Just kidding!

A few years ago, the events of the past week would have driven me up the wall.  Now...right now
at least, I feel like a superhero with a tough layer of armor and rose colored super-vision. 

I won't bore you with the details of the past week, but here are some of the things that were dealt with:

• Flooded basement due to blocked sewer line (thanks, Plumbing Plus!)
• Dishwasher not draining due to different blocked drain - self-repaired!
• Dishwasher losing power due to faulty connection (overzealous self-repair?)
• Corroded sink drain discovered during dishwasher repair (thanks for the help, bro-in-law)
• Mysterious tea-like liquid seeping out of grout in basement bathroom (not going to tell you what that was, but it's fixed)
• Potty training - not very fun when the washing machine is inaccessible
• Allergies (yay spring!)

But you know what?  None of that got to me.  The good things far outweighed them.  Here are some of the good things:

secret training regimen

• Bubba just finished his first season of cross-country running and by all accounts, the boy has a lot of heart.  He's fast.
• Ben is about to turn 6 years old!  Time to celebrate!
• My brother-in-law has moved back to town for a little post-graduate education.  Having an uncle around will be pretty awesome for both boys.
• We had a great Mother's Day brunch with friends.  Hoorah for moms!  (you especially, Mom)

There's more good stuff - the other day, Lovely Wife walked the boys down to a local bistro for dessert while I cleaned up the kitchen. While there, Ben used the restroom - yay! On the way out, a big guy dressed for a date night was getting out of his car. Ben ran up to him and stopped, obviously excited. The guy put on a great smile and said, "How's it going?" Ben said with great enthusiasm, "I pooped in the potty!" The guy said, "That's great!" in a booming voice, gave him five, and walked into the restaurant with his lady. Thanks, Random Stranger, you were awesome!

And finally, I got a hint of Ben's burgeoning sense of humor. When Ben says, "I need to go potty!", I feel like a Secret Service agent responding to a threat to the President. I drop what I'm doing, spring into action and escort him to the panic room bathroom, issuing instructions and offering encouragement. The other day, we had a red alert. Just as we got to our destination and prepared to jettison his garments, Ben put his face close to mine and said, "Just kidding."* We laughed for a good while after that.

I was in this mindset when I came across a video on Facebook that reinforced my feelings.  It's from a commencement address by David Foster Wallace:


Have a most excellent day.

* He's never said anything remotely like that to me before.