Greetings and Salutations
NGL…Kind of emotionally wrung out around here. Reason being is Gretchen has been in full-on meltdown mode today. And the reason for that is today was Adriana’s Birthday and Birthday Party.
The BabyDad did a video chat with us, and she knows and remembers us, but it still ripped the heart out of Gretchen for us not to be there…
I’ve been trying to be a supportive hubz in this case but I’m not very good at that sort of emotional stuff… too much damage over the years
Harsh but true.
I compartmentalize everything that’s emotionally upsetting.
ESPECIALLY when it comes to my absolute failure to make sure Addy stayed with us… That was all my fault. Between my blowing my top at the wrong place and time occasionally, to not doing ‘what needed to be done’ (i.e. “taking out the trash” as I saw it then)… I feel like I failed in some major ways. I could have done better.
That being said… BabyDad has been doing exceptionally well.
I’ve told him as much. The kid didn’t have a ‘proper father figure’ which is a major reason he was screwed up IMO. Being raised by your Grands IF they’re really really old when you’re a wee bitty ‘un… well… it’s sort of like my Uncle who last I heard was on Wife #3, and had a kid when he was 52? 53? Something like that… DeadDad gave him a bunch of shit about having to teach his newest Daughter how to drive when he was 68 or so?
The few times I tried to teach Spawn #2 basic driving when (s)he was 16 and I was in my early 40s damned near kil’t my ass from heart failure… raising lil ‘uns past 60? Not an easy job.
Either way tho…
She got her ‘first’ real haircut so to speak…
I mean Gretchen when we had her, being a professional hair stylist kept her mop under control, but after BabyDad and his Gran took over, for the longest time is was the basic “bowl cut”.
Shit like that drove Gretchen borderline insane mind you…
She looks great.
The video chat was good too.
She remembered us, but is still confused that I don’t wear glasses anymore. She always asks me where my glasses are… (side note: since I got the cataracts removed, I no longer require glasses except for super up close reading, and even then a cheap pair of Walmart Readers are fine) She’s getting tall too.
We of course sent gifts that were well received…
However… Gretchen melted down for the rest of the day… which has made shit here hard, especially since I’m no good with emotional ‘stuff’. I do my best, but I keep feeling like I stepped in it constantly… like I’m running blindfolded through a cow pasture and keep hitting piles of shit. It’s a no-win either way.
That and last night was a major bummer.
Gretchen’s birthday was back in June. That being said, before it, in May, Elle King announced a new tour and lo and behold! She was going to be in Tampa at a very small venue, The Ritz in Ybor. We saw The Hu, a Mongolian Metal Band there back right before the COVID Lockdown in 2020. If you are unfamiliar with The Hu (pronounced ‘Who’) try this one for size:
Mongolian throat singing with metal and traditional Mongolian musical instruments… and another side note: The two string ‘guitar’ is a morin khuur which is the national instrument of Mongolia and is known as the “horse-headed fiddle”… in a few of their videos, you can plainly see the Swastika imbedded in the neck as it was originally intended to be, but freaks out the left so badly…
These guys are as awesome as you can imagine live as well. Funniest thing: NONE of them speak and English except the lead singer who’s main phrase was “FUCK YEEEEEAH!!!” which was hysterical…
Anyways, Elle King is like Gretchen’s favorite performer and I went and got tickets… not only that, they were the VIP tix with a ‘meet and greet’ after the show with Elle, and great balcony seats… I had gotten a couple of referral bonuses from People’s Glorious Tractor Factory, so I figured this would be Gretchen’s BIG birfday present.
Problem is she (Elle) had announced back in September she’s pregnant with kid #2. And last night she got so sick before the show they cancelled and took her to the E.R. Can’t blame them as she is preggers… Gretchen of course having gotten all dolled up was exceptionally down about it.
I hope she’s OK but fuck man.
Sometimes I can’t win I swear
What Mummy’s Tomb did I desecrate I keep wondering?
“(((They)))” said that the show would be rescheduled but to my mind? That shit ain’t happening in the next year or so period fucking dot. I mean let’s face it… the broad is (as I found out) six months gone… which means it’ll be a year plus before she can go back on tour, if ever.
And since they ‘postponed’ the show, it means I can’t get a fucking refund. Not until (((they))) cancel it.
Like I said.
I feel like I cannot win.
The only entertaining thing was I got an email with a scanned pic that MomUnit found while cleaning up her computer:
I have no idea who took it.
I do know that was me in Basic Training in early 1990
Reason I know is the guy with his hands on his helmet?
His pantlegs are rolled.
The only time ever that any of us did that in the Army was when we were in Basic Training. That and the metal table behind us, and the dude in the background with the ‘boothead’ haircut. Plus zero rifles in sight either…
No clue why I’m grinning like a fool…
Basic purely sucked.
And lastly, the Starlink?
The mounting kit I bought was insufficient. I have to return it, and I ordered a roof peak mount instead. That of course was damned near double the cost of the other mount… At least I have one thing going for me… which is my luck… which seems to always be slightly fucked up. Not terminally bad but juuuust enough bad as to be exceptionally annoying as fuck.
Gotta say I do at least appreciate the irony and consistency.
So More Later
Big Country
BCE, stop blaming yourself for not having custody of Gran #2.
You did the very best that you could and that is all any of us can do.
In addition, unless Baby Daddy messed up and landed back in jail, the odds were slim for you guys to get permanent custody. It was a fight you had to fight and you fought your hardest but the laws and judge were totally against you.
Still, I know how it feels because I fought my ex wife after the divorce to get custody of my 3 kids.
I lost and she did everything she could after to cut them out of my life.
I KNOW that legally and realistically I did everything I could but it still stings and hurts even 13 years later.
You and Wifey should strive to be the best grand parents you can be. Maybe if you could swing it, you guys could road trip up and see Gran #2 and spend some time with her. That would make Wifey a lot happier.
Christmas is the plan man… appreciate the kind words…
I loved hanging with Gram and Gramps, pappy lived there in the just divorced bachelor’s basement for awhile in the 1980’s during Fort Knox deployment.
One day he was banging away on fitness blonde and I knew what was going on with the headboard slapping against the wall while cracking a smile and sorting baseball cards.
Me and cousins played Jarts and Grampaw would LOL at the near misses, we learned to swat it away before any impalement or facial reconstruction.
Vintage Legacy USA was the best ever and the youngsters don’t know what they missed as the fundamentally transformed Amerika 2.0 is a fourth world bankster banana republic turd.
The wymyns always get too emotional and should never be preezy of the steezy.
Still LOL over the Kamalalala is a hermaphrodite named Kamal Amoush as she is too fence post turtle even for that.
The worked at McDonalds photochop onto the head of a Canadian teenager in McD work outfit was debunked within minutes.