In our house, being a part of the “Tricker Buddies” is a big deal. It’s the most prestigious organization to be a part of in our house. There are a few others, but this one is the one everyone strives to be a member of. Stevie sort of runs the club and is in charge of admitting new members. Currently, it’s just her, me and Titus. Neela still has “pledge” status. Gaining membership to the Buddies is similar to the “Finer Things Club”. If you don’t know this reference, you are missing out on my favorite shows of all time.
Neela's Animal Rescue Club is my safety.
Speaking of the “The Office”, let’s get down to what the Tricker Buddies is all about… PRANKS! Ever since I was little, I loved playing pranks on people. One of my earliest memories of pranking is that I remember that right before we left lunch in school (probably 1st grade); I shoved all of the rest of the food (sandwich, chips, and fruit snacks) and chocolate milk in my mouth. Right after lunch, we all went to the bathroom and then out to recess. So I spend about 15 minutes swishing all of that food and milk in my mouth. When we got out to recess, I remember sitting by the swings and continuing to churn this food in my mouth until I got a nice chunky texture. Then I ran in front of my teacher and pretended to puke up all of that stuff right in front of her. Hahaha. I remember just laughing and running away. She just stared at me and didn’t ever say a word. Secretly, I think she thought it was hilarious and was trying not to laugh.
So naturally, it got kind of passed down to my kids. Stevie is normally so sweet and serene; however, I can pretty much guarantee, that if you give each of my kids a dollar and let them pick out a cheap little toy, she will be the one that picks out a squirting flower or whoopee cushion. She’s always up for a prank.
The classic “snake in the cinnamon rolls” for our guests :D
Her favorite and most classic pranks is probably setting out fake cockroaches. Stevie loves setting them out on the counter, putting them on people’s food, or placing them on sleeping people. We always kind of encouraged her little harmless pranks. I mean, I teach her when to let off or who is “cool” with pranks. Some people just don’t like it. But she ALWAYS loves it.
The fake roaches she likes to use
One of Stevie's other favorite pranks is borrow someone's phone, to take a screenshot of the home-screen, put that picture up to view, and hand the phone back to them. She thinks it's hilarious to watch them click the picture of the home-screen waiting for apps to open up. She actually thought of that one herself. ;) Proud dad moment.
Titus would legit spend every penny he owns on prank/magic toys. Anything from a piece of shocking chewing gum to whoopie cushions, that kids freaking loves to get people. I have to say that I've been pretty impressed by the amount of work, he will put into pulling a prank. Two years ago in school I had a parent teacher conference with his teacher. He was just learning to write. She was and is amazing; Titus and I both adored her. Anyways during the conference, the teacher showed me an assignment Titus had submitted. The project was for them to write what they did over spring break. This was what Titus turned in...
"I went on the potty. I poop."
As she slid it across the table, I of course had to fight back the urge to guffaw. I look over at him and he's has his head down on the table dying laughing. So biting my lips trying to be super serious, look at him and tell him that this isn't an appropriate thing to submit at school. So after wrapping up the meeting and walking to car, I look at him and ask why he turned that it. He looks at me confused and said, "Uhhhh... because it was hilarious. I totally got my teacher." That's one thing about growing up with a single dad. Poop jokes are always hilarious and a part of life.
On April Fool's Day 2018, this was Titus's prank. I thought it was ingeniously frustrating. hahaha
Or this one he pulled last Christmas season...
Speaking of Christmas, something about the holidays really brings out the pranksters in the Megows. I used to love to prank my Mimi’s Christmas party. I haven’t done it lately because most of my family moved away, and also I don’t really have a current adult partner in crime. But back to Mimi’s Christmas, I think we pranked her Christmas three years in a row. One year, I switched out her popular banana pudding for an identical one I made the night before but substituted salt for sugar. I remember sneaking into her house so I could match the container and topping perfectly. Holy crap, it was disgusting and hilarious. The year after that I remember that during the middle of opening presents, I sneakily turned off all the lights to make it pitch black dark, blasted Carol of the bells by the Trans-Siberian string orchestra, flipped on a big black light, and took of my shirt to reveal that I drew a giant Christmas tree all over my body. I kind of just danced around the room as a blacklight Christmas tree while my family just sat confused and wondering why I was so weird.
Before the blacklight kicked in...
And after :D hahaha.
This junk was so funny to me
But my favorite prank that got pulled at Mimi’s Christmas was when we switched all the gifts. I remember sneaking over in the middle of the night and “borrowing” the same rolls of wrapping paper she used to wrap her gifts and sneaking it back to our room. We stayed up the night before wrapping up random and pretty awkward gifts. Anyways, before the Christmas party started, I hid the real presents for my fake ones. At Mimi’s Christmas, the gift opening is a big deal, so everyone all sits around Mimi and opens the presents she got them. I can’t find the pictures (ughh, they are hilarious), but I remember giving my dad a purse from Mimi, giving my cousins shoulder pad sweaters and canned vegetables, and my favorite my mom opened up some kind of sexy flavored lotion (from her mom). I freaking died. The reason it was really funny is that some years at Christmas she can’t get out shopping and buying the gifts, so she gives her home assistants money and haves them buy the presents. Everyone just kind of believed these were their actual gifts from Mimi and so did she. HAHAHAHA. When my dad opened that purse, I think that’s the hardest I have ever seen him laugh in my life. When everyone figured out it was just a joke, I just blamed my sister. Of course, everyone knew it was me, but I enjoyed poking fun at Claren (my sister) being the mastermind behind it. Love you Claren :D (Side note, my sister is getting married!! So a big congratulations on the soon to be Ben and Claren Stickley)
You can bet your butt that I'm switching out some wedding gifts ;)
Probably one of my favorite pranks is to swipe people’s phones, switch my contact name in their phone, and delete our past text messages. That way you can text them and you can choose who you want to be in their phone. So when you text them, you come up as someone else. I remember doing this one year on Thanksgiving morning to my mom. She had a friend that recently moved to another state so I snuck her phone, changed my contact name to be her friends name, deleted our olds texts, and sneakily placed the phone back. After a few minutes, I sat in the next room over and started having some fun. (Now remember, my mom is pretty much a gourmet chef. She takes her cooking and events VERY seriously. So a small change of plans can kind of derail the event in her mind.) Considering that I just couldn’t resist. Hahaha. It seems I’m apologizing a lot to my female family members. Love you too Mom!! You’re the best! :D Thanks for putting up with my dumb crap all these years. Anyways, here’s kind of how the text conversation went:
Remember I was pretending to be her friend from out of town and this was about 11am before a 2pm Thanksgiving lunch. If you have ever met my mom, you will really be able to find the humor in this ;)
Me: Hey Denise
Mom: Hey
Me: What are you doing?
Mom: Just cooking thanksgiving lunch for about 14 people. Pretty busy.
Me: Oh really. Ok I will let you go.
About 15 minutes later
Me: Hey Denise, would it possible if I came to your Thanksgiving lunch? I don’t have anywhere to go.
Mom: Ummm… I guess so. I think I will have enough food for one more person.
Me: Great! However, my car is broken. Can Tom (my dad) come and pick me up? (She lived about 3 hours away)
Awkward pause in texting. My mom is yelling to my dad “You’ll never believe what _____ is texting me right now!” and I’m just dying laughing in the next room over.
Mom: I don’t think that’s an option. We just don’t have the time to drive that far. Feel free to come next year though. Ok. Really busy cooking. Got to go.
Me: Ok. I understand. Talk to you later. Hope you guys have a great thanksgiving.
I wait another 15 minutes until things really start to get busy in the kitchen
Me: Hey Denise
My mom loses it
Mom: Yes?
Me: Good news. I found a ride. Could you feed more than just me if someone brings me?
Mom: I suppose… I’m really busy cooking.
Me: Great. I called the women’s group from my church and they all agreed it would be fun to take a trip up in the church van and eat with your family.
Mom: What? How many people?!!
Me: I think there are 10 of us.
Mom: Ok. This isn’t going to work! I don’t have enough food for that many people NOR places for them to sit!
Me: Ok.
Waits another 10 minutes
Me: Hey Denise
Mom: No Response
Me: We decided that we will still just make the trip up and just share one big plate and just eat it in the van parked in your yard.
Now, my favorite part of this prank is normally people get so frustrated they usually just end up calling this person who keeps texting them this crazy stuff. The sweet thing about smart phones is that they can do that straight from the text messages screen. So they just click “call” and it dials your number! :D hahaha.
So I hear my dad coming in trying to calm her down, and he suggests she just call her and call the whole thing off. She when I hear this, I walk into the kitchen and when she calls my phone rings and I answer it by saying “This is ______” in front of her. HAHAHA. She didn’t immediately find the humor in this prank. But I’m pretty sure, she thinks it’s a classic thanksgiving memory ;)
Divorce/Separation is the worst. Not being able to be around your
kids all of the time is heart wrenchingly painful. However, in this post, I’m
not going to (try to not) focus as much on
the negatives of single parenting, but highlight the parts of being a single
dad that I love. However, remember that my kids are with my 24/7 so my
situation is a bit different than others.
______________________________________
I feel so extremely blessed with my life. I get to be around
my kids all of the time. People are constantly asking me if I need a break or
would I enjoy having them away from me on the weekends. I guess that would be
nice on occasion, like 2 nights a month. But in all honesty, I freaking love
being around my kids. It’s why I love being a single dad. I get to be with them
all the time. Let me break down why I love it.
"It's gonna be a great post, today!"
First off, This may sounds strange upon first reading but I'm ultra grateful that I'm a single dad and not a single mom because*soapbox
alert* I talk about this a lot, but single dads seriously do have it WAY easier than single moms. Is that fair or
right? Absolutely not. It’s simply the world we live in. I couldn’t imagine
being a single mom in this day and age. For me as a full time single dad, I
feel like people view me and the kids as a fun commodity to look at or observe. Hahaha. While unfortunately full time single moms
are just accepted in our culture as a “normal thing”. For example, when I show
up somewhere and my kids are looking semi-feral and in mismatched clothes, I
can feel other parents go “Awe… look he’s trying his best. Those kids are so cute. Look at their little mismatched clothes” I’m not in this for
sympathy, I’m just trying my best. However, I feel like if a single mom showed
up to the exact same event with kids looking the exact same manner, some people
might think “Look at those kids. She really needs to take better care of them.”
It’s the exact situation, I just feel as a parent (especially of younger
children), women are held to such an insanely high standard in our society. So
all this being said, single moms are my freaking heroes. Both single dads and single moms are just trying their best, but moms just have so much more parenting pressure. They are still
responsible for balancing money, cleaning, etc. (just like single dads), but
when it comes to pressures to have perfectly groomed, dressed well-behaved, polite,
and involved children, they get judged so much more harshly than men. So in
response to this. Single moms are doing both roles (mom and dad) just like
single dads. Pouring into both roles can be exhausting. I mean freaking Geez-Louise, our society is going to have to cut them some slack somewhere. *end of soapbox*
Next, being a dad is fun. It’s not just blanket forts and
burping contests with the kids, but if a dad is doing it right, those are both
important elements of successful fathering ;) hahaha.
Seriously, having the kids with me is the funnest thing ever. I get to learn so much about them. All their individual little quirks, strengths, desires, annoyances, everything!! It's like being fully submersed in their lives and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I mean seriously is it possible to find a group of cooler kids than these!!!
This was on a day they came to work with me. For important it was a "dress yourself" day :D
Being a dad also comes with big responsibilities. Generally,
in a co-parent home, I believe these tend to come from two places: 1) Listening
to mom about where the kids are emotionally, physically, etc. Moms are just
generally so much more empathetic and involved day to day (again, especially
with young kids). They are the experts in my opinion, no doubt. Basically, trusting
her enough as far as parenting to know what’s best. 2) Decisions of more of a big picture type.
Not that I think women are and should be any less involved in decision making
at all, I just mean I think a man should protect, guide, and most take responsibility
for his family. So that means the buck stops with him. So mostly, it’s just a responsibility
thing. Ok. I kind of got off track. My point is that being a single dad means I
need to encompass both of these roles. Kids need firm boundaries but also room
to explore. A sense of whimsy and wonder but also a steady and reliable parent.
Kids need fun and unexpected nonsense, but also routines and schedules. Since
it’s just me doing all of this, it was crazy uncomfortable and awkward at
first. I felt like a piece of hard clay being squeezed through a playdoh spaghetti
maker. No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t fit the mold of both me and Crissy
combined. In my head, I needed to be this for my kids. By our late twenties, we
are generally pretty set in who we are and why we do the things we do.
Thankfully, my life took a crazy, turn by giving me a few horrific years and
dumping a crazy amount of responsibility solely in my lap. However, I soon
learned what a blessing I was given. I didn’t need to be “Seth and Crissy” to
my kids. I just needed to be “Seth” and the best version of me ever. God
radically altered my life. My personality changed, my empathy level increased,
my positivity went up, my stress level went down, my general outlook on life
improved. It’s all because I was given the job title of “Single Dad”. That’s my
second reason I love it so much, it formed me into the person I’ve always wanted
to be, but was too stubborn and set in my ways to let that happen. Being in a
single father position I was forced to let God stretch and kneed me, so I could be pliable
and fit whatever mold I needed to be in, whatever the stage of life I might
find myself.
Finally, I know this sounds selfish, but I love the freedom
it provides. If my kids want to wear something weird to school or bring a (rescued
from the highway) turtle to the store in a cardboard box while we shop, well… I
love being able to say “yes” without having to run it by another adult.
"People are going to LOVE this turtle."
Since I’m around them all the time, I can kind of encourage
whatever special traits I see in them. It’s no debating on whether Stevie
should take dance classes or art lessons. I just make my choice, and we do it.
Mostly, I can raise them as weird as I want. I love weirdness. I absolutely adore it. Normalcy is so boring to
me. I love having free reign over the amount of weirdness allowed in my house.
I know kids have to learn to function in society, but they are kids only once.
If they want to go play with ketchup in the tub, well I don’t really care. Pretty
much, I encourage any kind of strange idea they have. They want to invent slime
to help their hair grow faster? Sure. They want to eat a cricket? Sure. Want dad to act super fun at someone's house and let people paint his face? Sure.
Instead
of limiting and banning specific activities/things, my kids just know a few basic rules: 1) Be kind 2) Don’t hurt yourself or anyone
else 3) Don’t make too big of a mess 4) Clean up after said mess 5) Eat
vegetables every day 6) Respect yours and other people’s bodies and feelings 7)
If you barf, do it anywhere but the carpet or bed. That’s pretty much it. If what you want to do, meets those criteria, go for it! For instance, at Stevie’s
8th birthday party, it was raining so instead of cancelling the piñata.
I had the idea for an indoor piñata. Based on the faces of every mom in
attendance, I’m sure if I were married, I would have gotten the “don’t even
think about it” look. Fortunately for me and the kids, I’m not, so I can do things my
way. So you can bet your butt we had an indoor piñata, and that junk was hysterical and fun.
To quote a mom that was in attendance:
"It was risky to fairly safe"
Hahaha!!
I mean in reality, it’s ultra tough at times. Another
helping hand and encourager would be nice, but I’m just so in love with my life
currently that God is going to have to knock me on my butt with a woman that I
feel just clicks. Right now though, I can’t think of a single thing better than
taking my kids to the park, just them and me. Receiving 100% of their corny
jokes, hilarious stories, heart talks, and hugs. It just can’t be beat.
I wanted to end this post with one of my favorite little “Megowisms”,
but I couldn’t decide between two. That means I will just post them both.
Aaaahhhhh… personal freedom. :D
I think I take it for granted that people just kind of know
all about the kids and my life now. I mean, I kinda just type whatever the heck
is on my brain for the world to read… you’re welcome world. Hahaha. I just kinda figure everyone pretty knows all about us. But then I
started thinking, I don’t think I’ve ever really dove into my married life. It
was about an entire third of my existence, but I just don’t mention it much
here. I’ve talked a little here and there, but nothing major. I have talked
about divorce a few times. Mostly, I think that’s because I’m worried my family
and friends will think I’m still heartbroken over Crissy. I’m not. Or still in
love with her. Again, I’m not. Or hoping that we will ever get back together in
the future. Again, again. I’m not. However, I would like to talk about my life
and story about us getting while we were together. Not because I miss it or
anything. The way I like to describe how I feel about my marriage now like a can of diet soda.
At first sip and while you’re drinking it, the taste is refreshing and nice; however,
the aftertaste is just disgusting. (Sorry diet soda fans). I mean, it was nice
but after experiencing that aftertaste I don’t want another sip. I think it's easy for me to disassociate with my memories of that relationship, because the aftertaste (bad years) was just so gross. However most of those years (which were mostly awesome) played a significant part of my story.
Not only during the marriage, but after as well. Most of my adult life was
spend with Crissy by my side but I don’t believe many of you know about those
years. So I think it’s time to bite the bullet and just start from the
beginning. Hopefully as I go along you’ll kind of see my intentions of this
post. My goal is for this to be kind of like an Origin Story of the person I am
today. J Also,
I figured I might as well type this up because I’m starting to forget more and
more of this part of my life (not complaining), and one day the kids might ask
about me and their mom together, so I can refer to this post as a refresher. I will try to keep it as short as possible,
but it might be lengthy. Just FYI.
Crissy and I met a few times before we actually really “met”.
We went to high school together. She was a pretty, popular girl. After high
school, she started working at Applebee’s where I was already working. So I
trained her. We got along well at work, but that was really about it. Finally,
one day one of our mutual friends wanted to throw a surprise party for his
girlfriend (who was also a mutual friend). So pretty much, he was just “I’m
going to distract her today. You two just plan a party by tonight and I will
bring her over to be surprised.” Hahaha. So there we were, just two new friends
driving around town in my first car.
Anyways after that day we just started hanging out the time.
Just friends that eventually evolved into best friends. We are pretty much inseparable.
Neither of us had romantic feelings, just best buddies. Well, that kind of
changed a few months later, when we took “The Road Trip”. Those few days were
some of the craziest in my life. Seriously, I need to post about it soon. I
think everyone would really enjoy it. But until then, I’ll give an ultra-brief
summary. Our friends, Reed and April, Crissy, and I went on a road trip to the
beach one summer. We all just kinda piled in the bus and went. On that trip, it
kinda of just hit me. I was in love with her. It was a super strange and nerve
wracking feeling. I didn’t say anything on the trip or for a while after.
Finally, one day I just told her. She said she didn’t feel the same. I remember
lying in bed that night being so heartbroken. Getting your heart crushed at 18
was no fun. L
So the next morning, I drove out to her parents’ house to talk to her. She
really didn’t want to hear what I had to say on the matter, but I was persistent.
I laid it flat out on the table. “Crissy, what chance do I have of us ever
getting together?” Her response, “I promise you that you have absolutely zero
chance ever. That’s not going to happen.” I appreciated her honesty. I knew it
was tough for her too. No one likes to lose a best friend. So I slowly trudged
to my bus, got in, cried, and drove home. We kinda of quit talking or seeing
each other after that. It was literally us hanging out together 24/7 for months
and months to zero communication. It was hard on me, but I got through it.
A few months pass…
I was at work and my manager came and told me I had a phone
call. (This is back in day before everyone had cell phones. Don’t you miss
those days? :D ) It was Crissy. I was stunned. She asked if I wanted to come over
after work. Of course, I said yes! So I went over there and she explained how
no one treated the way I did and she missed me. I was happy. Suddenly, we were
back on track spending all of our time together. Then one night while we were
helping a friend move (Crissy showed up in overalls, a trucker hat, and a
painted on beard to look like a “mover” hahaha), she kissed me. I’ll be
completely honest. I was stunned. She kept kissing me, and I think my brain and
body must have not been able to handle it, because I immediately went to the
bathroom and puked! HAHAHAHA. I felt sick the entire next day. It was just a
super intense rush of feelings and emotions. She kinda just hung out with me on
my parents couch. We both laughed about how I got so excited from kissing her
that I puked and had to just lay down for a day and soak all of this in.
So later that afternoon, we went back to our friends new house
to help her unpack and move her stuff into her new place. It was very late
before we finished. I remember the date. It was July 2, 2004. It was about 2am,
and our friend moved by VSU so we decided to just go for a walk around campus.
I could tell we both just “knew”. So during the walk I leaned down, picked a
wild flower, and asked her to marry me. She said “Yes. Of course.” And that was
that. J
We suddenly tried to think of how to explain this to our
parents. She was 19; I was 18. How were we supposed to tell them that we were
engaged?!? Also, I still needed to officially ask her dad’s permission. So we
came up with this secret plan… We told both of our parents we were just dating,
so they wouldn’t think we were crazy. Then after a few months, I asked her dad
to marry her. He said “Nope.” HAHAHA. I remember sitting there in side by side
arm chairs for about an hour trying to convince him to let me marry her. I
literally drew little charts explaining how Crissy’s GPA and work performance
had improved with us “dating”. Finally, he looked at me super serious and said “Fine,
but she’d better not be holding a baby until after she’s walked across that
college graduation stage.”
Yay!! I was delighted. This was October 2004. We immediately
started planning this wedding. I rented an apartment to have a place for us to
rent. That place was a literal dump, but it was all I could afford. It had six
foot ceilings, and I’m 6’2. It was pretty much just a tiny, TINY one bedroom
apartment. However, it was ultra-cheap and right across the street from the
college. This was awesome because we were both in school full time. The day I
moved out, my dad took me to the side and made me promise him one thing. He
said, “Promise me, that you will both never sleep in that apartment, until you
two are married.” I agreed and so thankful for that advice. My dad is such a
wise man. However, we were taking all of our classes together and working all
of our jobs together. So driving her 25 miles home every night in my bus (that
had a top speed of about 40 mph) was just getting kind of old. We both decided
we needed to bump the wedding day up. We sat down with her parents and said “Ok.
We are moving the wedding date.” Her mom’s response, “THANK GOD!! You two need
to be engaged for at least a year.” We both kinda looked at each other and
laughingly cringed, replying “No, we are bumping it UP. We are getting married
in January 2005.” Hahahaha.
So January came. We were both so excited for the big day.
Our wedding was super fun and original I like to believe. It was a 1960’s theme
wedding. On the invitations, we encouraged people to dress up if they wanted
to. In the foyer of the church, we had face painting, hair wraps, love beads,
and a station to leave your shoes so people could go barefoot into the wedding
ceremony if they wanted. Crissy and I did everything pretty much from scratch.
We tie-dyed sheets to hang in the church. Our friend helped us make the flower
arrangements. It was just a fun event. Our friends dressed as pirates and were
the door greeters. The ring bearers were some of our friends dressed in full
costume as Scooby Doo and the Pink Power Ranger. That was just a really fun
day. J
There we were two 19 year old married kids taking all of our
college classes and working all of our jobs together (We typically kept about
2-3 jobs while in school to avoid loans and be financially independent.) We
spend our free time volunteering around town together. It was some of the best years of my life. Crissy
and I were inseparable. Most of our friends called us “Criss and Sethy”. Those
super broke younger married days are the ones I always think of first. We were
just living on love, and man we were in love.
Finally, when we were college seniors Crissy accidentally
ended up pregnant; however, I did keep my promise to her dad. She did not walk
across that stage holding a baby. She just walked across it 8 months pregnant.
Hahahaha!! I was so excited to become a “daddy”. I always wanted to have kids.
In March 2008, we welcomed our little Stevie Joy into the world. We kept her a
surprise, but I was convinced she was a boy that we were going to name “Titus”.
Crissy got a full time job working for Babies Can’t Wait. We built a house. I
decided to go back for my masters. It was a time of big changes, but Crissy and
I were tighter than ever. I remember once, I went out of town for a few days,
and she called me every day of that trip crying. Not because she was stressed
about having a baby by herself, but because she just wanted me to be there with
them.
You can identify the child by my glasses frames :)
Months pass. We sell our house, and I graduate with my
Masters. Soon we find out that Stevie is going to have a little sister. So in
July of 2009, Neela Grace was brought into the world. I start looking for a job
as a K-12 Library Media Specialist, but couldn’t find any for a long time. I remember
becoming pretty depressed during this time. I just remember a thinking that a
man needed to provide. The best I
could get was a part time job at a local private school. The pay was hardly
anything, but at least it was some actual experience. My spirits were really
low. One specific thing that always comes to mind during this time frame was
Crissy coming to sit in my lap, picking up my head, looking me dead in the eyes
and saying “Seth. I love you more than you understand. I’m proud of you. Don’t
stress over this job. Let’s just love each other, love people, and love Jesus.”
It was such a tender moment that I felt truly so blessed to have her in my
life.
Eventually, I get a job at Wiregrass GA Technical College
(formerly Valdosta Technical College). The pay was minimal, but at the time I
WANTED that job. I would have a REAL job. They called me into do three
different interviews. I didn’t hear anything for a while after that, so I
started to become depressed again, until I got the call!! I got the job, and we
were officially rich! Hahaha. Soon after, I finally got my “Titus”. We moved
into a little house that was formerly her granddads. Besides the crappy
apartment, 603 E. Stanfill Street holds the fondest memories. We were just this
little family that was completely in love with each other. I can’t really
express how close we were then. We led a marriage group a church and were constantly
asked for marriage advice from people. I just remember playing in our backyard
and my heart feeling so full.
After about two years, we move out of our Hahira house and
into my parents’ old house to help take care of my grandmother. They moved to
Alabama but my Mimi lived in a mother-in-law suite attached to their house.
This was also a fun time in our married life. We were just a family living on
the farm and now expecting our last child, Olive!! The kids loved living there.
To be honest, so did I. Then our life changed again when I was offered my
current job at Valdosta State University. The pay was significantly much more
which was exciting. So exciting in fact, that we decided to buy a second home
from her dad. (He is a contractor and sold us both of our houses for very
cheap. Her parents are such blessings still to this day.)
There we were. We finally made it to official adulthood.
Both with good paying professional jobs, a little stair step patch of kids, and
a brand new super nice house. I know what really happened next, but we kind of
became a little more distant. I was working more and she was busy with her job
(she worked two days a week) and being a mommy. We were still very close and
happily married, but I think we could both feel something was off.
Time passed and she started going out with friends more and
more at night, while I stayed home with the kids. This led to arguments, which
resulted in marital conflict. We never had this happen before. I mean, we
fought from time to time, but never like this. She started drifting off more
and more frequently. Meanwhile, I was becoming more and more bitter about my
wife leaving me all the time to be with her friends. We both made mistakes
during this time. Not pointing any blame. There are always two sides to every
story, but finally it came to the point that I was with the kids alone pretty
much all of the time besides when I was working. That was a tough time for me.
She started hinting for a divorce, but I always said that I would never ever
agree to that. We loved each other and needed to build our marriage back up.
The situation grows progressively worse. Days, weeks, months pass. By now I’m
doing the kids solo and Crissy has moved out. No one knows anything. I keep up
a social media appearance that we are still a happy couple. When we happen to
see each other, things usually erupt. I’m just so broken and hurt that my best
friend just left me. This is only escalated by the fact that I’m pretty much I total
train wreck raising four kids on my own. Still, I hold on to the hope that this
marriage would be healed. I’m constantly talking privately with a small group friends
and counselors trying to work out my brokenness.
Then, one day I just feel this sudden peace. That was God
btw. We stopped fighting. He molded me from an “interrogator” into an “encourager”.
I was positive that I would be able to
keep things together and protect her reputation so it was be a seamless
transition into our happy harmony again. I was beginning to get the hang of
being a single working dad/full time parent of four. Every single night, I
would sit for hours and pray for her, our marriage, and our kids. However, it
seemed the more healing I found, the further Crissy drifted away from the kids
and me. We hardly saw her. Still I had peace and was able to show that peace to
the kids. Remember, Crissy used to be the most legit mom ever. Having her fade
away from their lives was almost too much too watch. However like I said, me
and “my crew” as I started to call them found peace in midst of the storm. I
learned little techniques to help them cope with everything that was going on.
Soon, it was like she was kinda just gone completely, but we were still
married.
Although I felt peace, it was still heart breaking. More and
more people began to call me with “Crissy stories” and questions about what was
going on. My fear of divorce slowly faded into an actual thought “what if it
happened?” I began to pray more and more about this. Not trying to spread
gossip, but Biblically speaking I had firm ground to stand on in the case of
divorce. Then my worry was “What if I
lose the kids.” Honestly, how many dads of four with full time jobs get
custody? So I started praying. I felt God telling me to fast (not eat) for two
days and truly put my whole heart into praying and listening for an answer.
Then driving home from work (I remember the time of day and the exact spot of
the road I was driving), I felt God tell me “You’ve done well”. I knew it was
time to file. The process was so nerve-wracking. I lost so much weight from
just being so overwhelmed that I literally never had an appetite. Those months
were the most anxious times in my life. I was constantly worried that Crissy
would get the kids. However in the end, she agreed that I should have primary
custody and she would get every other weekend visitations. Praise God!! The
kids and I had become so unbelievably tight throughout the past few years of
walking through this together that I couldn’t imagine not having them with me. It
was an answer to prayer. I was and still am elated with the outcome.
I just keep on keeping on. Just “living the dream” (my go to
response for questions about life). Life became such a fun thing. I was living
this incredibly unique gift of a life that was filled with the craziest stories
of the most awesome kids in the entire world. Every day seemed to be an
adventure. However, I did feel sad at times that I didn’t have anyone to share
all of these crazy stories and silly experiences with. Then one night, I thought to myself “You know
what? I’m not just going to sit around and wait for a wife to share this stuff.
I’m gonna stuff putting this stuff online. If nothing else, it will be a fun
way to remember things for when the kids grow up.” That was the beginning of
the blog you are reading now. Yay! Fun, right ;)
So yeah, that’s my Origin Story. I love the person I am. I
love my kids. I love the life I have. I love the God I serve.
“Look how weird I drew this dragon. Will you hang it up?” –
Stevie
“I like being called weird.” – Neela
“This food tastes weird. That means I like it.” – Titus
“Daddy, you got a weird neck. I love to squish it. It's my favorite.” – Olive
Being weird gets a bad rap in our society. While I don’t
view it as derogatory for people to try to be normal, I just think everyone has
some stuff about them that’s 100% unique. It’s so sad when people choose not to
embrace it. In the Megow house, being “weird” is viewed as something we each
strive to achieve. Not to just be weird for weird’s sake, but for each of us to
be 100% ourselves. As a parent and a former “weird kid”, it’s so interesting
seeing and nurturing my kids’ own individualism. Mostly, I just want to foster
a safe place in our home for my kids to be completely themselves. I think one
of my main goals is to really, highlight and compliment little things that are
uniquely them.
I’m a big believer in the concept of nature vs nuture. Some
skills and attributes can be learned or taught; however others are just kinda
engrained in our DNA. I like to think every family tree has their own special
mini superpower. Whether it is athleticism, organizational skills, musical
talent, charm, drive for success, or any multitude of various intelligences, I
believe everyone is born with something that just runs in their gene pool. The
other day I randomly realized what the Megow family engrained mini superpower
was. We are almost all impervious to peer pressure. I’m dead serious. Megows
just kind of do whatever the heck they want and really don’t pay much mind to
fitting any sort of social mold. If you know my family, I believe you will
immediately recognize this. My parents are completely themselves. As I lovingly explained earlier, they are
pretty weird. Tom and Denise just do their own things. My dad wore wooden clog
shoes as a nurse anesthetist in the hospital for decades without really caring
whatever anyone would think. Just because he liked them. Then transitioned careers to start a local food
bank. That career move was a significant decrease in pay. I’m sure he could
have measured his career by his peers or people that voiced their strong
opposition to his decision. But he just did what he felt led to do. And well my mom… I have literally never met a
person who is so hard to explain with words as Denise Megow. I talk about her
(or do my impression of her… which she loves. hahaha) quite frequently with my
friends. I love trying to explain her larger than life personality mixed with a
quirky artistic flair and a gentleness that can be reserved at times, but it
still very evident when it needs to be. She could not care less about whatever
you think about her. She is not influenced by your opinion or thoughts on her
decision. I freaking love that about both of my parents. They embrace their weirdness.
Tom: "Hey Honey. What should we do for this year’s Christmas
Card photo?”
Denise: “I have a good idea. Let’s all go in the goat yard
and just kinda see what unfolds on film.”
Megow Holiday Picture Circa 1996
So moving on from parents to me and my crew, I absolutely
love the idea of my kids not giving a rip about what other people think. True;
there are social norms, common courtesy, and a moral code to uphold, but I’m
talking about them just being themselves. If they choose to be interested,
dress, act, more mainstream, I’m completely cool with that as well. Mostly, I
just want them to be the truest version of themselves. I kinda view it like
dancing in public. How many of us dance around the house or in the car
listening to music? But when the same song comes on at a wedding reception or social
event, we just stand there and stare at the one “weird person” cutting a rug on
the dance floor. My goal is for my kids to always be that “weird person”. Just
completely void of peer pressure to live life the way they want.
Seth. Keepin' it classy.
Now, I’m not saying weird people are the best (but we
secretly are right? *wink*) I just wanted to express how much I love when
people are truly themselves whatever that may look like. My kids love to wear their
clothes on backwards and inside out. They think it’s so fashionable. Do I let
them go everywhere like that? No. But when
we go to the park or go out to eat, I let my kids wear whatever the heck they
want. When we go to the park, if they want to crawl around on all fours like
baby cats and pretend to hawk up hairballs by the swings then I say, freaking
go for it. Why not?
I don’t know if it’s my complete lack of influence to peer
pressure or if it’s a single dad thing, but I’ve kinda just given on up making my clan fit into a mold of society. Of course, I train them that
there are times to conform a little (don’t give your friends cat baths at school
or you can’t wear inside-out bathing suit trucks with a tuxedo shirt to church,
etc.) However for the most part, if my kids want to do, eat, wear, or act a
certain way that’s not inappropriate or disrupting I’m pretty cool with it. I
view my responsibility as a parent to be a role model for kindness, love, hard
work, integrity, and encouragement. Like I said earlier I still teach them
social norms, right & wrong, and appropriate behavior, but besides that I
love my kids being themselves, in whatever way that might look.
Seth:"Ok guys. No school today, so you get to come to work with dad,
and you can wear whatever you want."
Kids:
Who knows if my kids will decide
to go full weird? Maybe they will choose to be like their dad and decide to
wear only polyester disco shirts their entire eighth grade year of school. Or
maybe not. Mostly, I just want them to comfortable expressing however they choose to be. And one day when
they do get called “weird” to be able to confidently look at the person, smile,
and say “Thanks. You’ve made my day.” And they just continue on their way…
To celebrate reaching this milestone, I figured I would do a fun themed list. Also, I pulled the kids on this one to help me write it :)
"100 Things the Megows Think You Should Know"
100) This morning, I stepped out of my room after getting ready for work to find all four of my kids still in their pjs, all crouching on all fours, forming a circle, and howling. Apparently, they were a wolf pack this morning.
99) Lately, the kids and I have been getting into the Disney classic movies. I've discovered that Belle is my dream woman. (besides being a cartoon and all...)
98) When I asked Stevie what she would like to share with the blog readers. She left the room for about 45 seconds and came running back with this…
“Dad, this is a moth pooping out the alphabet. This represents our family.”
97) Titus has decided to be a professional magician when he grows up. But he wants to be “the kind that wears the cape” not one on the street. Because if you wear a cape on the stage, you get to be with a pretty girl.
96) Speaking of Titus the magician, he has this new trick where he acts like he's cracking his neck. I haven't been able to get a video of it yet. But that junk is freaking impressive.It's so fun watching him create his little tricks. He gets really into them.
Another of his favorite tricks
95) Olive likes to put kiddie toothpaste on her lollipops to make them “spicy”. The last few suckers she has gotten, she has eaten while sitting on the bathroom counter.
94) Olive recently requested "melted ice" to drink. Not water. Melted ice. She sat and watched it melt to assure I didn't give her water.
93) In high school, I was watching Scooby Doo and saw the way Shaggy walked and thought it was hilarious. So he walked around the room kicking his knees out like Shaggy does. He started doing it at school to be funny. After about a week, he couldn’t stop. Still to this day, I walk like Shaggy from Scooby Doo.
92) I've been giving the kids more responsibilities lately. Mostly, they focus on helping keep the house clean. They absolutely hate cleaning. I can't blame them. I don't like it. In the words of Neela, "God made me an aminal girl, not a cleaning girl. God gave me aminal super powers. Not broom hands dad."
91) As many of you know Titus's love language is Words of Encouragement. He is constantly telling me encouraging things when I'm feeling down. He also writes little surprise letters as I've shared with you guys before, but one of my favorite things about my little buddy is what he does when he gets in trouble. After getting in trouble for something, he almost ALWAYS comes back with a little handwritten apology. It's just so sincere and tenderhearted.
90) According to Stevie, Neela always smells like a skunk.. but only on Thursdays.
89)Titus's thoughts on the weather lately: "It's confusing. At recess I get hot when I put on my jacket, but cold when I take it off. It would be easier if I could have hair all over my body like you. I could stay warm without a jacket. Dad? When will I grow hair all over my body like you? I hopewhen I turn 8."
88) Neela is currently torn about her future career as a zoologist. She wants to have a pet puppy when she grows up but is worried about jaguars in Africa eating her dog. It's a very very big issue in our house at the moment.
87) The last family meeting the kids told me that I was getting too fat. Their suggestion to correct this is assign to Titus develop me a workout plan. Because in their words, "You are soft to lay with so we like that, but remember dad, you aren't Santa."
86) The kids have really been getting interested in the blog lately. They've known we have "a website", but lately when strangers stop us and talk about the blog the kids have been thinking it's just super neat. When I asked them about how they feel about me sharing our family with the world, they always love the idea. Lately, they have been wanting to become more involved which I love. Stevie is wanting to start filming art lessons. Neela wants to live stream a frog hunt. Titus wants to use it to get his magic career off the ground. Olive just wants me to film her asking for candy and have people bring it to her.
85) Every night the kids take turns with "alone time with dad". Alone time is really a special time for us. One on one time with each kid in our current life situation is hard to come by. So when it's each kid turn, they get to pick about 30 minutes worth of activities and we do it just us two in my room. Stevie had hers tonight. So per her request, we laid together on the floor and just talked. She just giggled for about 10 minutes straight as she told me about the funny dreams Neela has every night. Apparently for three nights in a row, Neela told Stevie has had a dream where the tooth fairy comes to their room, but Neela farts so bad that the tooth fairy passes out.
84) Olive is about to be 5 years old in a few weeks :( While I am sad she's growing up, I'm super excited about seeing her little (giant) personality develop.
This sweetheart has my heart.
83) Speaking of Olive's birthday, we are currently planning her birthday party. Today she told me she doesn't want cake or cupcakes at her party. She wants soup instead.
82) One time when I was a little kid my mom told me she was going to buy me a turtleneck shirt for our annual Christmas pictures. I was PUMPED! I never had ninja turtle shirt before!! Needless to say I wasn't thrilled when she came home and I found out what I turtleneck shirt was. I was crying in the family pictures that year.
81) Neela asks about a dog daily. Literally every day that kid asks about a dog. When I ask her if she is responsible enough to potty train a dog, her reply is "Yes! I'm going to take it outside and poop in the yard beside it so it knows what to do."
"Trust me dad. I'm an aminal expert."
80) I try really hard to limit screen time. So I like the kids to ask before watching a show or getting on their tablet. It's hard to say no when Olive walks up and says "Dad. Can I have scream time?" hahaha
79) Titus has been going through a "fancy clothes" stage. He wanted some new ties for Christmas.
78) When I started my job at Wiregrass GA Tech as the person who ran the Testing Center (about 7 years ago) , I shared an office with my friend Nicole. So on one of my very first days of work, she went to go run down the hallway. I had this funny thought to hide under the desk and jump out and surprise her when she walked back in. I was dying laughing sitting under the desk just waiting to come back to the office. A few minutes pass and suddenly someone just plops down in my chair. So I just waited for a few minutes and finally just said "Excuse me. It's Seth. I'm trapped under the desk. Would you mind rolling the chair back so I can get out?" Of course it turns out to be my boss's boss who I hadn't really met yet. I'm an idiot.
77) Lately, my favorite time of day is late at night before I go to sleep. I walk around and see my kiddos sleeping peacefully. There's nothing more beautiful than seeing your babies asleep in the glow of a Panda nightlight. Sometimes, I just sit on the edge of their beds and wonder how the heck I got so blessed. It's always such a serene moment for me.
76) Over Christmas break the kids and I took a winter road trip. We went to stay at a friend's cabin in North Carolina. The kids absolutely loved hiking. Well.. most of the kids.
Olive: "I hate hiking. I hate leaves. I hate waterfalls. I hate nature.
I only want to eat chips on the couch and watch Princess movies."
75)I'm convinced my kids found a way to mass produce the fake grass that comes in Easter Egg baskets, and my children are attempting to have it take root in my carpet. I can't remember the last time I vacuumed and didn't see some in the when I dumped it out. Next Easter if anyone gives my kids a basket and it contains that fake grass, I will cut you. ;)
74) I've recently adopted this tune as the official Megow theme song.
"You got troubles, I got'em too. There is anything I wouldn't do for you.
Lets stick together and we can see it through.
You've got a friend in me."
Geez, I love that.
73) Stevie's favorite thing is to show new classmates around the school. She always gets so excited at dinner when she tells me that she got picked to welcome the new student. I love that about her. That girl is the most loving and compassionate person I have ever met. She literally gives hugs to everyone she sees. We are checking out of the grocery store line, "Wait dad, I need to hug the cashier" They are with me at work "Wait dad, I need to hug all of your students.". Seriously, I have never met someone who wants people to feel welcome and valued as Stevie does.
My best friend
72) Neela is still on the hunt to find dad a wife. Honestly, she asks complete strangers everyday to marry dad. The other day we were visiting my grandma at the nursery home, and she asked a 90 year old woman to marry me. When the lady said "yes". Neela was ecstatic and asked her "So once you two are married, are you moving in with us or will we live here. I hope we live here. I've always wanted a house with an elevator."
71) I hate laundry. Recently, I waited a little too long to take the clean clothes out of the hamper.
Oops.
70) I'm convinced there's nothing sharper for a man to wear than suspenders and a knit wool tie. #classy
69) Every night at dinner, we go around the table and all have to say one way that we each made someone smile that day. I think it's probably my favorite tradition that we do in our house.
68) My kids have been getting into legos lately. On an unrelated note, my feet are constantly sore.
Pretty much my life now...
67) I'm about to launch a formal investigation to find the "Midnight Cheese Block Biter"
Exhibit A.
This is the fourth block I have found like this.
66) My favorite candy is black licorice. It's perfect because everyone else in the world hates it, so people just give it all to me. However, I might need to slow my roll on this gifted Black Licorice. (See list #87)
65) Speaking of candy, Titus came home distraught because he figured out a boy in his class doesn't like candy. He says "Dad... I really just don't get it. I've thought and thought about it. I'm worried about him."
64) The kids have kind of thought of unofficial titles for each of us:
Seth- "The silly one"
Stevie- "The artistic one"
Neela- "The nature one"
Titus- "The nice one"
Olive- "Olive"
63) Megows love palindromes. They are our favorite. The kids get so pumped when they see one.
62) This Calvin and Hobbes strip makes me cry every time.
61) 2017 is the year I'm truly going to start writing my book. So everyone do me a favor, when you see me in public ask me how the book is coming. I need the motivation :)
60) I know it's rare in men, but I officially have baby fever. Geez, I want another little tiny so bad.
59) If you ask Neela what shes most proud of in her life, there's a 38% chance she will tell you about the time she ate a worm.
58) Every morning, Olive picks me a flower. It's my favorite.
57) I caught Titus practicing his winking in the mirror the other day. When I asked him what he was doing, he said "Getting ready for Valentine's Day." HAHAHA. I'm convinced that boy will have girls falling for him left and right. He's such a kind soul, but knows how to charm a lady ;)
56) Seth's secret to the perfect hot chocolate - Use marshmallow cream instead of regular marshmallows. Trust me. It's life changing.
55) When I asked Titus what he wanted to include on this list, he paused for a second and then said "I want to tell everyone that I love them... Also, tell people not to eat their boogers."
54) I turned 32 this year. When I asked the kids what they thought about that, the responses ranged from "You are still the most handsome" to "Wow. You are old. You might die soon. We should buy a lot of snacks to fill up our pantry. You know... just in case."
53) My kids are around each other quite a bit. So naturally, they argue. This is probably my favorite argument I have ever broken up. One time Neela punched Titus for something. Instead of hitting back, he quietly snuck into her room, grabbed one of her toys, took it to the bathroom and peed on it. HAHAHA. It was insanely hard not to laugh when I was talking to him. "Titus, did it make God happy or sad when you peed on your sister's My Little Pony?"
52) Titus: "Dad, Neela has the chicken pox."
Seth: "No she doesn't."
Titus: "Well, she's walking around pecking like a chicken. So...."
51) One of my favorite feelings is when I "out-fun" the kids :D
50) Crap. Only half way through. Who's genius idea was this anyways? Oh yeah... mine.
49) I know people always make New Year's Resolutions or Personal New Year's goals. I don't think I will do that this year. Instead, I might just little humor tests to see if I can draw the line between funny weird and just weird. Just little things that are really off the wall. For example, when someone asks me a question, I would drop everything I am holding, walk up really close to them, make my face really serious and whisper back to them super awkwardly what they just said but a random name of the opposite sex at the end. For example:
Scott: "How's life been lately?"
Seth *leaning in ultra close to their face: "How's life been lately Linda?"
You know just see how weird I can really make myself in 2017.
48) One of my all time favorite Titus stories
47) This is me at every grown up event.
46) Although Neela can be ultra silly a lot of time, that girl can get really deep. I love hearing her thoughts. Normally on the weekends, she stays up late with me while everyone else goes to sleep. We just hang out together and talk. She has remarkably deep emotions and thoughts. That's one of my favorite things about single parenting. Sometimes I am the only person who gets to experience these little things about each of my kids. I can't think of a better blessing. :)
45) Before my divorce but after my ex-wife decided to move out, I got really down for a long time. I was still in love with her and trying desperately to make it work. I battled deep depression constantly. One night (very late, maybe around 3-4am) I remember crying and praying for God to show me some kind of sign that He still loved me and asked Him if anyone viewed me I was truly valuable and irreplaceable in their lives. Literally right when I finished praying, I saw my door crack up and Olive climbed in my bed, gave me a little kiss, and said "I just love you Daddy". Then walked back to her bed and went to sleep. Immediately, my heart was full. I love how God can use the tiniest things for the most significant, life altering experiences.
44) Another thing I love about single parenting is I get to set the normal in our family. It's just a freedom I just truly truly enjoy. One of the things that I've encouraged is holding hands. That is just something so simple, but is also something so close and affectionate. My kids have really picked up it and nothing makes me happier.
43) So I just looked at the clock. it's 3:47am. This thing is gonna be down TONIGHT. I need to go eat a (healthy) snack for some energy. By right back
_____________________________
42) Fact #42. I just ate some peanut butter crackers and drank the best beverage on earth for my snack.
This stuff is brain meltingly delicious
41) Oh snacks... That's one thing everyone loves. Snacks. Stevie is probably my biggest snacker (because she is an ultra picky eater). I'm sure she will grow out of it. But in the meantime, it's just a "pick your battles" thing. There's one thing this girl likes though. Chocolate. One day, she told me she needed my laptop to do some work. I found this file on my computer later in the evening.
40) Me and the kids love music. Our tastes are pretty eclectic; so the kids and I really like make 1990's style mixed CD's. There's really nothing better than a good mixed CD!! Don't you remember how fun it was when someone burned you a CD. Normally, me and the kids each pick a few songs to each CD. We will play it for a month or two in the car, then make another. Our current mix has everything on it from James Taylor, the Beatles, Jack Johnson & Otis Redding to Disney Princess songs and the theme song from Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers
39) Not trying to brag, but I had the most epic senior yearbook photo ever.
38) This.
37) I'm convinced if you greet people with a smile and pleasant attitude, your day is just going to be so much better. A smile and warm greeting shows people that you are happy to see them. Which makes them feel valuable about themselves and just leads to happiness all around. Making people feel valued is probably one of my main goals in life.
36) The other day I kept smelling this weird smell coming from the kids bathroom. I finally tracked it down to one of the cabinets under the sink. It was a mason jar filled with mud, applesauce, and ketchup. So I dumped it out and washed the jar. A few hours later, I hear this child screaming from the bathroom "WHAT HAPPENED TO MY EXPERIMENT?!?!"
35) My great-granddad used to be a millionaire. This was back in the day, so that was A LOT of money. He started a model company called "Megow Models". It was ultra successful. After Pearl Harbor was bombed, the government took all of his balsa wood to make cases for submarine missiles. That ruined his business. Megow Models have actually been featured in the Smithsonian. Isn't that so neat!! Google it! :)
34) My first car was a red 1966 VW Bus. Man. I loved that car. I had so so many awesome memories in that ole bus. However, it was kinda a death trap. I had to Flintstone stop that thing more than once, when the brakes, emergency brake, and transmission went out all at once.
33) I love babysitting for friends. I enjoy it for a few reasons. One, it gives my kids friends to play with. Two, it gives my friends the chance to do something fun. Three, seriously once I passed three kids,it's pretty much a "herding" parenting style anyways. So there's not much difference adding a few more kiddos to the mix :)
"Adding a few more kiddos to the Mix"
FYI The Mix is a local froyo spot. See what I did there?
Impressive writing huh?
32) I think I have life pretty together, but geez. I see where Neela gets her clumsiness from. Today I made a point to count how many times I accidentally dropped my phone on the ground. Six times. I dropped my phone of the ground six times today. This is everyday. Seriously people, don't give me nice things. I will break them, and then probably just blame it on my kids when they aren't around ;)
31) I think I'm super content being single. I know people say that to sound not desperate, but I really am content with how my life is at this moment. However, one day I would love to get married. I want to have a partner and best friend that I get to kiss whenever I want. I'm being patient though. I feel if you rush things like that, it's never going to end up with anything worth while. This is my scripture for my wait.
30) This song always reminds me of my Stevie. The first time I had ever heard it was driving home from the hospital after she was born. It's just extremely special to me.
29) I'm probably the most least competitive person I have ever met. Seriously, I don't really care if I win or lose at things. I don't really know that's a bad or good thing. It's just the way I'm wired. My parents were still super supportive of me playing sports and stuff going up. I mean it was still fun to win, but really I just enjoyed spending time with my friends. True story, one time during a soccer game I was on the bench (like usual) and wandered off to explore the woods behind the field. The coach called me in the play, but no one could find me. When they finally found me, I was just picking blackberries and was using my soccer jersey to carry them around in like a basket.
28) Neela is probably the messiest eater I have ever seen in my life. Good news about that is that it's impossible for her to hide if she ever sneaks any snacks.
Seth: "Neela have you been eating chocolate?"
Neela: "How did you know?!?"
27) I love wearing glasses. It's like decorations for your face. Plus, they make an excellent way to hide bags under your eyes if you haven't sleep in a month or two :) hahaha
26) Stevie literally don't care at all about fashion. She would wear the same thing every day if I let her. She's tried to talk me into letting her 3x adult men's pajama tshirt to school before. But I have also found that there is one fashion statement even Stevie won't sink to.
25) Number 25. Getting close! Let's make up a poem. (PS. I love little poems)
We are on number 25.
That number is divisible by five.
Not all poems rhyme.
24) One of things I miss most about my kids being little is carrying them around in a little chest carrier. I used to love to tote my little tikes around in one of those. :)
23) My kids are getting to the age, where they love having and spending money. It's just so exciting to them. I try to make them earn money they want. My favorite memory of Stevie wanting to make money was she wanted to shave our heads, dye the hair rainbow, sew them into afros, and sell clown wigs door to door.
22) Olive will not go to sleep unless you rub her tummy. She will just stand there and stare at you. Until you do it.
21) Another Olive fact. She is incredibly flexible. Like REALLY flexible. She sleeps in her bed every night doing a complete leg split. I need to enroll that girl in gymnastics or something.
A typical Olive relaxation pose
20) My kids love stuffed animals. I mean that's the only toy they really ever want or ask for. The thing about their stuffed animal thing, is they actually play with them everyday. I love it. It's just so much imagination.
19) One thing I pride myself on is that I try my hardest to never give unsolicited parenting advice. On occasion I will have people ask random questions. Normally, when I get asked questions it's something like this "My kid is doing this ultra weird thing, have your kids ever done anything similar?.... Oh they have?.... Wow, they did that?... Oh well... at least my kid didn't do that. Thanks Seth!"
18) I've posted this to facebook before, but I freaking love it.
This is remarkably accurate :)
17) My kids love to text on my phone. They have on multiple occasions texted random contacts 87 poop emojis and the word "butt". I always get some classic responses from those.
16) I love how God puts us in places for a reason. Even when it seems we are in a holding pattern, there's something we are supposed to be doing. It's not always something big, just something. The way I got my current job was just sitting in a holding pattern for years. However, in those years, I was given tiny little opportunities to learn random skills. Instead of just giving me one of the jobs I was begging him for; He kept me there. He kept giving these things to do to sharpen random things in my life. Finally, I kind of just fell into my current job. If I hadn't been forced to sit in that holding pattern and learn all of that stuff while I was waiting, there's no way I would be successful at my current job. And without my current job, there's no way I would have been a successful single parent. I've learned that my big plans are usually just a distraction to what God has in store. Honestly, that kind of takes the stress out of life. I just pray and figure what God wants me to do today. He'll figure out the rest for me. :D He gives us the easy job. I love that.
15) If there's one thing in life Titus loves as much as than being a spy and learning magic tricks, it's monkey bars. Tonight, we had a 45 minute conversation about monkey bars. Seriously, if you ever run into us in public, ask this kid if he's good at monkey bars. You will make his year!! :)
14) Here's the way to my heart. Talk to me about some "Bob's Burgers" and I'm yours. :)
13) Sometimes I have people tell me my house looks clean in pictures I post online, to those people I want to leave you with two words "effective cropping".
12) I don't care how many times I share this image, I swear it will always need to be shared ONE more time.
"Awe. Look how cute baby Olive is... wait... what..."
11) I sing constantly. I sing at home, at work, out to eat, at the playground. I don't care. I sing horrible and I sing loud.
10) Our family is starting to switch from "God our Father" dinner prayers to real spoken prayers. Titus loves to bless the food and asks to do it every night. He's different than many other kids, I have heard pray. Instead of just listing off a ton of different things to pray about, he will sit and think while he prays and typically pick 2-3 specific things to focus on for that night's blessing. I love watching him pray. He's going to be such a great husband/dad.
9) The other day in the car Olive asked to have some of my Good and Plenty (black licorice), we were driving home from North Carolina, so I stopped and bought everyone (including myself a snack). A few minutes later, I remembered she doesn't like black licorice and turned around wondering what she had done with them.
"Hey Daddy. Your candy smells good."
8) I think I radically changed my kids lives recently. I showed them the "Semi Truck Honk Request" Arm motion. Car rides will never be the same.
7) I've never shared this before because I honestly have no clue why he came home with it from school. But last year, I was going through Titus's Friday Folder. He apparently made this at school...
Teenage Titus Blackmail
HAHAHAHA
6) I'm officially old I think. I've had like 9 people explain the purpose of Snapchat. I'm still confused. Just call me a grandpa I guess.
5) Along the lines of Grandpas, I've already picked out my granddad name. I'm gonna be called "Pootie". I'm ultra excited about it. Some of my friends' kids already call me Pootie. It's one of my favorite things I've ever thought of. Ever.
4) This is proof that I can actually fix things from time to time. I love doing this like this. Single parents are both mom and dad. I feel like I have to lean into mom territory more than I'd like. So it's nice to be able to do man stuff when I have time.
I had to bypass some internal dimmer switches in our fans.
I was ultra proud of myself.
#thanksyoutube
3) Again, not trying to brag, but I will blow your mind singing karaoke. It's more than singing, it's an experience. One day if I can find some video of one of my performances, I'll post it for the world to enjoy.
2) Neela has some warts on her neck. She has named them. She loves her warts very much. Don't talk to her about removing her warts. She loves those stupid warts.
1) Finally, I'm just grateful for everyone reading, liking, commenting, sharing, messaging, and encouraging me with the Ole Dishwasher. It's really been big personal growth thing for me. Not trying to sound sappy but it really means so much that you guys read this thing and put up with all of the Megow silliness.
