Dad's on the Couch Archive

I am reminded every now and again that our lives are filled with all sorts of little inconsequential truths, most of which we take entirely for granted. Like the fact that the Earth, as it turns out, is apparently a sphere rather than a flat disk hovering in space like a celestial pie plate. Or, for instance, the fact that lifestyle guru Martha Stewart is in reality a relentless cyborg sent from the future who's mission is not, oddly enough, to destroy human kind, but rather to simply annoy us to distraction for generations to come. See? That sort of common knowledge.

Well, just this very morning I was reminded of yet another bit of folksy wisdom that is, simply put, that March sucks. Even more, it is truly the only month with not a single redeeming feature. Not a one. March is dark, dreary, snowy...

Oh bother. Although it's tempting to go on ad nauseam about March and all its shortcomings, I suppose I should just fess up and note that the presumably lovely Ms. McClelland, (PhD, mind you) has hit the nail right on head. I do indeed feel like a bear prematurely woken from a much needed rest while in the realm of the dark Goddess Skadi. Why? I got a call this morning from my older lad's little league coach letting me know that first batting practice is this very Saturday at our local batting cages.

Little league, already. This can only mean that it's the official opening of the season of myriad nonsense events: postponed birthday parties at Chuck E. Cheese, various Easter goings-on, little league practices, little league games, all the usual karate, assorted after school activities and endless First Communion celebrations that follow each other with the relentless regularity of Swiss trains.

I suppose the case could be made that rather than being a curmudgeon about the whole thing I should revel in these special times that my Lovely Bride and I get to share with our boys. It will, after all, be in the mere blink of an eye that they'll be grown and gone.

But still, while I know that's all true I still can't help but feel a sort of wistful nostalgia for the dark months when most of our social responsibilities were on hold and it was really ok to just snuggle up with each other on the couch and giggle at SpongeBob and play Halo2. In other words, Im pretty sure that bears know what they're doing when they blithely ignore the perils of that seventh deadly sin. Now if only February had a snooze button...