This will most likely be remembered as your strangest Spring Break ever. Instead of being quarantined in our house because of the Coronavirus, you were supposed to be at Nonna and Papa’s house in Alabama this week.
Being forced to stay home during your 3rd grade Spring Break is definitely in major contrast to what I was doing exactly 30 years ago in March 1990 during mine.
That was when our family went to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida for the first time.
I specifically remember it being the first time I ever experienced a water faucet with an automatic sensor. I was amazed how I could wash my hands without having to each touch a knob.
And that was only the beginning of the amazing things I experienced in Disney World.
So yes, Disney World vs. lockdown to due the Coronavirus… quite a difference.
You and I recently went to go see The Rise of Skywalker; as more of an obligation to the fact we’ve seen all the other new Star Wars movies.
I knew that you liked it, but by this past weekend, I realized that at age 9, you are old enough to officially care about Star Wars now.
This past weekend when we visited the public library to check out some books and DVDs for the week, as is our family’s custom, you specifically wanted to check out Episode II: Attack of the Clones.
I softly warned you that it’s not one of the best ones, but you didn’t care.
Turns out, you loved watching it.
Afterwards, you started looking up Star Wars Lego sets online to spend some of your Christmas money on.
The funny thing is, you have yet to see the original 3 Star Wars that came out between 1977 and 1983.
As long as I’ve known Mommy, she’s always been curious about the exit on 1-24 for Bell Buckle, on the way back from Nonna and Papa’s house in Alabama as we make our way back home to Tennessee.
This year we decided to finally check it out, once Mommy found out that Bell Buckle hosts a Christmas parade on the weekends leading up to Christmas.
We enjoyed a hay ride with Santa, then got to check out the local shops in the town’s downtown area.
It was so much fun, we decided to make it a new family tradition!
Part of the glory of owning a 4×4 Jeep Wrangler is that we get to explore roads most people wouldn’t be able to in their cars. Sunday after church, we drove down the barely visible path to take a look at some land that is being advertised for sale.
I had been noticing that wooded hill for the nearly 5 years we’ve lived at our house. And finally, now I know what’s out on that land that will ultimately likely be developed to become several more cookie-cutter neighborhoods.
We discovered an old abandoned farm and farmhouse; less than a half mile from the main road.
Obviously, we didn’t step foot inside the buildings: They are all on the verge of collapsing after the next gentle breeze.
But using the zoom on my camera, I was able to take a look at a magazine from 1977, as well as receipt from 1982.
In other words, the most recent proof of life at that place was a year after I was born- and I’m only a year and a half away from turning 40.
One of the strangest discoveries was what appeared to be what was left of an outhouse. It was just a small hole leading to a 10 feet deep put filled will some rainwater.
When you’re a teenager, you’ll be able to tell your friends what you saw that day, years before it all became it all was plowed over and became the next nice neighborhood.
Having a Papa who works at a playground equipment factory means that you when visit your grandparents’ house in Alabama, you have access to a backyard playground that is above and beyond the norm.
Last weekend, the debut of your brand-new industrial grade swing was revealed.
You loved it so much, you just didn’t want to stop swinging in it.
At one point, you swung in it for a solid hour and a half before Mommy said it was time to go in for dinner.
You have the Cadillac of all playground swings for a 3 year-old girl!
Last month my 3rd grader son and I left from the Cub Scout orientation meeting broken-hearted. I myself was in Cub Scouts for 4 years back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was a major part of my childhood.
But it’s not set up the same way anymore. At the meeting, the adults were ultimately informed that if we wanted our sons to be in Scouts, we would be volunteering to be the actual leaders.
In a household where both parents work full-time, I knew that it would be unwise to commit so much of my time to what would ultimately be a part-time job that would indirectly pay other people’s salaries, in the likeness of a multilevel marketing pyramid scheme.
So I decided to start my own group; for all the boys whose parents couldn’t commit to the actual organization.
I set up a “scavenger hunt hike” at a nearby park with a creek. Once all the boys arrived, along with a few younger sisters, a villain who called himself Red Rover popped out of the bushes.
He explained that his great-grandfather originally own the land, but instead of being able to inherit the land, it was given to the city as a public park.
Therefore, Red Rover hid 8 “toxic rocks” along the creek, which would dry up all the water if the boys couldn’t find them all within the following hour.
Here’s a video of that event:
As I expected, all 8 toxic rocks were found within the hour. Therefore, Red Rover returned from the bushes, in an attempt to take them back from me.
This led to a low-budget Marvel style fist fight between Red Rover and me.
Here’s the video for that part:
The boys (and their sisters) enjoyed playing on the park afterwards, as my wife had brought some snacks for the kids to enjoy as well.
And some might call this a major coincidence, but my friend Ben showed up after the scavenger hunt hike rough-house with the boys.
It was a plan that came together!
Now that the launch went well, I am excited to plan the next event…
