Tic Tacs
here I am at work doing a few things late on a Sunday night
taking a break from the busy work of work to blog
as I glance at the monitor my eyes can not ignore the Tic Tacs that rest in my peripheral
you know what.... they put a bad taste in my mouth
sure Tic Tacs can be refreshing heck... the can be a great temporary solution to halitosis
but right now this little plastic box of Tic Tacs is making me sick to my stomach
why? let me tell you why....
after a day of racing and all things that go along with racing I got home to Lisa and figured I could try and return the favor for her freeing me up to race
sure a few hours without the boys does not balance my being away all day
but something is better than nothing
so after I showered off the dirt and dust from a hot day of racing on the bike
I swooped up the boys and headed to NOODLES for some grub
things went pretty well
both boys were pretty well behaved in the restaurant
no incidents to speak of
after dinner we went to the quad outside the Noodles at Pentagon Row
there are two small grassy areas where children play
it can be a nice little gathering some times
we walked over and took at look at what there was to see
Dean was immediately let down....
all the children present were younger than him then
Dean wanted to play with the "big kids"
I pulled out a bright yellow tennis ball... brand new without a scuff and still holding that new tennis ball smell
Dean was able to entertain himself until some older kids arrived on the scene
Grant was content to jump off a wall that was nearly equal to his height
thankfully he was willing to let me take his hand as he took this leap of faith
after some time playing with a variety of children and this lone tennis ball I went to Starbucks for an Iced Coffee
of course the boys came with me
this had Dean asking for ice cream sure Maggie Moos is right there... but i could not justify the expense
so I figured we could get him some ice cream at Harris Teeter
there was talk of Darth Vader pops or Push Ups
all talk ended when we looked through the refrigerator window
there they were... Super Hero Bomb Pops... just like Issah had the other night
there was no debate
there was no reconsideration
there was only one thing to purchase and it was this Super Hero Bomb Pop box.....
while in line I gave Dean some space as I tried to keep Grant entertained in the stroller
we went through the self check out and then exited the store towards the parking garage
as we waited for the elevator I could see that Dean had an exceptionally wide grin on his face
I asked him why he was smiling....
he said that there was no reason....
the smile continued then I looked and saw that it appeared as if he was hiding something
Dean denied this I moved to his hands and he pulled his hands away only to reveal that they were empty
then I asked if he had taken anything from the store
looking me straight in the eye Dean told me that he had not
I dropped the tough cop routine and assumed that Dean was smiling cause he had so much fun hanging with Dad (me!)
the elevator arrived
we proceeded on with our evening as that was not an incident
that was just a moment of parenting
a moment that was quickly replaced with a conversation of "why"
the constant never ending cycle of questions of "why"
we drove home
Dean ate is Incredible Hulk Bomb Pop while Grant held his Wolverine Bomb Pop vertical
Grant never taking a taste
ten minutes into the ride I could see Grant was growing tired
Dean and I tried to keep Grant awake
yelling did nothing..... bomb pop still vertical in hand Grant calmly drifted off
when yelling did nothing I gave up...
when Dean and I respectfully whispered to give Grant his rest.... Grant woke back up
go figure
by this time the Wolverine Bomb Pop had changed hands
Dean was having a second popsicle
on our approach I called lisa warning her of Grant's tiredness
also made mention of my need to go into work this evening
I rushed in with the two boys and we started the goodnight process with a hot rag I washed a variety of popsicle colors from Dean's face
then preped his toothbrush
as Dean stripped for bedtime with his clothes off Dean stood naked in the hall with nothing on but Tic Tacs in his hand
apparently Dean had taken something
he had taken the Tic Tacs from Harris Teeter
I was steamed
there was talk of going back to Harris Teeters
there was mention of jail
there was talk of stealing
there was talk of right and there was talk of wrong
it was a tough moment
now it is time for me to go to bed
I fear that Dean may have nightmares of people going to jail
me going to jail for his son's actions
dean going to jail for his sticky fingers
Dean gave a promise that he would not do it again
he understands that it is wrong
hopefully this is the last of this for a while
here I am at work doing a few things late on a Sunday night
taking a break from the busy work of work to blog
as I glance at the monitor my eyes can not ignore the Tic Tacs that rest in my peripheral
you know what.... they put a bad taste in my mouth
sure Tic Tacs can be refreshing heck... the can be a great temporary solution to halitosis
but right now this little plastic box of Tic Tacs is making me sick to my stomach
why? let me tell you why....
after a day of racing and all things that go along with racing I got home to Lisa and figured I could try and return the favor for her freeing me up to race
sure a few hours without the boys does not balance my being away all day
but something is better than nothing
so after I showered off the dirt and dust from a hot day of racing on the bike
I swooped up the boys and headed to NOODLES for some grub
things went pretty well
both boys were pretty well behaved in the restaurant
no incidents to speak of
after dinner we went to the quad outside the Noodles at Pentagon Row
there are two small grassy areas where children play
it can be a nice little gathering some times
we walked over and took at look at what there was to see
Dean was immediately let down....
all the children present were younger than him then
Dean wanted to play with the "big kids"
I pulled out a bright yellow tennis ball... brand new without a scuff and still holding that new tennis ball smell
Dean was able to entertain himself until some older kids arrived on the scene
Grant was content to jump off a wall that was nearly equal to his height
thankfully he was willing to let me take his hand as he took this leap of faith
after some time playing with a variety of children and this lone tennis ball I went to Starbucks for an Iced Coffee
of course the boys came with me
this had Dean asking for ice cream sure Maggie Moos is right there... but i could not justify the expense
so I figured we could get him some ice cream at Harris Teeter
there was talk of Darth Vader pops or Push Ups
all talk ended when we looked through the refrigerator window
there they were... Super Hero Bomb Pops... just like Issah had the other night
there was no debate
there was no reconsideration
there was only one thing to purchase and it was this Super Hero Bomb Pop box.....
while in line I gave Dean some space as I tried to keep Grant entertained in the stroller
we went through the self check out and then exited the store towards the parking garage
as we waited for the elevator I could see that Dean had an exceptionally wide grin on his face
I asked him why he was smiling....
he said that there was no reason....
the smile continued then I looked and saw that it appeared as if he was hiding something
Dean denied this I moved to his hands and he pulled his hands away only to reveal that they were empty
then I asked if he had taken anything from the store
looking me straight in the eye Dean told me that he had not
I dropped the tough cop routine and assumed that Dean was smiling cause he had so much fun hanging with Dad (me!)
the elevator arrived
we proceeded on with our evening as that was not an incident
that was just a moment of parenting
a moment that was quickly replaced with a conversation of "why"
the constant never ending cycle of questions of "why"
we drove home
Dean ate is Incredible Hulk Bomb Pop while Grant held his Wolverine Bomb Pop vertical
Grant never taking a taste
ten minutes into the ride I could see Grant was growing tired
Dean and I tried to keep Grant awake
yelling did nothing..... bomb pop still vertical in hand Grant calmly drifted off
when yelling did nothing I gave up...
when Dean and I respectfully whispered to give Grant his rest.... Grant woke back up
go figure
by this time the Wolverine Bomb Pop had changed hands
Dean was having a second popsicle
on our approach I called lisa warning her of Grant's tiredness
also made mention of my need to go into work this evening
I rushed in with the two boys and we started the goodnight process with a hot rag I washed a variety of popsicle colors from Dean's face
then preped his toothbrush
as Dean stripped for bedtime with his clothes off Dean stood naked in the hall with nothing on but Tic Tacs in his hand
apparently Dean had taken something
he had taken the Tic Tacs from Harris Teeter
I was steamed
there was talk of going back to Harris Teeters
there was mention of jail
there was talk of stealing
there was talk of right and there was talk of wrong
it was a tough moment
now it is time for me to go to bed
I fear that Dean may have nightmares of people going to jail
me going to jail for his son's actions
dean going to jail for his sticky fingers
Dean gave a promise that he would not do it again
he understands that it is wrong
hopefully this is the last of this for a while