I didn't write last week because I was too freaking busy, but I thought about writing, so that may or may not be enough. Probably not.
We had a really great time in Logan. Went to Zootah, the zoo in Logan. I still love that zoo. They have a yak. They also have a really pissed off reindeer. He's right next to the petting zoo, which is probably a safety concern. If you got to close to the fence he'd try to stab you with his antlers. Maybe move the homicidal reindeer to another area. Just a thought.
They have some sandhill cranes that followed Mirinda as she walked, which she thought was hilarious.
I had the worst Indian meal I've ever had in Logan as well. One of my rules for traveling is to check Trip Advisor. Search for restaurants in the area you're going to be in, and pick one of the top 5, and 99% of the time you'll discover some new amazing place. Because it was 4 years from the day we met Mirinda I thought lets go to an Indian place. There are two Indian places in Logan. One I've been too and it was OK, but the other one was more highly rated. When we drove up I realized the restaurant was connected to a convenience store. Should have been a red flag but it wasn't. Most Indian food you get here in Utah is going to be Americanized to some extent, but this food barely resembled Indian food. No taste, not good. Should have gone to the other place, or maybe just skipped Indian food in Logan. We did however find an amazing breakfast place. It's called Herm's Inn and the food was excellent. I had a corn beef benedict and absolutely loved it.
We went over the mountain to Bear Lake. Pretty much all the girls want to do is throw rocks in the water, so they were happy. It was a good time with those little weirdos. They make everything fun though. They get so excited about going on an adventure.
Mirinda has a new boyfriend. Blake. She was holding his hand as they walked into class. I wasn't happy about it. The problem is Mirinda doesn't like to tell me anything about her day. When I ask her what she's learned about at school she says A B C and when I ask her what else she learned she says 1, 2, 3. Now I make her tell me at least one thing that happened at school that day and she's gotten much better at it. Because of this I can't freak out too much about Blake or she won't tell me things anymore. So I asked her if he was nice and she said, "Yes. That's all I'm going to say". I'll have to be content with that, at least until the background check is done.
I'm turning 40 next week. I'm not happy about it. It's the Peter Pan syndrome I guess. It's why I'm in shorts and a tshirt every chance I get. I don't feel 40, so I guess that's good.
I took Mirinda to Costco the other day and we walked through the Christmas section. I've always been one that wanted to wait until December 1st to do anything Christmas, but not this year. I love Halloween, love Thanksgiving, and love Christmas and I'm all in. The Halloween decorations will go down after Halloween, and I'll probably put the Christmas lights up right after that. I'm waiting on Christmas music though because honestly, most of it isn't very good. I like the religious songs a lot. 'All I want for Christmas is You' though? Kill me. So I wait until December 1st for that.
As always thanks for reading. We've been on a bit of a lull on the podcast because Jim Bob is a world traveler now, but we'll get going again with some new episodes.
Friday, October 18, 2019
Friday, October 4, 2019
They Changed His Heart
This is a messed up world. There are a lot of strange and horrible things happening in it, but every once in a while there is a glimmer of hope. The McRib is coming back on Monday. I freaking love the McRib. I'm fully aware that it's meat shaped to look like ribs. I'm also fully aware that I do a podcast where I'm known as Snooty the food snob. It doesn't matter. The McRib is perfect, and I can hear no ill against it. I can't wait for Monday. I will be there with freaking bells on.
Tomorrow will be 4 years to the day that we met Mirinda. I can't believe it's been that long, and how much I love that kid. I had no idea what she was going to do to my life and I couldn't be happier about it.
I've been thinking about that day a lot. She was raised in a foster home. We went to the orphanage that had charge over the foster families. I needed to deposit some money to them, so I was working on that. The foster family was late, but finally they came in. Mirinda had on shorts and a hat and had her hands in her pocket. She looked up at on of the ladies and smiled, and I immediately fell in love with this kid. I was at the end of the hall and I looked to my right knowing that my dad was standing right there. He had died 6 months before we met her, but he was with me that day.
We went to lunch with the foster family. Mirinda was very happy and very cuddly. It was an absolutely perfect day. We spent some time with her, and made arrangements to take her for a while the next day. Here's the problem with perfect days: the next day is usually anything but perfect.
We took her for about 6 hours the next day. She fell asleep in the car ride to the hotel, so when she woke up she was in a very different place with two complete strangers. She started crying and didn't stop crying for 6 hours. Finally at one point she crouched down and held her legs because she was so distraught.
I never really questioned by desire to be a dad, but I did that day. I didn't have any idea how I could do this. I'd never experienced anything like that before. The next day we took custody of her, and she cried again. We flew from Mumbai to Delhi, and she was so upset being with us she wanted to sit with complete strangers on the plane. Keep in mind I don't blame her in any of this. I can't imagine being 2 years old and being taken away from the family you've known by two people that look completely different than what you're used to. My heart went out to the kid.
Things got better over the next week. She got used to things more, and even started to warm up to me very slightly. Then we came home, and she hated my guts. Every time I came home she would give me a dirty look. This might be very surprising to anyone who sees Mirinda and me now. She's my girl, but I had to learn how to be a dad. I had to learn to be patient and to be goofy with her, and get over my own reservations on how I should act. It was a process. A few years ago when I would come home she would want to go to her room to play, and I always said lets do something else. I said that simply because it bored me so much. I had to learn to make her a priority and to enjoy spending time with her regardless of how entertained I was. She is more important.
It's been an amazing 4 years with this kid, and I wouldn't trade her for anything in the world. Seeing her learn and grow is making me so happy and proud of her. Seeing how great she is with Priya brings me a lot of joy, and how much fun it is to be with the two of them.
I've been thinking about meeting her a lot lately. Mostly because of the anniversary of it, but also because it taught me it's ok to do hard things and struggle. The point is to overcome what is hard. Sometimes it means taking a hard look at ourselves and determining what needs to change, and then slowly and steadily changing those things. We become better people in that way. Just don't give up. When I look at the day after meeting her and today, I would tell myself then that it does get much, much better. Keep your chin up and keep moving. It will get better and it will be worth it.
Just don't give up.
Tomorrow will be 4 years to the day that we met Mirinda. I can't believe it's been that long, and how much I love that kid. I had no idea what she was going to do to my life and I couldn't be happier about it.
I've been thinking about that day a lot. She was raised in a foster home. We went to the orphanage that had charge over the foster families. I needed to deposit some money to them, so I was working on that. The foster family was late, but finally they came in. Mirinda had on shorts and a hat and had her hands in her pocket. She looked up at on of the ladies and smiled, and I immediately fell in love with this kid. I was at the end of the hall and I looked to my right knowing that my dad was standing right there. He had died 6 months before we met her, but he was with me that day.
We went to lunch with the foster family. Mirinda was very happy and very cuddly. It was an absolutely perfect day. We spent some time with her, and made arrangements to take her for a while the next day. Here's the problem with perfect days: the next day is usually anything but perfect.
We took her for about 6 hours the next day. She fell asleep in the car ride to the hotel, so when she woke up she was in a very different place with two complete strangers. She started crying and didn't stop crying for 6 hours. Finally at one point she crouched down and held her legs because she was so distraught.
I never really questioned by desire to be a dad, but I did that day. I didn't have any idea how I could do this. I'd never experienced anything like that before. The next day we took custody of her, and she cried again. We flew from Mumbai to Delhi, and she was so upset being with us she wanted to sit with complete strangers on the plane. Keep in mind I don't blame her in any of this. I can't imagine being 2 years old and being taken away from the family you've known by two people that look completely different than what you're used to. My heart went out to the kid.
Things got better over the next week. She got used to things more, and even started to warm up to me very slightly. Then we came home, and she hated my guts. Every time I came home she would give me a dirty look. This might be very surprising to anyone who sees Mirinda and me now. She's my girl, but I had to learn how to be a dad. I had to learn to be patient and to be goofy with her, and get over my own reservations on how I should act. It was a process. A few years ago when I would come home she would want to go to her room to play, and I always said lets do something else. I said that simply because it bored me so much. I had to learn to make her a priority and to enjoy spending time with her regardless of how entertained I was. She is more important.
It's been an amazing 4 years with this kid, and I wouldn't trade her for anything in the world. Seeing her learn and grow is making me so happy and proud of her. Seeing how great she is with Priya brings me a lot of joy, and how much fun it is to be with the two of them.
I've been thinking about meeting her a lot lately. Mostly because of the anniversary of it, but also because it taught me it's ok to do hard things and struggle. The point is to overcome what is hard. Sometimes it means taking a hard look at ourselves and determining what needs to change, and then slowly and steadily changing those things. We become better people in that way. Just don't give up. When I look at the day after meeting her and today, I would tell myself then that it does get much, much better. Keep your chin up and keep moving. It will get better and it will be worth it.
Just don't give up.
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