Saturday, February 2, 2008

Support Staff

Several months ago my sister began restoring our family home movies. She made a promise to my father that she would do it, and she made good on it.
My father has been gone since 1991 and we lost my Mom in 2003. It took me a really long time to watch those movies. It softened the blow to see how much my wife and two boys enjoyed it. Through their questions, I was able to be distracted enough to enjoy the wonder of those films. My Dad used to say it was hard to focus through the tears. Now I understand what he meant.
My Dad was a traveling salesman and I have few memories of him before I was six. He lost huge chunks of his soul selling for Johnson and Johnson, then later dental supplies.
The tough job was my Mom's. She was home with seven kids and all the challenges that entailed; never enough money, thrift shops, left overs, sick children, you get the idea. It's a classic American tale.
My wife and kids have been down some crazy roads with me too. The list is long and embarrassing. I am lucky I pulled a couple things out of the fire and never came home to find the house empty, with my clothes in the yard. Through it all my wife has never shown one ounce of doubt. She says what she has to say, and then tells me to do what I need to. We always end up at even or a little better.
"I'm going to start a business!"
"Cool ." she says.
"I'm going to do this tour to Europe and Japan!"
"Cool, I'll pay the bills, and work two jobs while your gone." She says.
"I'm going to manage this band!"
"That's fine, I'll take video of the birthday party for you." She says.
"I'm going to buy a new frame!"
"You need one." She says.
Things are going to get tricky around here this year. We have some challenges we need to get through to get back to even, or maybe a little better. We are trying to make it fun, hopefully teaching our boys a thing or two about the environment, fiscal responsibility and a thing called sacrifice. My Mom and Dad taught me that last one.
"Cool." She says.
W.B.Z.N.