Category: Family

It rained all day. Wrecks everywhere. Got to Kingsport late. Blah.

At dinner, we were seated in the same area as a group of about 12 people that were co-workers and spouses having a holiday get together. But remember, this is Kingsport. After about two minutes of watching and listening to them, I whispered to Maria that we had stumbled into a meeting of Larry the Cable Guy‘s fan club. Of the seven men, all had beards, four wore caps, one had a mullet, and one looked like Kenny Rogers in the 70’s.

A few minutes later, my daughter said “those guys sound like Mater” and I nearly fell in the floor.

I’m convinced that being a parent is the hardest job you’ll ever have. Well, being a good parent. I suppose that it’s not particularly difficult to be a crappy parent. The stress comes with caring about the task, and more importantly, the outcome. You try your best every day. Sometimes you know you had a good moment and other times you know that you failed the immediate challenge. But the work continues, and you keep trying to improve, and in a few years you find out how you did. Wish me luck.

There’s an ongoing and evolving search for games that all (or at least 3/4) of the family can play together. The latest is Phase 10. A Rummy-style card game that requires enough skill to keep adults from being bored, but is simple enough for the kids to compete.