(I’m listening to Marcy Playground’s first CD)

Happy Father’s Day!

Lately, I’ve been listening to Marcy Playground’s first album a lot because I went to their show a week ago or so.  I’ll never forget the show because that was the night the wife and I met a couple that we might be helping out in the near future.  We met them for dinner at a local Italian restaurant and afterwards, the wife dropped me off at Herman’s Hideaway to see Marcy Playground and Fuel with a couple of good friends.  It was a really fun show.  To top it off, I got to go snowboarding the next day.  Yeah, the wife is awesome.

Anyone who is into 90’s music like I am knows Marcy Playground’s most popular song, “Sex and Candy.”  It’s a really strange title because the song isn’t about sex or candy.  The song isn’t really about anything.  It was the 90’s and anyone could write a song about anything.  Is “Glycerine” really about glycerine?  Who knows?  Just don’t let the days go by.  Anyway, what I didn’t realize about Marcy Playground is they have a lot of other good songs.  I know I had heard them before, but none of them were as catchy as “Sex and Candy.”  A lot of people might even say Marcy Playground was a one hit wonder, and according to the music charts, they’d be right.  But that’s why live music is so great.  I might have been waiting to hear that one song I remembered, but I discovered that I liked a lot of Marcy Playground songs.  So, I bought the vinyl at the show, it sounds terrific, and then I bought the CD from a used CD place in town, and I’ve been listening to them ever since.

I love live music.  It just makes me feel young; not that I’m old or anything.  It just gives the human side of me a shot in the arm.  Going to shows is different as a dad.  I still do it, but it’s a bigger production.  Before kids, I could find a show I wanted to see, make sure I didn’t have anything else going on that night, buy the ticket, and go.  Simple.  It was a carefree process.  Now, there’s a little more planning involved due to schedules and child care.  Plus, I have to consider what’s going on the next day because I know I’ll be out late and the kids won’t care that I was out late.  It’s just different.  But, once I walk in those doors to the show, it’s the same carefree experience.  It gives my human side a boost and my dad side a break.

(A quick side note…I just heard a faint whimper of “daddy” from down the hall.  My 3-year-old needed to go potty, so I had to help her out.  That happens frequently when I’m writing.  I tend to write later at night when everyone has gone to bed.  That way, I can avoid neglecting my family, I can concentrate, and hopefully not be interrupted.  But, it never fails that around midnight, Littles will need to go potty or need her blankets put back on.  I really don’t mind at all.  It’s actually an adorable moment, and it’s what this dad does.)

Speaking of being a dad, today was Father’s Day and it was a great day.  A couple of days before, the wife asked me if there was anything special I wanted to do.  I didn’t say it out loud, but the first thing that popped into my mind was “relax.”  We have had a lot of stuff going on lately.  The wife and I have both started exercising again, work has been busy, we had our house painted, and we’re going out of town soon, so I just wanted to relax.

On a normal day, the wife and I do a pretty good job of splitting the “family workload” 50/50.  On Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, the wife and I try to give the other a break and do more of the heavy lifting.  We didn’t really talk about doing that, it just sort of happened this year.  The wife did awesome.  I got to sleep in, my family gave me a great gift, the wife made me caramel rolls…

(Another side note.  The wife making me caramel rolls is something really special.  When we first started dating, she was living in Minneapolis and I was living in Reno, NV.  I went to a buddy’s wedding in Iowa so I flew into Minneapolis to see her before going to the wedding.  On the morning I was supposed to drive down to the wedding, she made me caramel rolls.  I’m a neat freak when it comes to cars and I was running a little late on my departure for the wedding, so I didn’t want drive while eating these gloriously sticky caramel rolls.  I should have just stayed and had some, but since I was concerned about being late to the wedding, I turned down the caramel rolls and hit the road.  Yes, I’m an idiot.  She ended up eating them with her roommates and probably questioning our relationship.  Looking back, I’m lucky she agreed to marry me.  We’ve been married almost 9 years and I can count the number of times she’s made those caramel rolls on like three fingers, plus, the story gets rehashed.)

Anyway, I got to sleep in, my family gave me a great gift, the wife made me caramel rolls, we went to church, I picked up a Marcy Playground CD I had ordered from the second-hand music store, and we came home.  Then, we had lunch, the wife put Tiny down for her nap while Littles and I played Nintendo, then the wife and Littles had some quiet time while I got to take a nap.  That’s the best gift ever.  I love a good Sunday afternoon nap.

When we woke up, the wife played with the kids and I made dinner.  The day before, the wife had asked me if I wanted to have anything special to eat for Father’s Day, and I told her I wanted breakfast for dinner and that I’d make it; so we had pancakes, eggs, and sausage.  I bet the wife thought it was kind of strange that I would make dinner on Father’s Day because it’s strange when I make dinner on any day.  For example, I’m usually in charge of dinner on Saturday nights, and a lot of times, that means we’ll be going out to eat.  Plus, I’m not good in the kitchen.  Breakfast is the only meal I can make well.

I know why I offered to make dinner on Father’s Day.  I knew the wife wanted to give me an “easy” day because it was Father’s Day.  She’d make meals, take care of the kids, give me a nap, etc.  In fact, there were a number of times today when I was doing things like changing diapers, or doing dishes, and she would say, “You shouldn’t be doing that, it’s Father’s Day.”  The reason I did those things and made dinner is I knew I didn’t have to.  She would have done them for me to show me that she appreciates me, but I already know that.  My family shows me they appreciate me every day and I just wanted to celebrate Father’s Day by being a father and spending time with my family.

I am grateful for everything the wife and my kids did for me today.  They gave me a totally relaxing day, just like I wanted; and I also got to be a dad and father.  It was an amazing Father’s Day.  Thank you, honey.