NYC Update Vol. VII: Mr. Mom
Greetings all,
Let me start by extending a warm welcome to Julie Ritter, who joins the list. For the non "Ford" family members on the list, Julie is my cousin, currently living in Kansas City with her husband Kyle and their son Matthew, my first cousin once removed. In 2002, just a scant time after joining the family, Kyle won the Inaugural Ford Family "Golf N Grub" (patent pending). We don't invite Kyle to family competitions anymore. With any luck, Julie and her family will be sending us some BBQ soon.
Quick housekeeping … I wanted to share a quick NYC fun fact for you, that came to mind after the last update. My cousin Jess and I traded emails after that update was sent out and I learned that her employer changed formats on one of its radio stations... to Country. What is happening there in Indy? Anyway, now Jess is using words like "folk" and "yup" and "Merle Haggard" in her emails. You'll be in our prayers Jess. Back to the original point … one of the FM stations here, 101.1 WCBS, has a morning show called the Mickey Dolens Morning show, because it is hosted by Davy Jones. No, just kidding, it's hosted by former Monkee Mickey Dolens. No word on whether or not Neil Diamond writes the material for his show.
One more quick note. The staff is currently looking into some alternative delivery models for this update. Email is nice and all, but we're exploring some enhancements…stay tuned, we need to do some testing before we finalize anything. Now, on to the update….
Normally, I write these updates on the train, save them, let Regis read them (she gets worried about what I might write for some reason), then send them out. One exception was the Central Park update, because we had such a good time that I came home that night and wrote it, just to insure that I didn't forget anything. Naturally, that was the one update where I did forget something and had to send out an addendum, but I digress. Anyway, tonight is another exception. You see, we're all by our lonesome tonight, because Regis is enjoying a weekend away. At least she says it's a weekend. She sure packed an awful lot. Anyway, on Friday morning, she headed up to Hampton, NH, to visit her friend Meagen who was visiting her father (Meagen's not Regis's). Her trip included "going to Maine to go shopping, because we can." I will let her tell you all about it sometime.
Anyway, with Mom away for the weekend, you can imagine the "festive" atmosphere at the Watson house!
Conversation from Thursday:
Regis: "Jimmy, you need to be good this weekend, it will be just you and Dad and the girls."
Jimmy: "Just us and Dad?" (wheels turning…)
Regis: "Yes"
Jimmy: "Sweet, we can watch TV"
What a great reputation I have as a parent.
Conversation from Friday afternoon via cell-phone:
Regis: "Oh, good, you answered, you're alive"
Me: (inaudible due to background noise)
In all seriousness, the days were great. Friday's rainy weather forced a triple matinee of Cinderella ("Bibby Bobby Boo"), Thumbelina ("mummalina") and Beauty & the Beast ("Belle"), which is my favorite because we get to sing the Gaston song (any song featuring the word "expectorating" in the lyrics is a keeper). Today was gorgeous, so we played outside, enjoyed the day, and even went to the grocery store (picture that one for a second). We even had a picnic after dinner (main course of the picnic: ice cream). Don't tell Regis about that one. Great times, I'm sure there will be significant detox for the kids on Monday, and for me. The only major setback to speak of was a four-alarm, two packages of wipes, blow-out from Annie that forced a second outfit, an immediate bath, and a phone call to the EPA's Hazmat disposal hotline. Thankfully, there was no need to call any industrial cleaning services.
The important thing is to cherish these moments, because some day these kids will be off on their own adventures. And I learned something too. I learned that low expectations from your spouse are good, especially given the current condition of the house. Don't worry, we'll furiously clean things up once she calls and says she's an hour away.
Of course, the big news was Friday night, as some of you may know, when we found out that our new nephew/cousin, George Arnold Storey had arrived (I sure hope that is my nephew's name...I think it is). Dad called, but the kids were asleep, so this morning, I shared the news with them. It was clear that they were excited. Well, Jimmy was excited. Then Maggie was excited because Jimmy was excited. Then Annie started laughing and running around as if she were in a particle accelerator. Anyway, they were pretty fired up.
Well, it's off to bed. I've taken my maximum dosage of Aleve for the weekend, so the only thing left is slumber. On Monday, when I return to work, I will be submitting the application for Regis's canonization.
Let me start by extending a warm welcome to Julie Ritter, who joins the list. For the non "Ford" family members on the list, Julie is my cousin, currently living in Kansas City with her husband Kyle and their son Matthew, my first cousin once removed. In 2002, just a scant time after joining the family, Kyle won the Inaugural Ford Family "Golf N Grub" (patent pending). We don't invite Kyle to family competitions anymore. With any luck, Julie and her family will be sending us some BBQ soon.
Quick housekeeping … I wanted to share a quick NYC fun fact for you, that came to mind after the last update. My cousin Jess and I traded emails after that update was sent out and I learned that her employer changed formats on one of its radio stations... to Country. What is happening there in Indy? Anyway, now Jess is using words like "folk" and "yup" and "Merle Haggard" in her emails. You'll be in our prayers Jess. Back to the original point … one of the FM stations here, 101.1 WCBS, has a morning show called the Mickey Dolens Morning show, because it is hosted by Davy Jones. No, just kidding, it's hosted by former Monkee Mickey Dolens. No word on whether or not Neil Diamond writes the material for his show.
One more quick note. The staff is currently looking into some alternative delivery models for this update. Email is nice and all, but we're exploring some enhancements…stay tuned, we need to do some testing before we finalize anything. Now, on to the update….
Normally, I write these updates on the train, save them, let Regis read them (she gets worried about what I might write for some reason), then send them out. One exception was the Central Park update, because we had such a good time that I came home that night and wrote it, just to insure that I didn't forget anything. Naturally, that was the one update where I did forget something and had to send out an addendum, but I digress. Anyway, tonight is another exception. You see, we're all by our lonesome tonight, because Regis is enjoying a weekend away. At least she says it's a weekend. She sure packed an awful lot. Anyway, on Friday morning, she headed up to Hampton, NH, to visit her friend Meagen who was visiting her father (Meagen's not Regis's). Her trip included "going to Maine to go shopping, because we can." I will let her tell you all about it sometime.
Anyway, with Mom away for the weekend, you can imagine the "festive" atmosphere at the Watson house!
Conversation from Thursday:
Regis: "Jimmy, you need to be good this weekend, it will be just you and Dad and the girls."
Jimmy: "Just us and Dad?" (wheels turning…)
Regis: "Yes"
Jimmy: "Sweet, we can watch TV"
What a great reputation I have as a parent.
Conversation from Friday afternoon via cell-phone:
Regis: "Oh, good, you answered, you're alive"
Me: (inaudible due to background noise)
In all seriousness, the days were great. Friday's rainy weather forced a triple matinee of Cinderella ("Bibby Bobby Boo"), Thumbelina ("mummalina") and Beauty & the Beast ("Belle"), which is my favorite because we get to sing the Gaston song (any song featuring the word "expectorating" in the lyrics is a keeper). Today was gorgeous, so we played outside, enjoyed the day, and even went to the grocery store (picture that one for a second). We even had a picnic after dinner (main course of the picnic: ice cream). Don't tell Regis about that one. Great times, I'm sure there will be significant detox for the kids on Monday, and for me. The only major setback to speak of was a four-alarm, two packages of wipes, blow-out from Annie that forced a second outfit, an immediate bath, and a phone call to the EPA's Hazmat disposal hotline. Thankfully, there was no need to call any industrial cleaning services.
The important thing is to cherish these moments, because some day these kids will be off on their own adventures. And I learned something too. I learned that low expectations from your spouse are good, especially given the current condition of the house. Don't worry, we'll furiously clean things up once she calls and says she's an hour away.
Of course, the big news was Friday night, as some of you may know, when we found out that our new nephew/cousin, George Arnold Storey had arrived (I sure hope that is my nephew's name...I think it is). Dad called, but the kids were asleep, so this morning, I shared the news with them. It was clear that they were excited. Well, Jimmy was excited. Then Maggie was excited because Jimmy was excited. Then Annie started laughing and running around as if she were in a particle accelerator. Anyway, they were pretty fired up.
Well, it's off to bed. I've taken my maximum dosage of Aleve for the weekend, so the only thing left is slumber. On Monday, when I return to work, I will be submitting the application for Regis's canonization.
posted by Watts at 8:41 PM
<< Home