Happy Walspurgisnacht 2024

[Andybev01]

Boo!

6 months down and 6 months to go.

[Murfreesboro]

Indeed! Six months off from the big day! And, perhaps, an excuse to screen a horror flick or three.

[Andybev01]

Breaking in here, to wish everyone a Happy Star Wars Day!

[MauEvig]

May the Fourth be with you!

And tomorrow is "Revenge of the Fifth" and Cinco de mayo.

I don't really observe those holidays, but I respect why some people would.

Next month I consider to be "Sonic month" since Sonic first debuted in June back in 1991. June 23rd is Sonic day.

[Andybev01]

We're getting Temps in the 80s for the next week.

All of a sudden it feels nothing like autumn.

[Murfreesboro]

Well, after all, it is May.

We're a little cooler now (70s) because we had a storm front push through on Weds. In fact, school has been called off yesterday and today due to flooding and downed trees. We see no evidence of either in our neighborhood, but other parts of the county have been affected, and the busses can't run.

[Andybev01]

Yeah, I know.

Spring is enjoyable then the summer slog and finally, AUTUMN.

[Murfreesboro]

For the last few years I've been having nice summer vacations, but starting last year they seem to have been skewed toward June rather than late July/August, which I prefer. In early June I'll be spending a few days in Chicago, courtesy of my older son, who is giving me the trip as a belated Mother's Day gift. Then, at the end of June, my cousins and I are meeting in northeast KY, where we have significant ancestry. That means I won't have much to look forward to later in the season. However, my husband will be happy to have me home.

[TheHeadlessHorseman]

I'm always late to the party. Well, I hope that anyone that celebrated both holidays had fun.

I had ordered some Star Wars Easter eggs back in March for the kids, but they didn't show up until May 3rd, so it was good timing for the holiday. We dressed up as different characters than usual this year, and we went to a comic shop where they were celebrating, it was a fun day.

I didn't even know that there was a Sonic day, it's something I'll have to look into. I remember going to Blockbuster to rent the Sonic game the weekend it came out, we had read about it in Gamepro magazine and it was the hot new game that you had to try. Yeah, we actually used to read magazines, that's how we found out about new things before the internet.

[Murfreesboro]

Your girls have a fun dad.

[TheHeadlessHorseman]

Well, I'd like to think that I am.

The truth is that they keep me young, and they give me a reason to have fun. My mother told me the same thing about us when we were kids, and now she says that she stays young by being around her grandkids.

She also says that it's about your own personal point of view, if you feel old, then you're old, but if you feel young then you can still enjoy the fun things, at least that's the way she looks at it.

[Andybev01]

...or, you're a family of vampires...

[Murfreesboro]

Lol. Headless, I have felt exactly the same way. I felt much older before I had kids than afterward. One of my friends and I had first children at the same time. I was 34, and she was 34 or 35. When our kids were toddlers she remarked that her son made her feel.old because she felt so remote from his phase of life. I truthfully told her that for me, the opposite was true. That being around his youth and vitality made me feel more connected to all that than I had in years.

[TheHeadlessHorseman]

I admit that sometimes I go too far with my fun, and my wife has to reel me in. I think that having kids gives me the opportunity to enjoy the things that as a adult I probably wouldn't be interested in if I didn't have kids. For example, we often build Lego sets with our kids, and you would be surprised at just how much fun it is, and it doesn't matter if it's a Star Wars or girly Lego set, I still enjoy it because it's something we do together.

Before I had kids, I think I was 8 years old the last time I played with Lego, and while I had fun back then, I think that now I actually appreciate it more because I have a different perspective on it, and it's not only fun but it's also a good way to relieve stress. There are other things that I get to do now like play video games, collect things, and go to places and events that I don't think I would be doing, or at least enjoying, the same way if I didn't have kids, and while I always had fun celebrating holidays like Halloween and Christmas, I know that they are even more special to me now because I get to enjoy them with my kids.

I know that there are plenty of adults that can still do those things even though they don't have kids, and that's fine for them, but I think that having kids definitely enhances the experience.

[Murfreesboro]

Having kids gives you an excuse to indulge in activities you haven't thought about since you were a kid. My husband re-upped with Boy Scouts when our sons were young, and he had many camp outs with them. Otherwise I think I was the one who threw myself into the kid-friendly activities. I was always on the lookout for local festivals and holiday celebrations. I was also the one who took them swimming and signed them up for sports