The weekend

The other day Leif and I were on our way into daycare when he saw a woman standing in the hall holding a baby. He announced to me a few times “baby, baby, baby!” We kept walking after saying hi to the baby. We were nearly 10 feet away when Leif stops, thinks for a second and breaks into a full sprint back screaming at the top of his lungs, “PISS BABY, PISS BABY!”

It only took a little explaining that my son has just recently acquired the inability to say “kiss” and opts for “piss” instead now. Lovely. He really did used to say “kiss”! A cow is also called a “pow”. But a cat is a cat, a kitty is a kitty, and a car is a car. V offered up a good explanation yesterday as to why this might be, other kids? There must be another kid in the class who calls a kiss, a piss. Makes sense. Leif is quite the loyal subject when it comes to what the other kids in the class are doing (or eating).

This week really did fly by for me. AB started back to class this week and so it has been a huge schedule change for the whole family. At any other university this would be planned and expected. However, you see at our local university (or maybe it is just AB’s department), they are very fly by the seat of their pants. AB went to class the first night, not really knowing which class he was taking, when it would be offered or if they would be offered. This pretty much suits AB’s demeanor (can I rule him out as being analytical?). It would drive me insane to be in that type of program. AB knows though that he can push for classes to be moved to different dates or times and it will happen. So consequently this week has been very up in the air. I am hoping next week that the class schedule will be nailed down a little more.

AB is in one class that he is really excited about, which thrills me. I love seeing him come home from class with a smile on his face and anxious about the material. The other class he is debating taking, which he isn’t required to take to fulfill his credits to graduate in March is a modeling class that his advisor is really pushing. He is sitting in for the first few weeks “just to see”. If I had a spare $100 I would be willing to place a wager that he will end up taking the class for credit. He keeps mentioning things like “well IF I were to go into a Ph.D. program, it would be good to have”. He is hooked. Hook, line and sinker.

Good news too, I think, on the job front for him. He made a contact this week with his former company’s competitor. Something he has been debating on doing since being laid off in May. But at that point, he wasn’t desperate yet and still clinging to the idea of finding a job as an engineering intern or student and not returning to analytical chemistry or lab management. I guess enough time has gone by without getting a bite on the engineering bit, summer is nearing an end, there is an end to the unemployment paychecks in the distant future, he is damn tired of cleaning the house, and probably MOST of all, the contact was enthusiastically returned with a big round of ego boosting. AB thinks it is a possibility that since he knows nearly 50% of the employees in the company he could have an offer this week even without an interview. I am a little more skeptical… at least they will bring him out and talk to him in person first, won’t they? AB doesn’t think so… he had interviewed the potential manager for a position at his old company awhile back. And supposedly they are hard up for employees.
Believe it or not, this position isn’t exactly a slam dunk for AB though. It isn’t what he really wants to do. He is tired of being a lab chemist, tired of managing chemistry projects and teaching high school kids how to run equipment we learned inside and out in college. He wants a new challenge in life. He wants a career, not just a job. But maybe most of all right now, he wants somewhere to get up and go to everyday. And there, is the kicker.

I took off early yesterday and picked Leif up after nap. We are ran home, grabbing AB and trekked off to the local county fair. When I was a kid, the local fair and rodeo week was a huge deal. It started with a parade through downtown Casper, WY. We used to go sit at my grandfather’s barber shop to watch the parade. I remember scrambling for candy on the streets thrown out by the parade participants. Tootsie rolls were the best. I remember the Shriners riding their little mopeds and cars around in formations, the high school bands marching, the dance and gymnastics teams and the classic cars that carried the fair and rodeo royalty. Later on I participated in the parade, one year riding on a float built by my parents and their close friends for the YMCA (where my mom worked). It was a great float that won first prize that year and then went on to compete at Frontier Days in Cheyenne.

The fair was something we went to nearly daily when I was a kid. We would wander by the booths in the Industrial building, go and pet the animals, look at the 4-H crafts, eat fair food and the highlight was riding the carnival rides. I remember my sister crying when any number of people dressed in animal costumes or clowns would come up to us. I would get my picture taken with them, all the time being brave, so I could show my sister to be brave. We have more pictures of me standing next to some mouse, bear, or other barely identifiable creature, with my sister next to me sobbing.

We had a demolition derby which I enjoyed attending and would place bets with my dad on which car would survive. And then there was the rodeo. I had a serious aversion to “cowboys”, wanted nothing to do with them. So going to the rodeo each night was not my highlight aside from getting to stay up past my bedtime. I looked forward to getting my big glass of freshly made lemonade and that was about it. When the calf roping started my mom would take my sister and I out to wander the fair. We would return about the time it was over with fresh goodies. And then closing out the rodeo was usually some little known country singer. Fair and rodeo week was a huge deal living in Casper, WY.

I don’t remember that there were local or regional fairs when we moved to Colorado. Maybe we just weren’t into it, or maybe I was just 13 and too cool for the fair and rodeo.

I think I looked forward to attending the fair here this afternoon more than AB and Leif. I had a great time, Leif enjoyed the animals a lot – the pows, rabbits and sheep. He rode a pony and some carnival rides. The pigs really frightened him though. Pictures in the next post!

Everyone have a great weekend!