I saw blank...

Hello. The first month of the new year (and decade) sure is a tight start, at least for me, however odd that might sound. Minimal blogging opportunity is what I’m getting at. There’s just so many must-dos and what-have-you things that spell out b-u-s-y in all caps (boldfaced and in red).

At work, we’re practically killing ourselves at getting over last year’s productivity nightmare and moving on and working hard to take advantage of the post-holiday January shopping season. So far, it’s been so-so-sales, but I the ever positive chieftain, won’t stop pushing, proud that, while big-name call centers suffer from terrible attrition rates, loyalty is pretty much still the reason behind our solid teams.

Weekdays going home, I’m usually exhausted (what with that same-old-story traffic dilemma) and recently is becoming insomniac as sleep only comes when the clock ticks 2am, reminds me of my sleep problems when I was in Uruguay. I wanted to blog at home, but I thought I’d rather spend more time with wifey and kids (and movies, and Nintendo wii, and recently Australian Open, hehehe). Weekend is when I’m married to the bed--that’s when my now unhealthy body, badly needing a 3k jog, decides to catch up on sleep.

But really the reason I’m blogging now is because I saw blank, as opposed to seeing the sign.

While I thought I’m a “cool” dad, I wasn’t exactly prepared when I got a call from my eldest son Kurt (who’s in first year high school), asking me to buy a birthday gift for his long-time crush. “I’m courting her did I not tell you?” Kurt explained, careful not to say it out loud on the phone.

Then I saw blank. Then myself. Then Kurt. Then the sign. I’m old. The kids are getting old as well. And I’m old-fashion. “Isn’t he supposed to focus on his studies?” I thought to myself. I texted my wife and asked her if she’s encouraging this. Of course she texted back saying nope, but I suspect she’s excited and at least happy that Kurt is being totally honest. Rarely do kids open up about relationship issues, and I thought I’m not really cool, my kids are. And so, like a student on the look out for the best birthday gift for a high school crush, I ended up buying a cute and cuddly pink teddy bear. The cashier asked “is this for the wife?” while gift-wrapping, I said “it’s for my son’s crush” and got that “are you kidding me?” look.

Ah, I’m not ready. I’m worried about Kurt getting too distracted than he already is, losing focus on his studies. When I was Kurt’s age, Thunder Cats and the Panini Sticker Club kept me busy outside school. I realized though, that while this I think might be a distraction, it might be something else for Kurt, “inspiration” he proclaimed. I hardly noticed but he’s now the first one to be ready to go to school in the morning, does his homework without being told to, saves up money, and is now actively joining school contests and activities. Between my wife and myself, I’m the one doing the “I told you... after high school it’s UP or nothing...”

The sign is that I’m becoming the distraction.