BumbleDad

Yes, my beloved Red Sox won the World Series in just five games last night.

And yes, I was so amped up afterward that I didn’t go to bed until around 2am, after I’d watched the post-game celebration about 9 times.

And yes, I did wake Daphne up with my barbaric yawps after Chris Sale struck out Machado to end the game.

With so much weighing on me right now, a Red Sox World Series was a welcome respite from my day-to-day worries, even for just a little while.

Speaking of the day-to-day, Daphne and I went out for a walk around our neighborhood this weekend, and I got a few pictures of her in the flowers.

Good times.

Afterward, we were both a bit worn out…

We also broke the seal on the Halloween candy this Sunday, and so we have a bucket o’ goodness just sitting on the counter.

I am slightly ashamed to admit that this cauldron of calories called to me like a chocolatey siren after the Sox won last night.
And I went to it.
A few times.
(Which might also be why I was up half the night.)

Okay I’m off. Talk to you all soon.

j.s.

Yeah. The crud that’s been going around has crash landed on our house. I came down with it last week (shortly after I wrote that post, actually) and Jen is suffering through it right now.

So far, Daphne has somehow managed to avoid contracting it from us. Hopefully that continues to be the case.

Unfortunately, it did cause us to miss out on a familial baby shower last weekend, which was a disappointment.

 I started feeling better on Tuesday, though, and things are going along like they do.

Daphne’s school pictures came back this week.

I realize I’m a bit of a geek about these things, but with that white halo around her head and the very intense look she’s giving the camera, she’s kinda got an Edgar Cayce thing going on. 

But hey. First school pics. Still adorable.

And speaking of school, she’s still doing very well. There are very few “-” marks on her daily report cards, and she seems happy every day when I pick her up.

That said, mornings are still a bit admittedly rough some days…

But despite her aversion to the a.m. (or perhaps mine) we’re getting through it just fine.

We also did our annual trip to the Katy Rice Harvest Festival, a little while back and dropped by our favorite pumpkin patch while we were there.

A very far cry from this one, taken just 2 years ago…

Yeesh.

And finally, a BumbleDad post would be incomplete these days without a swim class video or two…

She’s really doing awesome there.

Okay, I think all this tapping might be threatening to wake her up from her nap…

[whispers] See you soon.

j.s.

I will, more than likely, have another post later this week. However I didn’t want today to go by without sending a huge shout out to the wonderful people taking part in Hope for Three’s “Golf ‘Fore’ Autism” tournament at Sweetwater Country Club today.

Hope for Three are the fine people who first alerted us to the scholarship opportunity (provided by KNOWAutism) that Daphne received for her swim classes.

Today is their biggest fundraiser of the year, and I’m thrilled to say that Daphne has not one but TWO teams playing on her behalf, both of which are filled with grandparents, granduncles, grandneighbors, and generally grand people. Not to mention a grandma (who doesn’t golf) who’s doing volunteer work for the tournament.

The weather has become a bit unpredictable, as the first cool front of the season came through this morning. (Yesssss…) But hopefully the rain holds off so everyone can enjoy a fine, if overcast, fall afternoon in the park.

Most importantly, Jen and I wanted all of you to know how much it means to us that you’re doing this. It’s a huge help, and a reassurance, that so many of you are in Daphne’s corner, pulling for her.  You’ll never know how thankful we are for all of you, and for everything that you do for our little girl.

So thank you. All of you.

j.s.

This should come as a shock to none of you at this point, but I’m not exactly a “color inside the lines” kinda guy. 

I’m eccentric. And that’s likely putting it mildly.

But hopefully these idiosyncrasies are part of what make me a decent daddy… Or, failing that, at least an entertaining one.

Take, for example, my time spent as a nightclub DJ. (Yes, really.)  While late nights spinning Underworld, Chemical Brothers, and Roni Size did a number on my hearing, it also made me very comfortable paying attention to two separate sources of sound, entering two different ears.

Or perhaps consider the many years I spent as a Dungeon Master for my friends, back when we played D&D. While I’ll grant you that’s unassailably geeky, it did work my chops as a storyteller, and forced me to come up with a wide range of distinct voices for my characters. Both of these practices have translated pretty well into the hours and hours (and hours) of reading that I’ve done with Daphne.

Like, for example, this BumbleDad rendition of Eek, Halloween! by Sandra Boynton.

(Yes, the fall books have officially moved into rotation.)

Now I’m not saying I’m Superdad (hell, I don’t think I rank as a competent one most days), but every so often the weird things I’ve done in my past bubble up. And they become peccadillos that make my daughter furrow her brow at me and giggle.

And when that happens, just for a moment, the world lines up and it feels like the parts of my life gone by are still somehow relevant today. Like, the things in my past that make me, me, are things that my daughter happens to like too.

I don’t know if I’m doing a very good job describing this. But I truly hope you other parents out there know what this feels like.

Because it’s pretty awesome.

Okay, enough of this nebulous sentimental stuff. I promised you some new swimming videos of Daphne in the big pool, didn’t I?

And there you go. 

Okay folks, see you next week! Thanks for coming by.

j.s.