And In A Pinch, Go For Two Out Of Three And Just Reach An Accord With Your Vices

Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.

– Benjamin Franklin

This News Increased My Base Tranquility

(Hmmmm . . . lighthearted or more broody today?  Oh, what the heck?  Let’s go with lighthearted.)

So I sent my Dad a cake for the holidays, but since I didn’t have any tracking information, I texted asking him to let me know when/if the package arrived.

His response?

“Houston, the package has landed.  All is well.  Small cake for me, but added pounds for all mankind.”

Doing Research Today; Headache Already Developing

Always consider the source of your advice. Advice cannot be neutral, the source of advice is just as important as actual words.

– Gamal Hennessy

Was This Not The Droid You Were Looking For?

And now an Emperor-like quote rasped by me as my son and I played with Christmas toys from different genres:

Now witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational . . . Decepticon.  Death Star . . . transform!

Priorities

The holidays frequently give me time for my mind to drift to . . . less than cheerful places, and this holiday is no exception.

But you know what?  I don’t care.  Right now my son is “excavating” fossils from a science kit he got as a present, and that is far more important to me.

Merry Christmas, one and all.

Way To Be Subtle There, Son

“Dad found his deck of cards, and now he’s going to teach me how to play BLACKJACK!  Blackjack, blackjack, BLACKJACK!”

– Shouted triumphantly by L. last night as he carried said deck of cards above his head like a mark of victory.

“I’m such a good dad.”

– Muttered dubiously by me in response.

When Worlds Collide

It’s an odd sensation to hear your son proclaiming to your mother that “You are not my father!  I am your father, Luke!”

The Call To Parental Adventure

“But I have to go potty now!”

(Especially when proclaimed in a car while said parent is navigating a congested mall parking lot made even worse by ill-timed construction.)

(We made it, but it was a near thing.)

No, I HAVEN’T Seen It Yet!

This really is like last time . . .

From A Certain Point Of View

All this hype and excitement . . .

*shakes head*

Want to know a secret?

When Star Wars hit the theaters back when it was just “Star Wars” and before they added “A New Hope”  to the title, I didn’t see it for months after, and I almost didn’t bother to see it all because I hated, absolutely detested, all the hype over it.  When I did get around to seeing it, I enjoyed it, of course, but I still remember those months of telling people, “I’ll see it if I want to see it, when I want to see it!”

Guess I haven’t changed that much over the years.

One thing that has changed though is that while I still don’t share the excitement, these days I do understand it, all these people flipping their lids over the premiere of a new Star Wars movie because it makes them feel like kids again.  I get it.

And I guess, in a way, the same is true of me, come to think.