Most Commented Family Blogs (545)

I went to a party this last weekend. My cousin's eldest daughter turned 18, so my brother, sister, mother and I had to drive from just south of Copenhagen to the southern part of Denmark. The border with Germany was a 20 minute drive away from where we were having the party.

Anyway, we set off at 11 am, and we arrived at around 2 pm. We then got settled in in our accommodation, and then we drove to the party site. A huge party tent was standing there, music was blaring out of it, and a lot of food was being brought in. When I say a lot, I really mean a LOT. Think Roman times food feasts. That's the level of food they presented. We are talking steaks, sausages, bread, a LOT of greens, dressings, cheese, fruit and whatnot. It was insane! The food was amazing! I have never eaten as much as I did then. Holy moly it was good! On top of that, there were unlimited items to drink, including soda, beer and wine.

Once the food was over, the alcohol and snacks hit the table,the music went up, and people went mad on drinking, dancing and just having fun. I got to talking with a guy and his wife. The wife was a cousin of the birthday girls mother, and her husband was SO much fun! They were on their honeymoon in Scotland, so we bonded over just how amazing Scotland is.

At one point, we were presented something called a "kinder surprise shot". Oh my that was good! But it's also extremely dangerous! The ingredients are 1 part Liquor 43, 3 parts chocolate milk and one part whipped cream. Mix it well, and serve over ice. When I get paid again, I am buying a bottle of Liquor 43, and then I am definitely making those again! Wow they were good.

As the evening went on, people got drunker and drunker. At one point, they played a song called "Hip hurra det' min fødselsdag", which translates "Hip hurray it's my birthday". During that song, a well known, and very dangerous, tradition played out. The birthday person gets a tray with 18 shots, which can be with anything from water to absinthe. People then stand in a circle, cheering on while the birthday guy/girl downs the shots as fast as possible. 49 seconds was all it took for this 18 year old girl to down them. 49... That is just insane. What is more insane, is that her friends said "I have seen her do it faster than that". Her sister turned 16 on the same day, that the 18th birthday party was held, so she got a tray of 16 shots, which she downed in.. I think it was about a minute. I swear, those people are on another level when it comes to drinking. But they are great fun to hang out with and party with.

The drive home was long and not much happened.. Well, apart from a ton of rain and four Corvettes blasting by us at full thunder. THAT was awesome!

In two years time, we are gonna go to another 18th birthday. I need to find the perfect gift!

Oh, also.. I went to a job interview today. It went well. I will know more during the week.

When my son Steven was about 3 months old, we went to a Roy Rogers restaurant for some lunch. To my left sat a rather old woman in her 80's. My wife was holding our son and I could see the old woman looking at him admiringly. I'm pretty good at reading peoples faces and it was obvious to me that she was remembering the days long past when she had her own babies. My wife apparently saw it too. I looked at my wife and cocked my head toward the woman and without saying a word my wife nodded approvingly. I stood up and took Steven from my wife and gave him to the woman not uttering a word.

The woman seemed to come alive with a huge smile and said “Oh my, I haven't smelled a baby in soooo long!” She was of course referring to the talcum powder and baby shampoo. She lovingly held Steven in her arms and he looked into her eyes probably wondering who was this strange person holding him. Steven was unlike a lot of babies who easily get intimidated by strangers so I had no fear that he would start screaming when I passed him to this old woman. We let her hold him for about 10 minutes while we ate our lunch. She thanked us for a priceless gift, a trip back in time to when she was a new mother.

I often think about this moment and it never fails to stir me emotionally with a feeling of pride for being perceptive and brave enough to hand over my baby to a complete stranger. Doubtless this woman carried that memory to her grave.

....corresponding to those in a sense of responsibility. Just was at the ex's, checking her vintage vehicle for an upcoming 600 mile trip to visit her family. We are both the oldest of many siblings, and with time parents are leaving us, so we were named estate executors/principal trustees. Sort of an old school decision on parents' part.
So very old school, that in both families, through hard work, they were able to acquire some rental property, to help with retirement, and to pass on to the kids. Some might say white privilege, as well, until they take a look at the realities of large working class families. Neither of us, both health care professionals, who have been in the roughest clinical trenches, the military and so on, could have done the same. Digressing once more.
Even without the family curse of the drink, there tends to be a fair amount of dysfunction in some such nuclear families. And in our honored administrative tasks, we're seeing our share.
Years ago, when many deals were sealed with a handshake, and renters were often friends, and even family, a damage deposit, first and last prepaid month's rent, and a lease, were often the exception in such circumstances. To make this short, in spite of free or low rent, every thoughtless act as tenants seems to come up. Arrears on rent, lots of damage, unannounced midnight moves and leaving things still there, drug sales in the apartment, police visits for same, and much more.
I know more modern and woke landlords are evolving with the sad changes in the times. But all the shenanigans bring anxiety and tears to the 93 YO one remaining great granny parent, Yet no one seems to want to change old ways.
Fairness in helping out is appropriate. But being mindful of the need to let go a little, and to realize our limits, sometimes have their places.

My parents were pretty forgiving to me and my brother. Sure, kids make mistakes, normal things like forgetfulness, procrastination, etc. We weren't liars and if we did something that required punishment, most of the time it wasn't severe.
Both my parents were literal... no hidden agendas. If we were asked (or told) to do something it was a good reason.
Some of my friends had parents who got angry at the slightest thing... probably because it was the only pleasure in their miserable lives. Arriving home 15 minutes after curfew would be no privileges for a month. Yeah... maybe that why so many turned to drugs... escape their parents for a while.
Anyway, I remember opening a soda bottle getting ready to pour a drink then my mother asked if I would pour some for her. "Sure mom, how much do you want?"
She asked for a mouthful.
Okay... the only way to properly gauge a mouthful was to...

This is a letter I sent to my oldest son about his birth.
Tom,
It was springtime in 1961 and I was working as a foreign car mechanic at Rootes Motors in L.I.City. I had been there about 2 years. Rootes was a British car Co that made the Hillman, Sunbeam and Humber. We had 23 mechanics many of them came from Ireland. Some of the senior mechanics had served in WW2. I believe a few of the mechanics who came from Europe actually served in the Nazi military though they would never own up to that. My workbench was next to Jim Arrington, a black EX NYC cop. The most corrupt man I ever met. I got that job through the NY State employment agency. My starting pay was $2.37/HR which was pretty high at the time. I met your mother and we got married and you were born. By now you're probably wondering what Rootes Motors has to do with your birth, right? Not much, except one day not long after you were born when word went around that my wife, your mom, gave birth to a baby boy, one of the Irish mechanics came up to me to congratulate me, saying, "Good Job, you put a tail on it the first time out." Apparently it was viewed as an accomplishment to have a boy especially as a first time father. My God I thought, it must be rough to be a woman in Ireland.

I just thought it would be cool to take you on a trip back in time for just a moment to see and hear the world through my eyes and ears.
Dad

Moonbaton is a progressive suburb of Boston, often called a little piece of Californicate back East. The Smith's darling and talented twin girls (two X chromosomes, female breast buds, ovaries, womb and all), are increasingly stressed out. Seems as though one, captain of her girls' Grecoroman wrestling team, was pinned in ten seconds by a much stronger opponent, biologically a male, but now trans. The school board and town council, Fake Indian voters all, approved the whole deal, and this same "it" student has exposed itself, repeatedly, to both young ladies, in the now "all gender", former girls', room. More normal citizen action to town officials falls on covered ears. The Police chief, a tiny negro gay lady, was recently Peter Priciple promoted, and now does only desk work, after having her arse-and side arm- both handed to her, by a male perp she was trying to cuff, after he allegedly robbed an elderly lady of her pocket book. He was also prototrans and homeless, and needle drugging and peeing/pooping on the formerly tidy streets of idyllic little Moonbaton, Mass. But well protected in this sanctuary town, based on his illegal criminal entry here from sunny El Salvador. There's a sign over the entrance to the town hall, boldly proclaiming, "IT'S YOUR GIRLS, MRS. SMITH". Stay tuned, folks, it's all coming to your town soon. Vote Bernie, Biden or Warren. Trump is a monster.

I pulled into tolleson, az this morning around 3 am. Was told there were no deliveries today and drove across the street to the company yard and shut down and took a small nap. When I woke up I decided I wanted a hot shower and a shave and a fresh set of clothes. I grabbed my bag of supposedly clean clothes and remembered that I didn't have a chance to dry them. Well when I tossed them into the bag they were still soaking wet because the washer I was using didn't have that good of a spin cycle. That was 4 days ago. I have looked on Craigslist at all the ads for people asking for help stating that they're willing to work for the money. I've contacted all of them. Nobody is willing to wash and dry one load of laundry for a hundred bucks. when I was a teenager, I'd have dug a hole to China for a five spot. I wasn't even asking for the clothes to be folded, just washed, dried and tossed back into the bag. I figured out a way around it all until I can get to a washer and dryer. I bought gas station clothes.

That's each of your children, grand children and any other living offspring. You think anything the government hands out is “free?” It’s not anything close to it. Everything they do costs twice as much as it would if done in the private sector and they spend like drunken sailors shoveling piles of debt onto your children and grandchildren as they go hoping you won’t notice until it’s too late. What do they care? It’s not their money they are spending… it’s YOURS.

That’s the amount owed by every citizen of the United States for all the “free” things that have already been handed out and promised by the federal government. It doesn’t count the additional free things that the Democrats are promising which will multiply that amount to around $9,000,000 for every man woman and child citizen of the United States. That’s right, EVERY man, woman and child will owe the federal government around NINE MILLION DOLLARS if the Democrats are elected and hand out all the “free” stuff they vow to hand out. And it also doesn’t count what you owe to state and local governments.

The Democrat’s platform is a bankrupt your children and grandchildren plan plain and simple.

Good luck, your kids already owe almost a half million dollars each that they are going to have to pay back in tax increases. Want to go for 9 million each instead? Vote Democrat.