree car with no AC to change pants and shave.

12:45pm Go back garden to turn off water and then back to work and realized I still forgot to shave. #FAIL

5:00pm Planned to go to Ingleside Pizza for a nice family dinner, end up at Mellow Mushroom because of huge storm. #FAIL

5:45pm Desmond in complete melt down mode, falls out of booth, hits mouth on table, blood, screaming, still no pizza. #FAIL

6:30pm God unloads the heavens of all the water he has in stock. try to get Desmond into back seat into his chair, climb in with him close door, child locks are on, im now locked in and stuck inside backseat with him, in a down pour, climb into front seat, pull something “down there”. #FAIL.

6:45pm Hydroplane down I75 sideways, for just a split moment saw Jesus, he says HI. Desmond says “what happened?”

7:03pm Try to pump gas in a down pour with flip flops, ankle deep in a small version of the Gulf BP oil spill all around me. #FAIL

7:04pm Credit Card fails, have to go inside, tell Jackie $35? she says $40 to fill her up. (OK).

7:06pm Filling tank, it stops at $35.06 have to go BACK inside in downpour to get change applied back to card. #FAIL

7:08pm Desmond says, “I have to go tee-tee on potty” Jackie takes him in, returns 3 minutes later, grossed out, I will not include details, but little guy has to hold it.

9:36pm Go to bed……..

2:00am Wake up……..not able to sleep. Jackie…..not able to sleep. #FAIL!!!

6:00am Alarm, #MAJORFAIL!

and I am done, thank you.

Remember that dream as a kid you to use to have, the one of being a childhood rock star? You are the lead singer of a band, and you write the songs everyone sings, and play the guitar for the world to hear? You know you have dreamed about it. The funny thing is, that dream never really goes away. The older you get the dreams may get smaller, and reality kicks in, and real life takes over. But the dream of being that rock star never really goes away. Its always there, its always at the back of your mind, and it always creeps forward when you least expect it. You may hear it in a song, or see it in a movie. You want to be “that guy” the one who has it all together and gets the world to sing along with you.

When it comes to expressing myself in an art form I fall short because I am kind of a shy guy. It is something I am working on. It is something that has slowed me down, and I believe has held me back from many opportunities in life. I know now why I love to take pictures, because I get to hide behind the camera and make the magic happen there. There is no fear of me making a fool of myself.

So where am I going with this? Well…they say that parents lead by example. I believe that to be true, Desmond pretty much does just about everything I do, says the things I say and shadows my every move. I do not want him to be shy and miss out on something he might be good at because of it. So over the past month I have picked up my guitar and I sing. I sing the songs I love, my “heart songs” (yes like the weezer song, a personal favorite or mine) I sing the songs I can play, which is like 3 songs (poor Jackie), but I sing them during bath time. My hope is Desmond will learn its OK to sing, singing makes the heart feel good, singing makes other hearts feel good, and the world could use more of that.

(When cleaning up the backyard I discovered this. He is all boy.)

Top 5 funniest things Desmond says.

1. “Gawd our Fadda” (when saying the Blessing)

2. “I got Your NOse! and its running out the door!”

3. “I wanna ride in daddys race car” (as in my 95 purple honda with no muffler)

4. “You teetee’d on the potty! good job! you want a tee tee treat?” (he tells us this…..)

5. “Where the bumbo go? Charlie got it?” (as in the big bumbo seat that Charlie has currently)

Desmond got a jump start on the easter egg hunting this year and did not need any coaching. He knew exactly what he needed to do.

The idea of growing old has been on my mind a lot lately. It might have something to do with the 1st chapter of the new book I am reading “Water for Elephants” which starts out with the thought of old age, and how when you are in your twenty’s, you know exactly how old you are. You tell people “I am 23″ without skipping a beat, or “I am 27″ with no pause. However when you reach your thirty’s you have to pause for a split second, I am……I am…..32, I am 32 right?….yup 32 it is. It is so true! Is that a sign of the beginning of  the end?

So here I am. I am 32. I do not feel 32, age is just a number right? I know I have plenty of years a head of me, or at least I hope I do. I just can’t shake the idea that life is flying by faster then I want it to.

Look at that boy in the above picture, it is unbelievable that this is the same small baby boy from two years ago. Yes it has been two years. He talks, and wants and asks for things. He tells me I am funny, and wants to play, and show me things, and tell me about all sorts of things he sees each day. He can tell me who is who of Star Wars action figures, he likes to fly like Superman around the house, no really I am serious, he likes to fly arms out and wooosh around the house and jump as Superman would jump.

Each night before we go to bed he wants me to sing the “cockles and muscles” song. If you are Irish you will know what I am talking about right off, the song is actually called “Molly Malone” and its one of those songs that if you live or have been to a pub in Ireland for any amount of time you will hear it. It is actually been adopted as the national song. I sing this song to him every night now. I also have found that if he is very upset this song will instantly calm him. The last few times I have held Desmond in my arms and he is crying uncontrollably, I will start singing this song, and his entire body will instantly relax, and my heart and soul find peace with the entire world. There is no greater feeling in the world then calming your child with the sound of your own voice. I have found myself at times not wanting to lay him down in his bed, and want to just stand there forever and sing and hold him, because of all my short comings or failures or faults as a person, this is the one thing no one can ever take away from me, ever. This is what keeps me going, this is what will keep me young inside forever.

He really is my lucky charm. Love you buddy.