16 Feb WITHOUT FURTHER ADO!

This could also be titled – STOP TAKING MY TAPE MEASURE! Remember?  I mentioned this… my kids taking taking my tape measure, and stringing it up all over the yard like a giant perimeter.  Why??  I don’t know.  But I do know – telling them NOT to – hasn’t worked!  (this has been going on for years!)

Yeah, just more ravings of a Mad Dad.

And this is how i started my day… realizing the dog poop had to be scooped (my older son’s job) and then picking up bags of mulch off the lawn (my wife’s gardening project) then picking my tools up from everywhere in the backyard (my kid’s “mystery” building project).   And there it is… my tape measure… once again, stretched thru the shrubbery, trees, and my work tools to make a perimeter!!

At this point I realized, wait??!  this stuff has been here since the weekend!?  In the rain!!?  And its Thursday!  And you know what, i’m starting to get a little angry, cuz i’m actually supposed to be at my computer working – but i’m picking up my tools, and my tape measure, and 50 lb bags of mulch off the lawn, and everything leaves big yellow spots on the lawn AND… … egadz … take a deep breath.  Just the life of a dad.  So I took this pic.  Oddly enough, i wrote a poem about it long ago.  (*this didn’t make my latest cut, but I may put it thru the re-tool process.  No pun intended)

THE MEASURE OF A TAPE MEASURE

 We started measuring things

Small at first

Then bigger and bigger

Soon we discovered

The thrill of perimeters

The walls of a fort

The boundaries of a space station

Stretched to max length

Fifty feet of limitless fun

Woven through trees, bushes,

lawn furniture, and barbecue grill handles

The only thing it can’t measure

Is Dad’s patience

It seems to have stretched far beyond that

And see.  Now i’m calmer.  Venting via poetry.

On a happier note!  Things are looking up for the book.  Hopefully heading out to publishers (via agent!) in the next week or two!!

sd