The Christmas Gift Repairman

‘Twas the day after Christmas and all through our home,
All the presents were broken even the robotic gnome.
The stockings once filled with new Christmas toys,
Lie empty, marred by careless girls and boys.

The children were whining and with nothing to do,
Argued how toys became damaged and by whom.
I knew there’s no way I could ever fix them all,
And still have time to watch college football!

When out on the street there arose such a clatter,
I jumped from my chair to see what was the matter!
As I ran out on the porch to witness the flap,
I saw an old van driven by an odd-looking chap!

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Life After Death

I worry about dying.

Not because I’m worried that I have some undetected disease or some undetermined medical condition. I’m not worried about having a heart attack or a car accident.

I worry about the kids. What would become of them if I’m not around?

I suppose younger parents don’t worry about such things.

When I was younger, life seemed so long. Now, life seems so short.

And, it seems that I’m growing old faster than the kids are growing up!

So, I worry about what their life will be like if die.

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Crime and Punishment

One of the biggest behavior problems we have with the kids is sibling rivalry. And, it sometimes develops into sibling warfare. Kenzie antagonizes Kaleb and he thinks it’s his duty to discipline her by yelling, hitting, pushing and/or tattling on her.

She reciprocates in-kind!

We have tried many forms of punishment to deal with the kids arguing and fighting with one another. You know the usual methods–timeout, standing in corner, banishment to room, taking away privileges, taking away possessions, and occasionally spanking.

None of these methodologies seems to have much impact or lasting effect.

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It’s A Long Way To The Top If You Want To Rock ‘N’ Roll

I’ve decided to retire from my current job next year. But, that doesn’t mean I’ve decided to quit working.

It just means I’m going to stop doing what I’ve done for much of my career and do something else. It means I’ve reached certain goals in my current profession and it’s time to try a new profession.

Besides, I’ve got health insurance premiums to pay for two young kids and college tuition somewhere down the line, so I won’t be taking up golf or fly fishing anytime soon!

I suppose I’m at one of those junctures in your life and your career when you stop and take stock of what you’ve accomplished and learned along the way to determine what might be your legacy.

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We’re Back!

We’re back….

Whoever said the Internet was free didn’t publish a website or a blog. If all you do on the Internet is post pictures and life events on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram, you probably don’t think about the cost of the Internet.

But, for the people who publish the websites and blogs that you browse, there’s costs involved in posting their information on the Internet. In fact, some people post advertisements on their websites or blogs to try to recover the costs of publishing on the Internet (and, possibly to make a profit as well).

If you want people to visit your website on the Internet, you have to have an address, a location, a URL. And, that URL has to have a name, a domain, assigned to it. And, you have to obtain that domain from an authorized Internet domain registrar.

Once you have a registered domain, you have to have a place for it to reside. It could be on your own computer (web server) or somebody else’s. And, then you have to have a way to access your website and update it.

All these services–registering, residing, updating–have a cost. That’s right, there’s no free Internet.

And, if you don’t pay the Internet bill, these services will expire and voila, all your work is gone in a nanosecond.

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The Birthday Bike

Today is Kenzie’s eighth birthday and one of her birthday presents was a new bike. The little beginner bike that she learned to bike-ride on is just too small for her now.

But, the new 20″ bike she got for her birthday is just a little big for her. Although she could reach the pedals from the bike seat, she couldn’t quite reach the ground with her feet without leaning the bike over.

So, it was difficult for her to get her ride started. I had to hold the bike while she got on it and then I gave her a little push and off she went.

She was able to ride on her new bike without difficulty. Unfortunately, it didn’t occur to me how she would stop her big bike. So, the only way she could stop was to crash (the same way you stop in skiing)!

She didn’t get hurt or scratched up when she crashed, but she didn’t want to ride her new birthday bike any more.

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