Observations

I'm an observer.

I enjoy observing how events unfold...how people react. I'm very aware of my surroundings. This includes taking a step back and observing myself.

As I rang in the new year last night with Sara and the kids, in the midst of the activity, I observered myself observing others.

I observed Amber with her pink sweatsuit on, crocs, and a pink stocking cap. She didn't care how she looked. She was comfortable. And she danced around the house with reckless abandon to prove it to us. She is full of spirit.

I observed Andrew, playing it cool, just chillin' on the couch, wearing his hoodie, watching New Year's Eve countdown specials with us, enjoying the music and watching the freaks in the crowds. His excitement, albeit cool excitement, when I began making our traditional white pizza, was electric. I invited him to help me make them and Amber insisted on joining in the cooking festivities, too. I think Sara felt a little left out because she kept finding a reason to sneak in our tiny kitchen space to do something. Move a dish, grab a utensil, supervise my processes. I'm glad she did. I nearly used garlic salt instead of garlic powder!

Both kids enjoy the "kids wine" we toast with at 11P. It's sparkling grape juice but we drink it out of wine glasses. (We know how to kick it, don't we?) We all stay up watching the music and parties from New York and Las Vegas. I think we're all on the same page in feeling that the company of each other, white pizza, a fire in the fireplace, kids wine, and a happy dog busy picking up crumbs from the snacks we drop is preferable to a crowd full of 10,000 strangers in a city street counting out loud from ten to zero.

Those people don't get to run out in the driveway and light fireworks at the stroke of midnight (after we've toasted each other and Sara & I have kissed) while the neighbors all stand on their porches and watch. It's a festive moment, and it's ours.

One of my observations is that, at this time, my life is FULL of family activities. Both kids still depend on us to get them to their social events, their ballgames, etc. This new decade will bring HUGE changes to our family.

In the next ten years, Andrew will learn to drive, register with selective service, play in several exciting games with his school sports teams, maybe win a championship, take the ACT, take the SAT, graduate high school, go to college, and complete his undergrad studies. He will probably have a girlfriend and suffer his first broken heart.

Amber will become a teenager, learn to drive, possibly play in a state championship, take her ACT and SAT, most likely have a boyfriend and be finishing high school. Hopefully, she's the one breaking the hearts!

Those upcoming events are DAUNTING! And right now, I'm a pretty important part of their lives. As we move through the decade, my role will change. Their independence will give me a bit more freedom but hopefully my role as dad will not diminish in the slightest.

Today, my being a good dad doesn't allow me the freedom to enjoy time with my friends as much as I'd like, but I hope they understand the importance of wearing the "DAD" hat and the enormous responsibility that exists to not fail my kids. Even if that responsibility is to just sit by a fire and ring in the new year from our basement...as a family.

Happy New Year.