Scenes From an Italian Restaurant

Billy Joel was a big part of my older brother's music growing up. Of course, I, being a big brother worshipper, adopted all their musical interests, even the weird ones like loving Warren Zevon. (looking back I see that last sentence should be shot for comma abuse.)  Anyway, I am slowly turning my CD collection into my ipod music library. The other day as I listened to the Italian Restaurant i realized with dread that I was no longer living in the Brenda and Eddie verse, but had moved squarely to the:

Things are ok with me these days
Got a good job, got a good office, got new wife, got a new life   and the family is fine
Lost touch long ago, lost weight, I did not know... you could ever look so nice after so much time. (verse)

I have lost twenty pounds since leaving Springfield to have Bayta in St. Louis. I finally learned the secret to easy weight loss: Don't eat all the crap and worry a lot about your children, your business and the economy. It isn't glamorous like no carbs, but it definitely works.  The sad part about being in the "Got a Good Job" verse is that if you listen to the song you know it is a mere blink to get to the italian restaurant and the  emotional death that comes with it... you know the death that can only be slowed with a bottle of red, white or what ever color of sedative you take to dull the pain.

Did I mention that I will be 36 soon? It weighs heavy on my soul... for all of you guys (and there were several)  who pointed out that you are older than I am...   all I can say is I am very sorry for you... but I am having my own existential crisis right now and I would simply be crushed trying to help you with your own seemingly inpenetrable  problems.

Physically I feel a lot better than I did yesterday. No more eye ooze... but I am enjoying a sore throat that seems to get better every day. hopefully by Thursday I will be back to normal and just in time for a 40 degree birthday.

The kids are doing well. Jackson is a child full of Joy. He plays hard. and pretends to prefer his mothers attention, but every once in a while I find him walking around me staring at me through the corner of his eyes.... almost begging me to play kissee monster or tickle monster with him. he is at that age where he takes in every drop of knowledge in his environment and then spits it out five minutes or five days later with his own uniquely jackson spin on it. He is a total lover to Bayta. He constantly lets me know her status. "Bayta is crying dad". Yesterday Amanda was doing something in the back room and I got a call from our cable company that I had to take in my office upstairs. I laid Bayta on a blanket on the main floor and went to the server room to reset the router. At one point I walked past and looked down to see jackson comforting his crying sister. Where did that come from? It isn't taught... Harrison played his video game 10 feet away... He loves bayta too but in a much different way... he is fierecly protective of her. But Jackson... he is a lover....
Harrison at age four can read. I will write a novel sentence on a paper like "Please go to the window turn around three times and bark like a dog." He will read it to me and then follow the instructions. We can do it for 30 minutes at a time and he never seems to tire of it.  I truly hope he is as smart as him mother... I am so excited to see howthey grow and what they become.

Mom on the other hand seems tired. I honestly do not see how she does it. She takes care of Bayta all through the night, and then has the energy to put up with the three of us boys. She never complains... but I know for a fact she enjoys going to work on Tuesdays and Thursdays so she can get a break from our family circus.

Tomorrow I travel to Kansas City for a meeting with the American Rental Association. It will be the first time I go to the KC meeting. I am looking forward to it. We will hopefully get the ball rolling on our legislative agenda.  Six hours on the road in one day sucks though. 

Well, I better get going... I have to rub Amanda's feet... or she hits me. I am too tired for spell check. sorry.