We have spent most of the day preparing for our road trip/vacation. We will load up the Honda Odyssey and drive for 19-20 hours. J and I went to Best Buy to get some of the essentials: batteries, CD player/headphones and Ipod radio transformer. We couldn’t leave there without J needing to watch with amazement as some kid was using Guitar Hero. I’m not sure I get it. And then as we checked out, I didn’t know how the checkout guy could seriously ask me if I want to buy insurance for a $19.00 CD player. Do people really do that?

When I came home, Ry and I played the basketball game, H O R S E.  He seemed to enjoy making silly sounds and dance movements as a part of any shot he attempted. When J joined us,  we changed the game to S A N D S K I N K, since he just learned about them in his ecology camp. The boys then lined up multiple squirt guns: the blaster, old school guns, sword like squirters, and a pirates head squirter. They were planning on a squirt gun rematch with their Uncle. And then the teenager next door stopped by because he was locked out, and he got the water party started.

The yard is trashed. There are a various assortment of squirt guns and pails scattered around. My sons are soaked to the bone literally. I feel like such a grown up. While my older brother, the teenager next door and my sons were getting soaked, I was working with my neighbor to cut down branches and dead trees. Actually, I was watching and trying not to get in the way as he sawed away and removed trees over the garage and in the back of the yard. For some reason, I often find myself surrounded by people that know more than me about “what to do.” Therefore I’m often the guy standing near by, agreeing, or engaging them in conversation while they do the work.

It’s funny, but I’ve often felt bad or ashamed that I’m not “Mr. know it all.” You know the guy who always has a better way to do it, or makes comments when you try to do it, like, “what you really should do is,” or” you don’t want to get to close to that wire, maybe I ought to do it.” This is the first time it has occurred to me that the price I’ve paid to get other people to do my work for me is to engage them in some dialogue about themselves. It’s cheaper than getting a handyman.