Camera Off

Let's just say thanks to Lucy, I end up taking a lot of my work calls like i did today .... with my camera off....

what my coworkers would see if I turned on my camera....

My view over and around pups...

Bark and Bite

This is what happened when I tried to take a piece of candy corn out of Olive's mouth.  She chomped down with all her might and wouldn't let go.   I know dogs get a little testy when they have food in their mouths.  In fairness to me, I was only trying to save her ... not really from choking or health hazards... just from the taste of candy corn....

... who am I kidding?  I love candy corn.  Who do you think Olive stole it from in the first place?  

Thankful

 As 2021 continues to be a giant ball of misfortune rolling down the hill, I had two people I love dearly going through surgery today.  There's no need to discuss their private situations.  The only thing that's important is both surgeries went well and they can both start their journeys to recovery.  For that, and the continued health of my household, I am so very thankful.  I'm also hopeful 2021 has turned a corner to a better place. As such, rather than focus on any of the lumps from this year, let's just smile at this picture of two pups melting into the floor...

Shadow

There are a few things I don't like about working from home.  Honestly, it can be a little lonely.  That's why I decided to let Lucy shadow me during the workday like a Bring Your Kid to Work celebration.  As you can see from this picture, she was a welcome addition to the company and provided a massive increase to productivity...

Go Deep

For reasons beyond my knowledge, this handsome quarterback (who has never played football once in his life) showed up on his teacher's Instagram page.  With this level of intimidation factor, I assume the NFL will start calling any day now...

Wally World

You know the joy they have in National Lampoon's Vacation for the time they have in Wally World with no lines, no crowds, etc.?  Amelia came as close to experiencing that today as anyone I know.  Thanks to COVID cancelling her 7th grade overnight trip, her school made it up to her class by renting out an entire amusement park for them.  Looking back, I can count on one hand the number of days I've had that I wouldn't trade for the day she had of crushing funnel cakes, winning stuffed animals, and riding rollercoasters with zero lines.  Then again, if I was back in 7th grade with unlimited access to funnel cakes and roller coasters with no wait.... I'd have left that park known as Barfer instead of Barber. 

78

Given my last post, it is probably not surprising that today being my mom's birthday hit me a little harder than it probably should have.  She would have been 78 today.  If there is one blessing of her passing, I would say it is that she didn't have to endure through this pandemic.  She didn't have to wear masks, figure out a stance on the vaccine, or most importantly watch 3 bright leaves on our family tree pass away.  There aren't many days where I don't think of her at least once, usually cracking up over something she said or did.  That said, today was a day where she constantly occupied my mind.  Perhaps it's because I'm still processing Brian's passing.  Maybe it's because it's been 5 years since she left us.  It might even be because I'm missing all my family members so badly thanks to COVID.  Whatever the reason I was slightly more down today was more than offset when my wonderful wife came home with a surprise.  She brought home a box or purple cupcakes (my mom's favorite color) so we could celebrate her birthday with the kids and keep their "mawmaw"'s memory alive in their hearts.  It was the perfect touch to end an imperfect day.  So, while I'm terribly sad to be missing the woman who raised me, I'm so very thankful for the woman who puts up with me.