On This Date in 1999 (April 25)

As it turned out, we didn’t have pizza Friday evening, but neither did we go out to eat. We couldn’t agree on a place that pleased everyone. JoAnna and I considered going out ourselves, but we felt that the boys were in too much of crabby mood to be left home alone. I went out and got some Chinese take-out. The boys had to fend for themselves. JoAnna and I took advantage of yesterday’s beautiful weather and accomplished quite a bit outside. I cleaned the windows in the family room, inside and out, and then put up the screens. JoAnna mowed the front yard and then moved the patio furniture out of the shed, including the umbrella for our picnic table. I washed the plastic chairs and then set them up in their usual arrangement. I also tied some string around our five clusters of peonies, so that when these flowers bloom in another month or so, the stems won’t sag to the ground. We took a break during the middle of the afternoon to pick up Andy at his baseball practice, getting to the field early so we could watch the last 20 minutes of batting practice.

Because of Andy’s improved attitude at school, we allowed him to have a sleepover last night. He invited Matt Ziegler, one of his classmates and a soccer teammate. For supper, I cooked hamburgers on the grill, and JoAnna purchased the ingredients for s’mores. The boys spent most of the evening with the Playstation controls in their hands. They went to bed around midnight, and Andy and Matt were up this morning at 6:30, Eddie sleeping in another hour.

Sunday evening

I don’t know where Andy gets the energy. In spite of his lack of sleep, a baseball practice from 1:00 until 3:00, and a soccer practice from 4:00 to 5:30, he still wanted to accompany Mom to the club so he could play some basketball. He did look very tired when he was stretched out on the couch in the family room after supper.

Eddie also had a soccer practice today. Right now he’s watching The Lost World, the sequel to Jurassic Park, a special privilege since we usually don’t allow any forms of TV on a school night.

I spent about three hours today cleaning the windows, inside and out, in the living room, dining area, and kitchen. I also did the grocery shopping after dropping off Andy at his soccer practice. Except for all the boys’ activities, it’s been an uneventful day for JoAnna and me. After supper, a delicious pork roast, we reviewed our summer calendar. May is a very busy month with soccer and baseball and end-of-the year school activities. June will be busy with baseball games during the week, but so far our weekends look open. Not so July and August. Once we hit Independence Day, we have only one unscheduled weekend between then and the start of school.

Time to wrap this one up. The movie’s just about over, which means I have to start think about herding the boys toward the bathroom. Shower time. Then it’s homework time for Eddie, a very short math assignment he’ll be able to finish in a couple minutes followed by 15 minutes of reading. I wouldn’t mind the opportunity to just sit back and relax with a book myself.

We send you our love.

On This Date in 1999 (April 15)

It’s awfully quiet around here right now. Andy is stretched out on the couch playing with his Game Boy. Boxer is studying the back yard through the sliding glass door, probably on the lookout for some rabbit or squirrel. Eddie and JoAnna are attending the final Cub Scout pack meeting of the year, one of two conflicting events on Eddie’s calendar. The other is a reception for students in the Middleton-Cross Plains school district who have entries in the annual art show. I stopped at Elm Lawn school, where the pack meeting was being held, to see if Eddie might want to attend the final 15 minutes of the reception, but he was too involved in some craft project all the boys were working on. I didn’t even ask him if he wanted to leave.

Boxer escaped from the house early Tuesday afternoon while I was bringing some groceries into the house. I chased him around the yard for a half hour, but he refused to respond to my entreaties. In fact, he hissed ferociously at me and would have probably sliced me to ribbons if he hadn’t been declawed. Have it your way, I said finally, and returned to work, feeling a little guilty, though, about leaving our cat to the elements. What am I going to tell JoAnna, I wondered, if Boxer takes off or I find him as road kill? Actually, it was a beautiful day – lots of sunshine with a temperature in the mid-60s, and Boxer never ventured too far from the house. Eddie was able to lure him from under one of our cedar trees along the driveway when he returned home from school. I think that Kitty Meowsers had come to the conclusion that he was a house cat, although he’d probably enjoy occasional outdoor privileges based on the amount of time he spends looking out our windows.

Both boys have a few soccer practices under their belts. Andy has his first game Saturday morning, but the weather might not cooperate. Rain and snow and predicted for tomorrow. JoAnna thought she heard anywhere from 1 to 4 inches. No way, I said. It’s not gonna happen! Just when our daffodils and tulips are starting to bloom. (The bunnies got to our crocuses – curse those furry little pests.) The lousy weather is expected to last through the weekend, which will affect the Babe Ruth Bambino baseball tryouts on Sunday. If the weather improves, Andy will spend the early afternoon at the high school baseball diamond. Otherwise, he and the other 11 and 12 year olds trying out will be in the gym. If Andy makes the team, which is very likely since he was on the traveling team last year, I’m not sure how he’s going to juggle soccer and baseball through the end of May.

Eddie plays his first game on Tuesday. I’ll probably have to miss it since that is my night to work. I better check the schedule since I think that’s the game Eddie is supposed to bring a treat. And, of course, forgetting to bring a treat is a very serious crime!

I did a little yard work Wednesday evening, clearing dead growth and dried leaves from the hostas and other perennials in the front yard, removing the first of the season’s weeds, picking up the silver maple debris – such messy trees – littering the front lawn. I’m looking forward to getting our yard back in shape between now and the Memorial Day weekend.

JoAnna and I were in bed at 9 o’clock last night, but not because we were tired. Wednesday evening is our time to watch back-to-back episodes of Law & Order, our favorite TV show. We caught a new episode on NBC, followed by a rerun from what JoAnna figured was probably the first season, based on the cast, on A&E. Her folks got her hooked on the show last December, and she got me hooked a couple months ago. Jerry Orbach, who played Harry McGraw on a few episodes of Murder She Wrote, plays one of the police detectives in his typical loose, wisecracking style. Sam Waterston, one of JoAnna’s favorite actors, plays a district attorney. Neither can be considered the star of the show. That would be New York City, since all of the exterior scenes are shot on location. All around, it’s very an extremely well-made program, currently the best on TV as far as I’m concerned. But then, what do I know? I don’t really watch anything else on a regular basis.

On This Date in 1998

I feel somewhat lethargic today, drained of energy after a weekend that consisted of a lot of sun and water. Perfect weather conditions beckoned us outdoors, and we couldn’t resist the lure. My arms and shoulders are also a bit sore as a result of reacquainting myself with a baseball bat on Saturday. The details are forthcoming.

In my previous letter, I mentioned the possibility of a visit to the county fair last Thursday evening. We didn’t go. On the drive home, I asked Andy what he wanted to do.

“Stay home,” was his response.

I wasn’t surprised, considering his busy week of baseball, two games in two nights with another game and a practice still to come. We didn’t veg out the entire evening, though. Soon after JoAnna returned home from a meeting, somewhere around 7:30, Andy suggested we ride our bikes to Old Elm Lawn so he could practice his pitching and batting. I’m always happy to oblige when it comes to baseball.

Andy played in another exciting game Friday evening. He pitched the first two innings, giving up an unearned run in the first when a ground ball, a potential third out, went through the shortstop’s legs. The Road Kill won in the bottom of the sixth on a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded. The ball was hit to the second baseman, and he didn’t try to make a play at the plate. If Andy’s team hadn’t scored, the game would have ended in a draw. No extra innings in the Little Bucks league.

After the game, we joined a group of parents and kids at Damon’s for dinner and trivia. The group included two couples, two (divorced) moms, and 6 boys (Wesley from Andy’s team; Wesley’s brother Kyle, who is Eddie’s age; Ross Parks, and Ross Hellenbrand). Both Rosses have played on the T. Rex’s, Andy’s soccer tame, since its formation when they were in kindergarten.

Andy had a select team baseball practice Saturday morning. During that time, I made three stops on the east side of Madison to return items that people loaned us for our party. A table and 8 plastic molded chairs. Two chafing dishes. A bug fogger. JoAnna and Andy went golfing in the afternoon (par 3). Eddie and I went to the pool, where we stayed for nearly four hours. JoAnna and Andy were supposed to join us after their 9 holes, but both preferred to rest. Andy was sacked out on the family room couch, and JoAnna was stretch out on top of the bed. We had a light supper: French bread, cheese, fruits, including watermelon, cantaloupe, and grapes. We weren’t in the mood to cook or even fire up the grill. After Andy and I conducted another pitching and batting session, the family went to Michael’s Frozen Custard. I had my first turtle sundae of the season, at least I think it was my first.

On Sunday I was hoping to get some yard work done. I need to do a little “patching” in the front yard. Andy and Eddie had different ideas. While JoAnna prepared a salad for dinner and washed the kitchen floor, the boys and I went miniature golfing at Vitense Golfland in Madison. Eddie actually stayed even with Andy and me during the first 9 holes but lost his focus a little bit during the second 9. Before leaving, we tired out the new batting cages. Baseball: fast, medium, and slow. Softball: fast and slow. At first I just watched while Andy took some swings (a 50-cent token buys 12 balls), but then I decided, “Hey, this looks like fun, I want to try it myself.”

I chose a slow-pitch softball cage and was soon reliving my glory days on the Pot Luck Food Buying Club team in Oshkosh. Both boys expressed surprise at how hard I was hitting the balls. I was a little surprised myself considering how long it’s been since I’ve swung a bat. Eddie wanted to get into the act, and even though a sign said no one under 9 years old was allowed to use the batting cages, I told him to put on a helmet and try the slow softball pitching. He did very well, rarely missing a pitch. We spent $20 rather quickly here and on the walk back to the car, started talking about next week’s visit.

Before returning home, we stopped at Dunham’s, a sporting goods store, where Andy bought a bat and a helmet. The latter will be useful to have when I pitch to Andy. I’ll be less concerned about an errant fastball. Andy and I spent the entire afternoon at the pool. Eddie’s visit was interrupted by a trip to the county fair, where he and JoAnna were helping out at the cub scout booth. Not wanting to ruin her “do”, JoAnna opted to visit the pool later in the afternoon.

Today my face is on the reddish state, but there is no sting or pain involved. I probably should get into the habit of using sunblock. At least I’ll be out of the sun for the remainder of the week. More hot weather has come our way. We’ll hit 90 degrees today and tomorrow, but by Wednesday things will cool down a bit. 

So, outside of the basics of keeping up with the laundry, tidying up the house, and vacuuming, the weekend was pretty much all play. Not that I had any pressing chores to tackle. I can work on the yard a little bit at a time in the morning, after my Walkfit exercise and before I shower and get dressed. I can usually fit in 30-45 minutes of chore time when I get up with the alarm at 6:00. Occasionally, though, I’ll sneak in a few extra minutes of sleep.

May 1, 1992

Great day.  It's almost as though I were single, but of course, if I were single, I wouldn't be contemplating yard work.  I'd've fired up a mega-doobie and baked my bare back in the hot sun as I pedaled around Madison and environs.  After dropping off the boys at daycare, I drive to the credit union and cash a check that is half what I expected.  I stop at Mickie's Dairy Bar for breakfast, parking the car within view of Larry and Martha's.  I think about going to visit, but my stomach leads me elsewhere.  As I'm sitting at the counter, I imagine what a sense of deja vu this place must have for UW grads (and dropouts from my era).  Remodeling and renovations have been kept to a minimum.  So anyway the rest of the morning and afternoon is spent planting peas, lettuces, spinach, and radishes.  I pick up the boys and stop at McDonald's to get them supper.  As soon as we get back to the house, I make a path between the picnic table and the boom box trying to retape tunes from the British Invasion era.

On This Date in 1998

It feels like we’re sprinting to the finish line of the school year.  Not that I’m in any particular hurry to get there.  The boys probably are, though.  For Andy, it will mean no  homework for three months.  For Mom and Dad, it will provide a temporary respite from tense confrontations over late and incomplete assignments.

Tonight JoAnna reminded me to check Andy’s assignment notebook, right after he told us he had finished everything he was supposed to do.  But when I reviewed his assignments item by items, I found out otherwise.   As a result, I made him sit at the kitchen table and complete the work he had previously blown off.  For the past hour, he’s been working on a crossword puzzle that uses vocabulary from a list of words in a science glossary.  He should have been able to complete it in 15 minutes, but initially he had trouble getting focused.  He had to sharpen his pencil.  He needed a drink of water.  Then he was going to have a bowl of ice cream.  I quickly vetoed that last idea.  Even when he returned to the table, he seemed unable to concentrate, a blank expression on his face, then a hint of stubbornness spreading across it.  In our bedroom, I shared an idea with JoAnna.  Andy’s weekend doesn’t start on Friday until his homework for Monday is done.  No TV.  No playing with friends.  No pizza delivery.  No videos.  One of Andy’s problems is that he won’t tackle an assignment until the day before it’s due, even if it’s assigned a week in advance.  I’m trying to get him to see the advantage of completing an assignment early.

Eddie seems to be making great progress as a result of his special reading classes.  He had some homework tonight, and, taking a cue from his brother, initially resisted the idea of doing it.  He read five little stories to us (“Sam has ham” – simple words used repetitively).  He was able to sound out all the words without our assistance.

JoAnna spent Saturday evening and Sunday in Two Rivers with her parents.  She made a presentation Sunday afternoon to the Two Rivers HistoricalSociety on the Richard family history.  Outside of the special election, that was her big project during the past few months.  She was expecting somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 people to show up.  Almost 200 attended!  Her family tree goes back to Acadia.  French-Canadian.  She has found a lot of information on the Internet, and I ordered her a couple of books on Acadian history from the State Historical Society library.  We’ll have to remember to bring along some of her research this summer.

In two more weeks, I’ll be done with my class at the University.  I won’t be teaching again in the fall, since UW has a policy that a “hired gun” like myself can only teach the same course two semesters in a row.  It’s been a great experience.  I feel honored to have been given this opportunity and very pleased with the feedback I have received from students and faculty.

I started the annual spreading of the mulch.  This year I ordered 7 cubic yards of shredded bark, up one from last year.  I started with the front yard on Saturday, a gorgeous day to be outdoors, which helped me to tackle the project with an extra dose of enthusiasm.  I removed some sod next to the evergreen trees at the north end of our lot, the mulch I spread here giving this area some much-needed definition.   It also helps to downplay the lawn blight.  It rained in Sunday so I wasn’t able to get started on the south side of the house, where no grass is found and a variety of perennials soak up the sun all summer long.  It did clear up by late afternoon, but by that time I was determined to finish the books I was reading (TheWishbones, a funny first novel by Tom Perrotta, 1990s New Jersey slice of life – a book that I bet Dale would enjoy reading).  Then after supper, the boys and I walked to a nearby ball diamond where Andy practiced his pitching (he hopes to be one of the starting pitchers on his baseball team this summer. 

Saturday night I took the kids (the boys + Meaghan and Nick) to see Paulie, a movie about a talking parrot, one who doesn’t just mimic what he hears people say, but actually has a mind (and a vocabulary) of his own.    It’s a cute family film, although I must admit I found it a little sluggish and treacly at times.  With the weather so lousy on Sunday, I thought we might take in another movie, but Andy was with Nick and Meaghan for most of the day, and Eddie was at a friend’s house for three hours during the afternoon.  Dad ended up home alone, stretched out on the couch of the living room, reading his book, enjoying the solitude.

Last week I turned off the furnace but fired it up tonight.  The temperature was 43 degrees when I woke up this morning, the wind chill at 20.  Tonight it’s supposed to get even colder.  Glad I didn’t try to plan anything this weekend.  There are a few areas of the yard where I’d like to fill in some open space with perennials.  I usually don’t even think about planting annuals until the Mother’s Day weekend, although some people around here will say wait until Memorial Day.  I can never wait that long.

            
I noticed the obituary for Levina Karlson.  Did you go to her funeral, Mom?  I was thinking of sending a memorial to the church.  I always associate city chicken with Levina, probably because it was one of the meals she served us at their house on Sixth Avenue.

I bought Barb a birthday card a few days before the deadline but never got around to sending it.  I wanted to enclose a note and perhaps pick up a little gift for her (and Dale, too).  But excuses, excuses – I just never got around to it.  Happy belated birthday, Barb!  We’ve been thinking about you.

October 20, 1991

Sunday is basically a quiet and relaxing stay-at-home kind of time.  JoAnna and I finish up the yardwork.  I draw the line at digging up and turning over the garden area with a mattock.  Maybe we can rent a rototiller after all the leaves have fallen, I suggest.  After lunch, Andy and I ride our bikes to Marshall  Park.  (Eddie comes along, too.)  This is quite an undertaking for a 4 year old, and although he complains a little bit on the way home, he holds up very well.  As a result of our hour and a half of outdoor activity, both boys take long naps and I even doze off for a little bit during the late afternoon.

JoAnna fixes a fantastic supper:  roast chicken, dressing, mashed potatoes.  After kitchen cleanup, I catch glimpses of Game 2 of the World Series while continuing to force myself to get into what I'm beginning to consider a much overpraised new novel by Pete Dexter, "Brotherly Love".

October 6, 1991

LINK

I'm ready to be a stay-in-bed lazybones for awhile until JoAnna suggests that I join the rest of the family at the breakfast table.  She serves up an encore of yesterday's offering:  pancakes.

The day starts out overcast and cool; by midday the sky has cleared but the air remains cool.  I venture outside and do a little yard work:  cutting down the peonies, pulling up the beans, collecting the wind-blown debris from the silver maples.  Nothing major.

JoAnna prepares a shrimp stirfry for supper which Andy, surprisingly, find appetizing.  He especially likes the baby corns.

I spend most of the evening, as I did a good portion of the afternoon, reading Rabbit at Rest.  Throughout the day I have wondered if I'm spending enough time with Andy, if I'm becoming too distant as a dad, too concerned about having time to myself.

July 23, 1991

I'm up early and leave the house by 7:30, stopping at the library to see if there's anything of interest on my desk.  It does seem that the library is in unusual disarray.  Monday must have been a killer circ day.

I eat breakfast -- French toast, no appetite for eggs and potatoes -- at Olde Town Inn, then get my hair cut.  I spend the rest of the morning doing yard work:  trimming the shrubs and mulching a weedy area under the forsythia.  After feeding Eddie lunch, I spend nearly two hours on the bedroom floor with him, oftentimes content to watch him interact with anything he comes in contact with.  He's so animated and alert.

Once he takes a nap, I think about taking a bike ride, but only get as far as washing the bike.  When Eddie wakes up, we play on the hammock until JoAnna and Andy return home.  We go to Nautigal for supper, then after dropping off, the Club for volleyball, my first team appearance.  I play terribly but then so does everyone else on the team.  Self-fulfilling prophecy?  Where is my reserve of self-esteem?

July 13, 1991

The Madison Club

The day starts out cool and overcast, but by late morning the sky starts to clear.  I do a little bit of yard work, nothing major, mostly a chance to be in the sun with my shirt off.  JoAnna takes Andy with her on a shopping trip to buy shoes.  She returns with a look on her face that immediately lets me know she had no success.  Andy acted up too much. 

We meet Larry and Martha at the Edgewater Pier, where we spend a pleasant hour.  Barb and Chuck's wedding is at 4 in the Senate Chambers.  The ceremony itself lasts a brief 10 minutes.  The reception is at the Madison Club.  We don't stay for the after-dinner festivities as JoAnna isn't feeling well.

June 23, 1991

JoAnna fixes pancakes for breakfast and later in the morning, I do the plantings under the big tree in the back yard.  The boys nap while JoAnna and Barb go shopping, but I really don't have time to get into the project.  Looks like all I'll be able to do this weekend is clear out my desk area.  During the late afternoon, Andy and Eddie and I walk to the park, where Andy and I play baseball.  Looks like Andy's going to be a spray hitter.  Larry and Martha join us for supper, but only stay until 7.  JoAnna gives the boys their baths.  I seem to be on autopilot, frequently thinking back to those times when all my free time was my own and I could jump on my bicycle and ride for hours, stopping every now and then to fire up a joint.  I was both lonely and contented then, a sometimes psychologically unwieldy combination.

June 16, 1991

It's a Happy Father's Day.  JoAnna and the boys present me with a gift and cards while I'm still lounging in bed.  We go out to Perkins for breakfast.  Andy gets to be a handful for awhile.  JoAnna and I do some gardening but not until Andy and I some basketball at the park -- "our park", as he refers to it.  We buy some more perennials at Bruce to fill in along the south side of the house.  I take out about a foot-wide length of turf and replace it with cedar bark mulch.  After a shower, I lounge on the hammock, Eddie right next to me in his playpen.  JoAnna cooks steaks with lotsa fixin's for a picnic supper.  After a call to Dad, we all walk to the park.  We tune in the Pirates-Giants game once we get home.  My back is pink and a bit sore by the time I'm ready to fall asleep.

June 9, 1991

LINK

I wake up feeling oddly out of touch with my life and throughout the day I experience puzzling moments of vertigo.  Twice I mentioned these feelings to JoAnna and both times she responds that I'm not drinking enough liquids.  For most of the day, the sky is overcast.  I hammer the posts around the backyard silver maple together and plant the Icelandic peonies along the garage side of the house.  Later I read the first 100 pages of The Promised Land.

May 18, 1991

A cold Saturday.  We leave Barb at home and drive to Sears Homelife store to pick up our two new chairs.  We (I) end up making two trips, the second only Eddie accompanies me, but he really seems to enjoy it.  While everyone else is sleeping, I do the grocery shopping.  By late afternoon, I weed the vegetable garden.  We spent a quiet evening at home.

May 11, 1991

JoAnna and Andy go good shopping, then all of us, including Barb, visit the Bruce Company, seemingly a part of everyone's itinerary today.  We buy begonias, petunias, impatiens, and some yellow-flowering perennials for the south side of the house.  I spend the afternoon planting in the flowers in the patio arrangement.  It's an exhausting chore.  We cook out (ribs).  Earlier in the afternoon, I made a trip to KMart, where I find dusty miller to use as a border.  I also do some Mother's Day shopping for JoAnna at Land's End.

May 4, 1991

Laundry and groceries in the morning.  Andy wants to stay home.  "But no one will be next to me," I whine facetiously.  To no avail.  Barb accompanies me as she wants to go to Shopko.  JoAnna attends Mary McNulty's baby shower during the afternoon.  While the boys are sleeping, I put the spreader together.  I spend the latter half of the afternoon doing yard work, which includes planting some flowers next to the perennials by the patio.  They provide a very appealing splash of color.  JoAnna fixes southern fried chicken for supper.  My martini buzz helps me focus intensely on kitchen clean-up.  It's like I'm on speed.  The stove receives a thorough cleaning underneath the drip pans, and the drip pans themselves are scrubbed furiously.  Then I go on ant patrol.  Both bathrooms are infested, though that verb probably overstates the case at this time.  Fortunately, the can of ant spray I recently purchased is not as overwhelmingly aromatic as the previous can.  I hope the formula is still effective.

April 21, 1991

I'm up at 7, and so are Andy and Eddie.  JoAnna wants us to watch cartoons in the TV room, but the men want to stay put.  Andy and I spend must of the afternoon in the back yard.  He helps me turn over the soil in two of our garden plots and then we play baseball.  I hit a foul over the fence, and he hits one on the roof.  He connects solidly a number of other times, too.  I think back to how much I would have enjoyed this activity when I was Andy's age.  I didn't know a thing about baseball until I was 8. Hey, I don't think I even knew the sport existed before that.  By the late afternoon, I am so annoyed by Barb's parading in and out of our room.  I feel so unproductive and helpless to change the circumstances.

 

March 24, 1991

With most of the chores out of the way, Sunday is a time for enjoyment.  Around noon, Andy and I go to the park.  He enjoys himself immensely, even gets a chance to play with the big kids, three boys all of 8 or 9, but in Andy's eyes they are no doubt giants.  Everything is fine until he takes a tumble while pushing the merry-go-round.  He gets his hands all muddy and starts to fuss about that.  Suddenly my grown-up son is a 3 year old again.  I'm not much comfort to him since I have nothing I can use to clean him off.  What a difference from last year, though.  He would have never spun around on the merry-go-round like he did today.  Back home, Andy and I stay outside.  I turn over the soil in the raised beds, pick up branches, and then play basketball with Andy.  We're outside a total of three hours.