Early Knocking

There was loud knocking on my door this morning at 7:30AM... It was a sound that woke me a little earlier than I planned to get up on this Saturday morning. "Two" had to be at work at 9AM, so I had planned to get up a little after 8AM. The owner of the air conditioner shop was ready to start installing the new A/C units on the roof this morning, and he wanted to get an early start to avoid the expected rain. When I opened the door I saw that the rain had already started, but he was still insistent, and wanted to do the install. So by noon he had the old units removed, the new ones installed and working and was sitting in my living room wanting a check. I don't think things are perfect yet. I think there may need to be a little adjustments made because the units don't seem to get the house below 75 degrees, and seem to be running all the time.... BUT... The building is no longer an oven!!!

This was my weekend to have my kids, and my daughter, "Three" decided last night that she didn't want to be here... I am not sure why she didn't want to be here... maybe the heat, maybe I smelled bad or maybe it was because it was "boring" here... She has not been wanting to be here, and it has really been bothering me. I miss her being around, I miss her wanting to be around, and I miss having a family all together instead of split between two homes. Not that I want to be back with "Ex" by any stretch of the imagination, just that I wish my kids didn't bounce back and forth. I am trying to be understanding, but my own emotions keep me from just allowing her to do what she wants without too much control (or oversight) from me. As I mentioned, she wanted to go home last night, but I didn't let her go home until today because I thought if I could get her to just spend a

little time here she might decide it wasn't that bad and want to stay a little longer... However, my plan failed. (sigh)... She is still struggling in school, and last year she skipped a lot and her grades really suffered because of it. This school year is only 2 weeks old and she has already skipped a day. I know as kids get older they start doing their own things, but how can you explain to a teenager that the things they are doing may have long term consequences? The good news is so far this year, her grades are good... She is a smart girl, and always has been, but she inherited my emotional "instability". Hopefully she grows out of it at a younger age than I did. The rest of the day was pretty quiet. "Sweetie" (my girlfriend), usually has her son, "Other Two" the same weekend I have my kids, and we mostly do our own separate things on that weekend. Occasionally we do a group outing, but not all the time. This weekend "Other Two" is staying with his Dad and he will be with her next weekend. His Dad traded to accommodate going to the Steelers game. "Sweetie" has been enjoying a kid free, bachelorette style weekend. To make a few extra bucks each month, I take software support calls in the evenings and weekends every other week, and my scheduled support time happens to coincide with the same weekend I have my kids. Regardless, I still find time to hang out and do things with my kids. So far this weekend the number of support calls has been pretty low, and it has been pretty quiet. Last night I took the kids to see the movie "Balls of Fury". I usually miss most of the movies because I have to take a call, but last night, I didn't get any calls, and I was able to sit through the whole thing... But what surprised me even more was that I actually enjoyed the movie. I expected the movie to be one of those really dumb comedy movies, and while it wasn't a movie from Mensa, it stayed above the idiot level and was a pretty good movie, and of course, very funny! I would recommend it! So quit reading this and go watch the movie! Later Lou