Video Games

I started playing video games again over winter break.

By "playing" I mean "playing video games even if it's not multiplayer."

I've been trying to only play something when at least someone else was in game with me to keep it social. That meant World of Warcraft with Carrie, Genevieve and Chris (I'm their tank), or Destiny 2 with John and Bill (I tank their score).

I've been behind on the blog, but if you include another way to kill a little bit of time and energy each night and now I'm really behind again. I try to only play at night, but that's typically when I write.

With Shane sick and low energy, I've played more just hanging around the house than I expected. I've managed to get through some of my backlog on Steam. Dan bought me a Battletech game as a gift....Japan spread their empire across half the glove from their humble start in Nigeria in Civ V...and I made it through a deck-builder called Slay the Spire and an early access version of the Lord of the Rings card game I have the physical version of.

Gives me some stuff to mention at work when student ask if/what I play. I may have to try Fortnite since that seems to their favorite game.

Stay at home

Random picture of Carrie with the cat on the couch.

I took these Monday night after Shane went to bed.

Carrie thought Bucket was being cute. Both the cats will force themselves onto her lap.

What Carrie didn't know was that she would be spending a lot of time on that couch with the cats and Shane.

Shane had a fever for the next five days. He stayed home from school all week. Saturday morning was the first day he didn't have a fever and his energy level came back. Sunday was 24 hours fever clear and Shane was allowed to re-integrate with society from quarantine.

The new question is how long until Carrie gets sick from spending so much time with Shane...

Side note: Apparently, Patrick and Shelby got sick, too. Then Cole and Tenley had fevers in South Carolina. Coincidence? John McG had strep, as well, but he wasn't at the funeral, so that had to be bad luck.

Sick Day

It started with a low grade fever and Shane trying to milk it for extra electronic time. 

It progressed to an urgent care center visit and a visit to the pharmacy. 

We spent over two hours at the urgent care and Shane started complaining his stomach hurt. Since he hadn't eaten much all day, we went through the drive-through at CFA while we waited for our prescription to be filled.

When we parked back at the CVS, Shane switched from "stomach pain" to "about to throw up."

He filled the CFA bag and it started to drip out the bottom. After a moment of panic, reach back across and opened his car door, so he could continue to puke "chicken noodle soup" down the side of the car.

We had a quick discussion on what "stomach pain" meant vs "nausea." Then we ate the chicken nuggets I'd rescued from the bag before I'd given it to Shane to 'blarf' in (His word, not mine).

Shane was feeling pretty puny by the time we got home. The strep test was negative and the flu test was negative, but Shane full on panicked when they tried to get a sample. I held his arms and legs, but he spooked the nurse holding his head. The probe never made it up where it needed to be and the doctor prescribed us Tamiflu based on his symptoms.

There was no school due to the snow, but Shane's going to stay home tomorrow whether they cancel school or not.

Snow day!

SSSNNnnooooOOOOooOOOoowWWW!

We've had church cancelled twice now. That's the same as the number of days of school cancelled!

I'd rather go to church than school. At least we should get Monday off. There was plenty of snow!

The city is doing a much better job of clearing the roads after that debacle several years ago.

We have our snow day routine: Sledding with Rah, Silas, and Zora!

The snow had a more ice-like feel. It was warmer than expected, so it could have been part melted.

Made for some fast runs and some rough landings when we built the ramp!

There wasn't enough snow to build anything really dangerous....which is probably a good thing, because I would have been tempted. Shane is on the cusp of doing all sorts of things that start hitting my interest level, but he's not there yet....

But for now, Shane was happy to push snow down a grate as I shoveled it from the street. We each did something we liked.

If it's going to be cold, it might as well snow some. Snow is fun!

Snow Incoming?

A snowstorm is predicted for the weekend. It's supposed to start sometime in the afternoon, so it was imperative to get some Shane energy out early in the morning!

We were the first ones at TKD. The instructor let Shane practice his flying side kicks.

"NOW! Do NINETY-NINE more!"

I was laughing.

"Why you stop running? Go faster! RUN!"

I really like Shane's gym master.

It was a sparring day, so there was plenty of energy that got out.

Raheem knocked in the afternoon. He had a new football with him. I hung out in the house, so they'd play focus on each other for a while. When I did pop out, Raheem immediately asked to play catch.

So I did. He kept my kid busy for a while, so it seemed fair recompense!

We had to say good-bye to Raheem to go to Shane's basketball game. Shane put me on the spot and asked if Rah could come.

I said, "No." If it did start to snow as advertised, I didn't want to be responsible for an extra kid who I wasn't sure about if the mom would remember where he was. I felt bad doing it, but the game was 20 minutes away and I didn't think Rah would find 2nd graders all that fascinating when we got there.

The game turned out to be pretty interesting, though. Shane's team had an early lead, but the other team had a huge comeback thanks to one kid's precocious shooting and won by one shot. I sat next to and was talking with his Great-Aunt. His name was Legend and maybe this was the start to his basketball legend.

Shane was a partying fool most of the game. Legend's Great-Aunt remarked, "He's full of personality!"

I'll post some video eventually.

It was snowing as we left, but nothing was sticking to the road yet. We headed home for a night of electronics and snowflakes.

Shane's First Wrestling Match.....Not.

Shane almost had his first wrestling match of the year today.

Almost.

I headed over to the school on my way home from wrestling practice. Carrie was going to pick up Shane. Only she was working and late to leave to pick him up. Then there was an accident on 64 that backed up the road, so that she couldn't get him quickly. I was on the other side of town and the accident would have blocked me from getting him, as well.

When it was clear he'd be 40+ minutes late to an event scheduled for an hour or so, I got frustrated and called it. It turned out Shane's singlet was still at home, so he wouldn't have been able to wrestle even if he had shown up late.

It was a frustrating miscue. A lot of junior wrestling meets aren't as conveniently local and/or conflict with meets for my wrestlers.

Shane will have to get his first match of the year in another time.

Can you get a hint?

Sometimes I have to crack down on Shane for things I really don't think I should have to (or want to) crack down on him for.

Example: Carrie is on the couch working with a cat near her or on her lap. Shane hops on the couch next to her in some manner. It may be to invade her space, spook the cat, or both. If the cat doesn't spook, Shane starts trying to lay his head on her or pet her through Carrie's arm as Carrie works.

This can really piss off Carrie. Especially after she's asked him nicely to stop multiple times and Shane keeps repeating the issue. Either he's ignoring or ignorant of what she's instructed and steam starts to billow from Carrie's ears as she does her best to stay cool as Shane keeps pressing her buttons over and over.

This is where I come in. Do I wait for Carrie to blow? Or do I do a preemptive correction at a lesser level?

Often, I step in.

It feels weird sending Shane to his room for putting his head on the cat.

In a perfect world, there would be something more proactive in place where Shane could get attention from Carrie before or after she finishes what she's working on, or Shane would be more understanding and patient about getting some attention.

It's not a perfect world, though. Shane will push until he gets in trouble and then be upset he's in trouble.

Parenting 101 - It's not going to go smoothly.

Back on the Mats

Wednesday, it was back to the grind. There were only three days left to review before SOLs with kids and no one is ready by my estimation. I ran the first half of the wrestling practice. I was tired, but a little more energized after the break.

Shane had a full day of school and then had his wrestling practice on Thursday.

It's weird shifting gears from the break and especially after the high-energy whirlwind that is my family. It was a great break, but I did miss being home. I wish there was a little more of our routine in the whirlwind and a little more of the whirlwind in the routine, but I'm not sure how that would happen.

Enough reflection time. There's life to be lived in the moment.

Funeral Mass

Tuesday was the day of the funeral mass. Little Matthew was to be buried according to the Catholic tradition.

We got ready and then headed out. Can you guess where we headed for breakfast?

If you said, "Subway," you'd be right!

We arrived in time for the funeral, but not with enough time for Shane to play.

Shane did an excellent job. He's at the age where he's young and wants to play and party with all the younger cousins, but he's old enough that the expectations have changed.

Even with the other kids crawling and playing around he was able to mostly keep his focus on what was going on. Was he perfect? No. Did he do an amazing job for him? Yes. Catholic masses are not hyperactive kid friendly.

The occasion became real for me last night and I confronted my emotions then, so today was mostly just a ceremony.

Mostly.

Again, I only took a few pictures in the beginning. I wanted to pay respects and be in the moment rather than stand apart and record.

I got a picture of Stu taking a picture after the convoy rolled out to the cemetery. I'll grab the actual picture of all the kids from Facebook eventually.

Carrie, Shane, and I left after the group picture. We had a long drive ahead. Carrie and I were only running on a few hours of sleep and it was a normal work day tomorrow.

I hadn't thought we'd make the trip to the Carolinas this winter break. I'm sad about the occasion, but happy I got the chance to take off work, drive, and show my support for the family. May Little Matthew rest in peace in the arms of God and know he has people who miss him on this side of eternity.

Visitation Day

Monday started off quiet. Carrie and I checked out of our hotel and met up at Nana and Pop's. Matt played a round of Smash Bros with Shane before electronics time was up.

Carrie and I played a round of Fox in the Forest.

There was quiet, family time as people prepared to move out to the hotel in Charlotte.

I was on Aiden duty for a little bit before I took him to where Pop was doing laundry. Aiden enjoyed the vibrations from the dryer as he tried to look for hazardous chemicals in the cabinets.

We headed out a little earlier than the others. Carrie wanted to stop at a tack shop on the way (if you can believe that!).

It was a more Western centered store in Gastonia.

Carrie had wanted to find a rain slicker for Nibs, but instead she found a lot of apparel and Shane found a lasso to hula-hoop with.

(Unsuccessfully!)

We met up with everyone at the hotel around 3 PM. Pop picked the same hotel we used to always stay at when we visited NC and the cousins as kids. Some of the memories blur, but I know we've been to that hotel at least since I was a freshman in high school (I remember having an upper respiratory flu that year and losing 6 lbs to go down a weight class in wrestling! I also remember we took Matze there and that was the year Pokemon Red and Blue came out).

Pop chose the hotel for sentimental reasons. It's changed ownership since and parts of the property really show their age. The first room Carrie and I checked into smelled of smoke and cleaning chemicals, so we had to switch to another. Nana wanted free chicken salad for dinner, but we started a trend by going to Subway! Matt and Renee went there after they heard about it from us (and saw the 'free' chicken salad), and then Jim and Shawn walked in as they were leaving!

We met up with everyone at the funeral home near downtown Charlotte.

There was a video showing pictures of Little Matthew when we walked in. Shane, Carrie, and I sat in the back. I told Shane stories as he looked at the pictures instead of bringing him up front to the open casket. Cousin Kerry came and sat with us in the back for a little bit before Shane and Carrie went to the family room while I paid my respects. Shane's a mix of utterly oblivious and completely aware, so I'm not sure what he'll remember about the night. I'm pretty sure he leaned against me and looked at the TV without noticing I had tears on my cheeks behind him as I talked. I hope that he'll remember that family loves deeply and comes together when someone is in pain.

Nana made the call to break out Pokemon Go later. I'm not sure how I felt about it. On one hand, it kept the clueless kids quiet so that all the adults could come together. On the other hand, if the kids started to walk around looking for Pokemon it would have beyond disrespectful. Carrie did a great job of keeping them contained on the couch, so it was tasteful enough.

I didn't take too many pictures of everyone talking, because of it being a visitation. I didn't want people to think they had to be on guard for cameras or distract from the night.

I did snap off a few at one point, because the memory is important and Little Matthew should not be forgotten.

I don't know the next time this much of the clan will gather either. We had family in from Nebraska, Texas, Virginia, and both Carolinas.

It was a bittersweet mix of everyone being happy to see each other and sadness/pain for the passing of one our number and the effect on his immediate family.

But that's what family is for. They're with you from the beginning of your life until the end.

Kathleen, Stu, and crew went to school that morning and then got trapped in traffic on the way up, so they were the last to arrive.

Cole joined Shane and B on the couch immediately.

Evelyn rocked some Batman pajamas. My side of the clan cares little for some of the things others would get hung up on like little kid dress codes! If the love is there, then that's what matters (and if driving three little kids through hours of traffic after a full work day to grieve with family doesn't communicate love, I don't think a dress would make a difference).

We all took turns playing, "Pass the baby" and "Keep an eye on the kiddos."

I hadn't seen Stephanie and her bunch from Texas in years. I didn't get much time to talk to them, but one of her daughters talked to me in a British accent about tea. I switched to a Scottish accent and raised an eyebrow.

My generation plus Beth all gathered in Megan's room for a reminisce afterward. There was a cousin from the other side of Little Matt's family, as well. Kevin donated beer money in front of Nana.

I hear they talked a long time. Nana watched Ka's kids so she could attend and Pop had Shane and B. Megan put Sammy to bed and he slept through it all. I stayed an hour and left around 11 PM.