Black Friday Bonding

My husband is all about the bargain.  If there is an object that he wants, he researches high and low on the reputable websites.  Larry will drive all over town to find a deal. Sometimes he'll even drive to other towns.   This has allowed us to get some otherwise expensive items for less, so I'm not too upset about this particular habit.

Larry has been perusing the Black Friday deals all month, reading articles, researching online.  He's been looking for certain items, like movies, or specific toys.  And this time, he has a helper.  Zane has developed a newfound interest in bargain hunting.  He's been sitting with Larry, their heads together over a flyer or a website, perusing the potential sale items.  I've figured out that Zane is way more interested in the toys, but he and his father are also bonding.  They've developed a language of Nerf items, Star Wars action figures, and soccer.

I don't mind.  While the two of them are discussing those things, they are also discussing money, and percentages, and discounts.  Math-like stuff, that I not only dislike, but am horrible at.  At least without a calculator.  When I go shopping, I am all about the convenience, not about the bargain.  But math is part of life, as much as I wish it weren't so.  Zane needs to learn about all that math stuff from somebody.  Why not from his dad?  They're building up their relationship, having fun, and he's learning new things.

I'm good with that.   They can look all they want; most of their bargain hunting is window shopping, anyway.  Nobody in our family is the least bit interested in actually shopping on Black Friday, because that involves getting up wayyyy too early. 

Favorite Part of Summer

It's been a hazy summer for me, what with finishing chemo and just wanting to sleep all the time.  I've tried to participate in activities as much as I am able, I just don't seem to have the get up and go running just yet. I've missed the summer, including my 50th birthday.

I've slept, and if I'm honest, I've also whined a bit, because I really hate being sickly and unable to do all the things I'm used to doing.  I've felt guilty about not being always available to my son, guilty that I'm unable to keep up with the housekeeping, guilty that I'm not the one doing the shopping, or keeping the family appointments.  That's what Daddy is for, to pick up the slack when I can't.  Larry's done the shopping and the cleaning and the child rearing when he isn't busy chauffeuring me to doctor's appointments and hospital visits.  I don't have any idea what I would do without him.

And Larry and Zane have bonded over Nerf.

They didn't have Nerf when I was a kid.  We just used balls, rocks, sticks, and other projectiles.  I remember seeing Nerf footballs being thrown about at some point in my teens, but that was it. Now Nerf has extended their empire. These days, Nerf has these soft darts that shoot out of cross bows, guns, blasters, and whatever.  Nerf even makes these items in purple and pink for the girls who are into The Hunger Games and such.

Larry and Zane have spent hours watching YouTube videos devoted to "unboxing" new Nerf guns and showing them off.  Apparently Australia has a huge Nerf following, because those guys post tons of videos.  The men in the house have driven all over San Antonio searching every Target and Walmart for new Nerf items and exclusives.  The two of them will sit on the living room floor almost every night and look at their different Nerf weapons, discussing tactics and replacing batteries.

The one rule?  Safety glasses are required.  

They've played a version of Capture the Flag in the house.  Larry even spent a couple of days fixing up the back yard with tarps and other items to create an area where Zane and his friend Austin teamed up against him in an all out Nerf war.  This involved about two hours of loading up all the Nerf Guns and the Nerf clips and setting up the Nerf Rhino Blaster(the Nerf equivalent of a mounted machine gun) on a table in the middle of the yard so whoever could get to it would be able to use it. 

Of course, the Nerf fights end when all the bullets, darts, etc., have been fired.  Which is about five minutes after the battle begins.  Then there's the "Who is going to pick up all 30,000 of these darts?" argument between the boy and his father, which can last another thirty minutes.

The boy loves it.  The daddy loves it.

I'm okay with it.  I wish that I could participate a bit more, but my knowledge in this area is so limited that the one time I did pick up a Nerf gun, I accidentally shot Zane in the butt with a dart.  Hopefully he won't need therapy for that some day.

I miss the days when Zane would climb up in my lap and watch a movie with me, or when he wanted me to read to him.  I'm a little(okay, a lot) angry that cancer has robbed me of almost a year of my son's growing years.  I begrudge the loss of that year, but the upside is that I'll be around to see him grow up into the man he will become.

That makes me smile, even as I give in to my fatigue and nod off again. 


 
3. Ask your child what their favorite part of Summer has been and then write about it.  

I'm trying to get back into the swing of blogging, and what better place to start than here?