snow day!!

how about a break from the warm and sunny Peru for a quick trip to the cold and snowy northwest? we are experiencing an arctic blast of epic proportions!! at least that’s what the news sensationalists are reporting. what it boils down to in my world is a blast… from the past.

here i am, decades beyond my elementary school days, and i still get excited watching for the news about winter storm school closures. for the past two days my little ones have been playing authorized hooky in the neighborhood snow. it was really fun, not to mention funny, to see the looks on their faces the moment they ran out into the season’s first snowfall. the sheer excitement and joy is so cool to relive through their eyes. they scurried out of the house, all clumsy and bundled up, racing to see who could be the first to eat a handful of the icy white stuff. then they realized, “wow! it’s really cold out here!”. like it was for me, back in the day, they quickly forgot about the frigid temperature and kicked it into high-speed play mode. first on the agenda: ATTACK DAD!! don’t they know?! don’t they know that good ol’ dad is an invincible snowball making and throwing machine!?! they found out, alright… they also found out that the sneak attack and teamwork could get the better of their old man – yeah… i got my fair share of snow in the face! good times.

while they may have missed a couple of days of school, i don’t believe there was any shortage of education. instead of having the post snow-play hot chocolate like we had yesterday, we decided to have lunch at every kid’s favorite eatery – Mc Donald’s. on the way out of the McPlayground, we were ”greeted” by someone asking for a couple of dollars for a bite to eat. i didn’t have any spare change, and don’t normally give “handouts”. but as i passed the homeless couple with my kids in hand, i felt the urge to do something that would make a difference – for everybody there. we turned around and offered to take the couple into the restaurant and buy them anything they would like to eat. they asked for and ordered very little. i only regret not offering to buy them a warm drink with their meal to help fight off the 28 degree day a little. they thanked us graciously and my kids wished them a merry Christmas. there were a lot of questions on the car ride home about “why?” and “how come?” and “what happened?”. i answered the best i could, wishing there actually was a Dad Handbook for meaningful answers. what i do know, is that we helped to comfort a couple of people in a moment of need, and my kids felt a little like angels because of it. i felt pretty good too. thank God for snow days…

wrote a blog about it…. wanna hear it? here it goes!

so… here it is! my blog. i guess everybody blogs now, right? like the ipod, texting, cool “tech-ey” pda-type cellphones and Facebook, i am just now jumping on the band wagon as most are getting ready to jump off. the thing is, i never really thought i was cool or interesting enough to actually put one out there - but, ya’ know? the great thing is… you don’t have to be! i read a few while signing up for this chunk of cyberspace to put my ramblings on and i decided that i am every bit as cool and interesting as the guy who comments on what he thinks Michelle Obama should wear for the inauguration, or the storm chaser dude, or even the artsy photography or epicurean foody people!! okay… maybe not. but still, i think MY story, the quintessential “to-be-continued” epic, is a good one for those who might have even the slightest bit of interest as to what good ol’ russ is up to. not to mention it might be a fun little memoir for my kids to read someday and see what a kook their old man was..

okay… so, my story. hmm.. i guess i ought to introduce you to some of the characters. first… there’s me. a 43 year-old (44 in a couple of weeks) divorced father of two beautiful and unbelievable kids. i work for an airline and really enjoy my job. i exercise a bunch in an effort to stay “ahead of the curve” so that i can show my kids that i am still king of the hill - when i am over the hill. eccckkk… i hate the thought.. my 8 year-old son’s name is Jake, and my 5 year-old daughter is Rachel. their mom (my ex-wife) and i have agreed to ensure that these wunderkinds grow up well-adjusted, secure and have tanks that are chock full of self esteem. so far, i think we’ve done a pretty good job of hiding the resentment and contention that brews beneath from the little ones… more on that later. anyway, her name is Jeanne. my parents are Rustie and Ellie - the combination of their names make up mine: Russell. they are the absolute most wonderful, thoughtful, caring and generous parents any only-child kid could’ve asked for. if you look up "great humans" in the dictionary, you'll see a picture of my folks... really. let’s see, there’s Pete, my buddy from san diego, Larry who just got out of the navy, Medy and Mel who are my “big-sister” aunts, Elmer and Phil who are my “big-brother” uncles and role models, and a bunch of others you’ll meet along the way. still with me? good. i hope i’ve at least captured your interest for a split second and have you wanting to come back for more. why? because the next stop on this journey: crazy, unpredictable life.