Last year I took a hiatus from writing this letter, I was hoping to parlay that into a regular thing. Alas, the wife nags so here I sit. My only promise is to make an effort, I may not complete this. You might be reading an illegal copy.
The nice thing about not writing a letter last year is I have more material to work with and we might have accomplished what seems like something worthy of writing about (not likely). The downside is I’ve forgotten double the amount. Don’t worry, I’ll just make some stuff up or borrow from stories I find on the internet.
So where to start? I guess I’ll start with me, because, well I’m writing the goddam letter and the important stuff goes first. Since we last communicated I’ve managed to break my (right) wrist twice. The second time I didn’t get an x-ray after the incident. Bernadette kept insisting so 5 weeks later I went in and yep, it was broken. Ok fine, I admit it, she’s right once in a while. Hey the Seahawks won the Super Bowl, it was the year of miracles. On a brighter note, I picked up a side gig teaching online classes for Villanova (shout out to Ginamarie for hooking a brother up). The extra money is nice, but the real perk is I get to say I work two jobs to keep food on our table.
Bernadette might argue that she has a job. She makes and sells crafts (towels, blankets, clothespin families, etc.). I’m pretty sure she spends more than she makes, and though I was not a business major I do believe that to be a non-optimal model. She is still heavily involved in the local bitch-about-husband club. Eh…who am I kidding, I’m sure the last thing the ladies want to do when they get together is think or talk about husbands. I don’t have much else to report.
Like the rest of us the kids continue to get older. Case in point: I recently went out to lunch and when done I could not find my keys. Not only were they in the car, the car was running. Is almost 40 the new 60? At least I got to return to a nice and warm car. Anyway, Reilly turned 18 this year (full disclosure: she turned 17 last year when I didn’t write a letter) and is a senior in high school. She’s definitely had the busiest life over the past 24 months. In that time she has gotten a job, bought a car, and who knows what else. She’s also convinced she is capable of moving out and supporting herself now. LOL, ok.
I had a hard time digging up anything for Nathan. Maybe it’s a middle child problem, not the first to reach milestones, not the baby. Or maybe he’s just boring. He’s 15, in high school, and has his driver’s permit. Surprisingly he’s a cautious driver. Think of your grandma driving, now think of a driver slow and cautious enough to send your grandma into road rage. Now imagine an old lady yelling at Nathan. You’re picturing Bernadette. Nathan has actually made some great strides in the last year, he’s doing much better in school, and he takes showers without being asked. I think he even brushes his teeth semi-regularly. Despite his up-to-this-point poor dental hygiene he has managed to only have one cavity.
Nick, on the other hand, has had numerous cavities despite being the child we most diligently cared for his teeth. Genetics I guess. Obviously at his age Nick has changed the most, he’s 6 now. I don’t recall the specifics at this point, but late one night Bernie and I were woken by him marching up and down the hall playing a harmonica. You might think we got up, took it away, and put him in bed. You’d be wrong. We asked him to play quietly and went back to sleep. Who has time to argue with a 5 year old at 2 a.m.? He can be pretty charming. At McDonald’s one day he somehow managed to convince them to give him the entire toy display on the wall. A few weeks ago I was waking Nathan up and Nick was with me. Above Nathan’s bed is a poster of 8 or so girls in bikini’s, away from the camera looking back toward it. In my attempt to engage him I asked Nathan “which one do you like?” Nick promptly responds “I like the blue one, I want to lay on her butt.” Yep, we’re a high class family.
In February my mom moved in with us. This was Bernie’s idea. Women be crazy. The kids really enjoyed having her around, Nick in particular. After getting a feel for the area and saving some money she got an apartment just down the road in November. The kids spend a lot of time there and she keeps Nick overnight once a week or so. It’s been great. I still can’t lounge around the house in my underwear though. One day.
[Skip this section if you did not attend OU]
A while back I had the pleasure of making a trip to Oklahoma for Mallen’s wedding where I was able to see some great friends. Thanks for letting me crash at your place Ethan. Also, a friend from grad school made a cross country road trip from Rhode Island to Seattle and paid us a visit. Everyone should have a yearly dose of Tony to maintain good health. In related news, I just learned that Gina and Derek will be visiting next summer, although apparently they can only stop by for 6.47 hours in accordance with the itinerary. That’s not long enough Derek!
[/boring section for non-OU people]
Other events of note that come to mind: Bernie took me to a Pearl Jam concert for my birthday last year. It was fabulous. I took the kids Montana the summer of 2013 for a week. It was a nice trip (I made Reilly drive a lot more than she wanted). We’re heading out there again this year for Christmas, looking forward to some guaranteed snow. We took a week long family vacation this past summer to a “resort” in central Washington. The only things to do there were drink, swim in the pool, drink, golf, drink, and drink. I cannot recommend this type of vacation enough.
Oh, and for those of you keeping track, I was not able to keep the Christmas lights up all year. I believe I was forced to take them down in June. Of course, I hoped against all odds that I wouldn’t have to put them back up again.
Alas, the wife nags.
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