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Today was a busy day.  This morning we woke up and got breakfast.  We had a deployed spouse bowling thing that we had to be at at 1130.  So we had tons of time to hang out before we had to leave.  The kids wanted to play a board game.  I said OK, thinking they would get Chutes and Ladders or Candy Land out.  No, Spencer chose The Game of Life.  I really did not want to deal with all the details of the game like money and jobs.  So I just had them spin and move.  I figure it was a good exercise in taking turns and following directions.  Pretty much, I pre-schoolified

Here are the turds playing.

Once the game was over we had to start to get ready to leave to go bowling.  In the winter here, sometimes you need to start getting ready to leave an hour and a half before you actually walk out the door.  Why?  Because there is an ass load of snow in your driveway and you can't get out of it unless you shovel.  I'm a little sad I did not take a picture of the driveway covered in snow and then it shoveled.  But I had more pressing things to do like get the snow gone.  So the kids and I got all dressed in out snow gear (complete with PJ's underneath) and braved the elements.  Really it wasn't bad at all it was about 20* and snowing.  After the past few days it actually felt quite warm.  We had on all the gear to keep us dry.  Let me tell you, that snow was WET.

Anyway my two monsters played in out yard while I slaved away.  Then others peoples monsters came and played in our yard too, while I was still slaving away.  All in all it was pretty fun.  The coolest thing that happened was the big snow plow.  He came around to plow our street and he backed up into our driveway to make sure he got the whole street.  Spencer was in awe.  He thought it was the coolest thing ever to have a giant snowplow in our driveway.  I would have thought it was cooler if he plowed my driveway too.

So I am almost done and the neighbor, Mr. Fight Chief (I'll tell you why I call him that another time), comes out and says to me, "Oh, you don't have to do this.  I got this."  To be fair he usually does snow blow my driveway for me and I am very appreciative.  Today was actually the first time I really had to shovel the driveway.  I told him it was fine and I was almost done.  I know he usually does it for me, but I had to leave soon and could not wait on him to get out there and take care of my driveway.  And I was definitely not going to go knock on the door and ask him to do it.  Anyway, the kids had fun out there. 

Hello, my name is Spencer and I am a stud!

Once the driveway was taken care of we went bowling.  It went well.  The kids were moderately behaved.  However, while there I caught a glimpse into my future. Not one mom there looked like she had life under control. They were frazzled to say the least.  They looked like it was all they could to to just get themselves and their kids dressed, never mind brushing their own hair.  I might sound judgmental,  but I don't mean it that way.  I imagine these families are a good bit through their separations and it is wearing on them.  But looking at these women made me feel good about throwing on jeans and a hoodie and braiding my hair!

Kayleigh getting ready...

This one mom would not stop yelling at her kids.... I wanted to tell her about the golden rule. You know, if you don't yell at your kids they will probably stop yelling at you. But she looked like she does not handle stress well. And it wasn't my place to tell her how to handle her kids. So I just smiled and tried to ignore the horrendous behavior of her children. There were kids running amok and not listening.  And all the moms just looked like they were trying their hardest to keep it together just so they can get out of the house for a little while.  It was a real eye opener. 

I can't help but wonder if I am doomed to this fate too.  These women are going through 6 month separations, at the most, we still have 50 weeks left! I can't imagine how I am going to look at the end of all of this.

Kayleigh took this one of me and little man

PS--Nate, was this one long enough for you?