A Soap Box, A Proud daddy and A Little Bamboozlement, a quick look into the week that was number 35 in the Carr household. The zero calories addition!
Soap Box
I am SO mad and I can’t take it anymore. Frustrated beyond belief at the timing of an unforgivable event and I just have to hop up on my soap box and yell at the top of my lungs. To fully understand my frustration, I need to come clean and confess something about me. As part of my morning routine, while stopping at Tim Hortons for my tea and bagel, if I have been good, I will reward myself with an apple fritter. Now the reward criteria is loosely based on the academy awards voting criteria (loosely!), and I have a special excel spreadsheet created by my wife, fully sanctioned by KPMG to chart my total “goodness” factor and use it to decide if I get a treat. The frustrating thing for me is that I am always good so I do get a rewarded often, and so now you can see my problem.
The fact is that too many people can see my problem, and one morning, between Christmas and new years, after catching a full length mirror reflection of my problem, I decided then and there I would no longer be rewarding myself for anything with food of any kind especially the morning Apple Fritter. Ok you are caught up, but now to the unforgivable event. My absolute favorite sauce of any kind is caramel and the donut of the month for January, featured in beautifully shot posters, staring back at me in line at Tim’s, is an Caramel Apple Fritter, and only 49 cents with the purchase of any beverage. COME ON! I switched to a 12 grain bagel with half butter, and this is what you do to me? Damn you Tim Hortons, you will NOT break me. I will not fall for your clever, “hit em’” when they are down marketing ploy and I will not eat your tempting little caramel filled, glazed incrusted, sometimes hot, baked good. I just refuse!
(Editors note: in order to fully criticize the new caramel Apple Fritter from Tim Hortans, I felt it was important I was able to fully describe the item first hand, so I did purchase and consume only ONE.) Sorry, for I am weak!
Bamboozled
The art of bamboozlement, defined as the act or process of bamboozling or being bamboozled. To con, defraud, trick, to make a fool of, to humbug or impose on someone. It is a little of this, and I guess not that big of a deal, but this week, we were bamboozled by a couple of 10 year olds and it went something like this. Jordyn gets a call from a friend that apparently, followed through on a promises early that day to call her at home. After the general pleasantries are exchanged, the hush of a convert conversation begins. “Umm Hhh, Yes OK, yes I will ask… Daddy, what time do we get home on Friday?” “Not sure Jordyn, maybe around 5 or 6.” Jordyn, again in a hush “Ya, ok, Daddy, can my friend come over?” Unsure of the correct answer, I say the only thing a good husband should ever say, “Ask you Mom!”. Mom shouts from the front room “I guess”. The next couple of minutes are a little unclear and frankly just a blur, thus the bamboozle. There was request for a sleep over and then a reminder of our first ice skating lesson early Saturday morning, and then the phone is hung up, and all of the sudden, we have Jordyn’s friend for the night, and the skating and she is being picked up around 1:00. WOW.
I am sure the phone conversation on the other end of the call was similar, with words like “she is asking me to sleep over” and “she wants me to go with her to her skating lesson” because we all did it when we were kids and after all, turn around is fair play, so its all good. We have used the situation to gone over the “making arrangements” over the phone, while the person is on the line rules, and hopefully we will not be victims of a 10 year old’s bamboozlement again, but I think we will be!
In closing
So a couple of weeks in the books with the news Christmas gifts, and all but one toy has been opened and well played with. We will get to Martian Matter soon enough, but it was a conversation I had with Julia that made me stand a little taller. She said “You know, I love all my toys and new clothes, but I would give them all back if I had to, because all that is important is having my family with me.” **Smiling proudly** , thank you Julia for somehow learning the most important thing about Christmas, this time of year and life for that matter! The importance of family.
Thanks for reading, and have a great and safe week and remember, please feel free to comment!
Jim