On travelling the Wars, the MEU and Step-Parent learning curves!
Damn, I hate missing Pennsic! And this is the second year in a row! I’d hate missing GW even more but that’s neither here nor there. If a deal I’m working on right now gets up and running, I’ll be flush enough to do that again, towing my new mini-me vardo behind but traveling light so I can pack it with 20-30 cases of Buffalo Rock Ginger Ale I’ll get in Tuscaloosa on the way back!
Its some weird stuff, but it is spicy ginger ale I learned to love while I was dating a Lady in Montgomery, Alabama. Usual story, established lives and careers, too entrenched to move and start over….yadda, yada, yadda! But I became addicted to this stuff, as did my stepson, Logan, when I introduced him to it a couple years afterwards. In a white bread, starch loving household we both like wheatbread, fruit and light meals, though we both have strong carnivoristic tendencies, especially with our mutual love of grilling and spicy food!
His Mom probably wouldn’t be able to get off work for GW but if he were still doing online school, ECOT, I’d see if she would let me take him down in March! Also, a built in chaperone for me, though I’m not that type (too traditional and lazy), others in her past have behaved otherwise. I’ve been thinking about making the kids Viking A-frames anyway……hmmmmmm.
Good roadtrip for a 14 year old too. His first road trip as a man-in-training and the MEU (Midrealm Expeditionary Unit) is an excellent experience for any young man his age to be immersed in. Lots of Alpha males and females in that pack, and that is never a bad thing to experience, IMHO. I grew up in a family with all Alphas, whereas he has grown up in a completely mixed bag where the male figures changed fairly frequently, until the last 40 months when I showed up.
I’m a teambuilder though, so I’m strengthening each individuals current weak points and re-directing strong points towards productive outlets. But mostly, I’m training them to work as a team so later in life they can be highly effective working WITHIN a team, even with people they may despise as human beings. Plus, knowing how to be an effective leader when called upon is also a skill that can be very, very valuable in many circumstances, if you’re able to pull that rabbit out of the hat!!!. Needless to say, its significantly different than the corporate setting I learned this in, so I’m deep in the learning curve with them.
My recent experience with the oldest step-daughter has proven just how much farther I need to improve in this setting, though I also suspect that we are both edging cautiously towards a breakthrough and improvement individually. Too early to tell but regardless, I’ve used this experience to demonstrate to the younger ones that while families may disagree and mix it up periodically, the respect and love you have for your clan members gets stretched but doesn’t need to go away! My family is very tight and we argued, debated, challenged each others beliefs, forced each other to update our viewpoints and even physically fought (my brothers and I), but we habe been trained to clump and fight outsiders as a team, under threat of dire consequences at home for failure to do so!
Anyway, ramble over…..