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