2004-04-14

Therapy: Rubber on Asphalt

Sometimes late at night when little girls should be sleeping and dads should be doing household chores, Hailey and I put on just enough clothes to be in public, load into the car, and go for a drive.

We open up the moon roof and let the stares shine in. The hum of the tires on asphalt provide a soothing backdrop to the saxophones, trumpets, and snare drums of KUT’s nighttime programming.

Sometimes the drive is short. We only make it around the block. Sometimes we go as far as the post office. A few times we have needed to get on the highway. We leave full of angst and frustration. We return mellow, calm, and peaceful, with one of us asleep.

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    • Categories [Hailey]
2004-04-13

The Cleaner

Hailey may be picking up my habits. Today at day care she picked up something on the floor and carried it to the trashcan saying “trash” along the way.

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    • Categories [Hailey]
2004-04-11

The Indoor Easter Egg Hunt


See the The Indoor Easter Egg Hunt set See the The Indoor Easter Egg Hunt set.

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    • Categories [Hailey, Images]

Indoor Easter Egg Hunt

A bit of bizarre April weather for Austin resulted in Hailey’s first Easter Egg hunt being held indoors. Hailey did quite well at finding Easter eggs. However, once she had two eggs, one for each hand, she would only find the other eggs. She would’nt put the eggs into her Easter basket. She preferred to keep one egg in each hand.

2004-04-06

Eensy Bitsy Spider

The eensy weensy spider
Climbed up the waterspout
Down came the rain
And washed the spider out
Out came the sun
And dried up all the rain
And the eensy weensy spider
Climbed up the spout again

Sometimes children learn to do things without your help or knowledge. While reading Hailey her nursery rhyme book she started to do the hand movements. A few days later she was stomping her foot in tune.

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    • Categories [Hailey, video]
2004-04-02

My First Car

At 3,200 RPM with the pedal pushed completely to the floor the speedometer needle could almost say hello to 70 MPH. Dust particles would flow through the air vents. The hood would lift at the rear; straining the latch and threatening to open. The roar of the engine matched the wind noise and blocked all other sounds.

Emblems, chrome, and covers were removed. The once blue metallic paint had been replaced by a mixture of light and dark gray primer, Bondo, and fiberglass. The interior complimented the sparse exterior. There were no sun visors, door skins or a center console. Those were deemed unnecessary and removed. Two well worn bucket seats, their upholstery disintegrated from age, covered with itchy tweed-like seat covers to keep the foam in place, accommodated the driver and passenger. The smell of oil and exhaust regularly filled the cabin.

The temperamental car would occasionally refuse to return to life and leave its occupants stranded, but it offered a new found freedom capable of masking any downside.

Circa June 1989. The vehicle in question.

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    • Categories [Nostalgia]