Happy Birthday...Cha Cha Cha!

...and two months later it is my birthday! I haven't written lately mostly because I've been going through a bit of a slump. A lot of it started with the hurricane hit New Orleans. I don't really know anyone down there, but for some reason it was very depressing to me to see the horrors that those people went through. I strongly believe that a lot more people are going to be in very similar situations over the course of the next few decades.

I've also been having a lot of dreams where my children are missing or I'm trying to defend them during a hopeless war or other similar things. There have been quite a bit of gut-wrenching sobbing in my dreams - which has also added to my feeling a bit down. The good news is that I'm back on an upswing. I'm still a bit more quiet/thoughtful than Leslie would perhaps like, but it's nice to know that we have a good enough relationship to put up with each others little foibles.

There have also been some school issues (there are ALWAYS schools issues in my life), but I don't feel like going into it right now. Just going to keep my head down and barrel through as best as I can. At least that is balanced by the extremely good financial position we are in - quite a remarkable feat for two married college students with four kids.

So...now I'm 32. In an effort to stop looking like an 18-year old, I have started growing a beard. It has been...what...three or four weeks now. I've stuck with it so long now because I got the go ahead from Mary (our 7-year old). Leslie doesn't mind it either and I think it looks rather good - so it will probably stay for now.

Work is work. Nothing much to report there. I have pretty well blended back into the background. I come in, do my job, and leave. Because of the odd hours I now work, I hardly see any of the full time staffers anymore - which means they don't ask me to do extra stuff, and that is okay too. I've started to really slim down on what I get involved in. My kids are starting to get to the age where I really need to be more involved in their lives. Mary and I have finished reading The Hobbit and have started on the Chronicles of Narnia. I still try to spend one Saturday with each kid each month, which is more or less successful. The kids call it their "special day," so it must be working. I just need to come up with more ideas about what to do. The weather is cooling off and we can't really do bike rides/picnics/outdoor stuff as much.