Tales of the Ordinary Days

I am sitting on the back deck of a Chicago flat in Wrigleyville (while listening to Van Halen's Panama blaring from Ben's phone). The boys, now ripe ages of 24, 21, and 17, are celebrating a big Cubs win as the boys share their stories with each other after a weekend of brotherhood. I quietly smile and type away at my computer. I am purely background music to the buzz of their conversation. Ben asks me what it was like in the 80's when I was their age (his phone is now playing Kansas' Carry on my Wayward Son). Curiosity runs rampant as they ask what is it was like to be a 20 year old in 1987. "What was Dad like in college?" "What did you do at parties? Did they play good music?" An entire conversation continues on a like vs a dislike for rap music ('trap music' per Ben). Grant and Ben exchange notes on their high school days. Zach's comments clearly reflect how much times have changed within the seven years age difference bet...

Today Zach asked me to go with him to Cabela's to look at guns. "Sure" was my answer. After 22 years of boys, I am numb to answer any other way. Guns, hockey, baseball, fishing, sports trivia, action figures and action movies...I am now a pro. I would know no other way of life. When the boys were small, I used to kid them that there would be no Barbie Doll birthdays for me. Then the  gave me a Barbie as a birthday gift one year. Although they kind of missed the point, I gave them an 'A' for effort. We started our Chicago trips during their teenage years to follow our love for our Chicago teams. When my friends (moms of girls) talked about day-long, shop-til-you-drop days on the Miracle Mile...I was scoping out best tickets for the Blackhawks and Bulls. Birthday parties over the years were filled with mounds of smelly and dirty boys who closed out the sleep-over nights with pick up games of sandlot baseball and backyard football. My living room wou...