My Lego Movie Composition

This time I am glad that I killed the fly

When my son was in his early double digits, for several years in a row we held his birthday parties at a place near my home town of Findlay, called Putt n Pond. This was a place that had a fun indoor arcade and play land (like the ones in McDonalds) on the inside, and a few water rides and some fun go-carts on the outdoors. Putt n Pond also has, as the name would suggest, a miniature golf course and a pond that one can play in as well. The pond had a shallow end with a beach (of a sort) and inner tubes that you could float around on, and it had a deeper end that had one of those blow up floating rocks that has the foot and hand holds to try to climb it. This was a very fun day even though we always kept the guest list small for financial reasons. My son had brought his best friend with him and we also had my mother, father, daughter, cousin, my grandpa, and my oldest and middle nephews were there as well along with my sister. My son’s best friend and I kicked some serious tail on the floating rock climb. We had a great time racing to the top and competing with each other over who was going to be King of the Mountain. And we continuously beat practically everyone else to the top. When he and I tired of winning, we found a way to pull the floating rock over so that we toppled everyone else off, who wasn’t strong enough to hold their own body weight. Oh sure, it might not have been the nicest thing to do, and yes I realize that I was setting a bad example for the kids, but who cares, we were having an awesome time. As an entire group we had fun playing the arcade games while we ate lunch. After lunch came time for some putt putt golf. This is the area where my grandfather ruled the roost. He is an avid golfer so in my opinion he was cheating by having a vast amount of skill that none of us could compete with. But who am I really to be the hypocrite, because on the floating hill Ashton and I were not to fair in our competition with the others either. In reality there was no putt putt cheating, just a lack of skills in my area. But even though I did not have a prayers chance in hell of winning, it was also a fun time.

Our next activity on our list of things we wanted to do was to conquer the water slides. I will not sit here and pretend that they were mighty water slides. There were two water slides at this park. One slide was the kind that was made of rollers and you skimmed across the water at the bottom after you reached the end, and it had two sides to it for racing. The other water slide was also made with two shoots to sail down. One shoot was enclosed on this water side and the other had an open top.  My parents and grandfather did not take part in the water slides; they merely cheered us on as we raced. They did join us in the fun on the bumper cars though; we all just slammed into each other in there.

Before our wonderful day came to an end, we all decided to dry off by riding the go carts. As with most of the other outdoor attractions, there were two different versions of the go carts too. There was one golf cart course that was twisted into a figure 8. This is a slower yet fast enough to be lost of fun racing on, go cart track. All of us except for my parents rode on this one. We had a ton of fun racing each other around the track, happily making fun of everyone that we were lucky enough to beat, each time that one of us won. There were no exceptions on this one; we all took part in the gentle ribbing if we were the winner.  The other go cart track, the one that we saved for last, cost more tickets to ride, but was by far the best race out of the two. This track was an oval, much like we see on a regular race track where people are forever circling in a left turn. There were also different go carts themselves at this track versus the other one. When a go cart has a top on it, it is because you have a better chance of wrecking in it than you would in a normal open top go cart. Well, that is my opinion of this type of go cart anyhow. The sign out front of this track had the same rules that any average go cart track would have, along with a few others about personal property and injury being the riders fault and responsibility. I was very clear with my cousin, son, two nephews, and son’s friend, when we read the rules to them and I told them in no uncertain terms what would happen to them if they did not obey them. One of the rules was that a child must be attended by an adult if they were under 16, and I could see in the line an ornery looking boy in the line that was definitely not allowed there alone for he did not look any older than my son was.

I must digress for a moment in my story to tell you about a fact that I forgot. My sister’s oldest son was one of those very intelligent yet highly annoying children. Nathan did great in school, but his social skills were more than lacking. He tended to be very loud and where he was at never factored in to his volume levels. And he was in my opinion, showing signs of what might have been similar to some autistic children. Nathan could not take loud noises of any kind. When the other children, and adults were all playing in the arcade, Nathan was outside with my sister. Because when he was inside he would just cover his ears and whine, fuss, and sometimes scream about the noise. Ironic to me was that the loud noise bothered him but he was also loud. He lacked social skills in many other areas also. When other children would play with him, he had to be made to allow them to actively play with him. Nathan tended to control the situation so that he would throw a major fit if he did not get others to stand and act just so. I love this boy, for he is my blood, but I never really cared to be around him for long periods of time, but you still should always stand up for your own.

We riders were anxiously awaiting our first chance to compete. We were needling each other about who was going to be places first through last, and tried to make silly bets with each other to show our confidence. During times like this we had to be careful about what we said to Nathan for he was also sensitive and easy to offend, belittle, crush, and make cry. Suddenly, it is our turn, and we are all about to attempt to prove what words we were talking. Just our luck, the ornery looking boy that I had spotted earlier, ended up in our group. And we were off! Round and round we go, gaining and lagging behind and before the others. Laughing and cheering we ended our first several rounds. The competition became more entertaining with each passing lap. This other boy was with us most all of our previous races on this track, he had an aggressive attitude to him out on the track, but his parents (or some adults) showed up to watch him just after the beginning of the first race and then they left before this last go round. We were running out of time to play, this would be our last competition before we had to all head home. As the final race began, we were all giving it our best possible effort. Bragging rights counted the most with the last race because it was the last thing everyone would remember about the day. Round we go for the first lap, and I could already tell that the ornery boy was going to be trouble because I saw him try to play bumper cars with my son, but my son was the better driver. This boy was lunging at everyone with his car, until he found Nathan. One only has to pick on him one time, to know that he is an easy target. The first time that the kid made a b-line right for Nathan, he narrowly avoided getting hit. And then came, the panicked look on Nathan’s face. The look that we knew could quickly lead to loud tears from him. And the next time around the track my nephew’s car was clipped by the kid that needed a spanking, for he was clearly enjoying the challenge of catching Nathan with a good one. With the next lap his goal was achieved. This boy smashed right in to Nathan and spun his car sideways some right in to the side rail of the track. Now, the car was ok, they were built to with stand the blast. But my nephew’s feelings were not, and I knew that our ears were in for it for a minute, when the race was stopped due to the accident. When the guy working the ride called the race, he was very angry at this boy who had continued to not listen to him about the bad behavior. And when the guy working the ride called the race, I was on the far side of the track and had almost an entire lap to complete before I could pull my car into the parking lane. I opened my eyes and saw opportunity, and my open ears could hear the anger of the other riders and the attendant.  My luck held strong as I rounded the last curve at full speed, and the jerky kids car was just crossing around the last little corner to park. If I could have accelerated more I would have, but the car’s speed regulator was already maxed out. The kid was slowing down to park as I blinded him with a smashing dead on hit to the driver’s side of his car, and out of the corner of my eye I could see my grandfather and the attendant burst into instant laughter. My mother had a shocked look and my father looked pleased. I will be honest and say that several other people that came with me were also vocal in their entertainment with the incident. But the best part was yet to come, and I was on a roll. As we were waiting for our turn to leave the circle, I let the kid know my opinion of people like him and their parent.  As well reading him the rules that he agreed to and telling him look what happens when you don’t listen and be mean to someone in MY family. (and yes, my grandfather and the attendant were still laughing, but you could see that the attendant was by now trying not to.) Yes, I do realize that it is very unfair and definitely not nice or the “right thing to do”, as I was telling this boy what my opinions of him were, but at the time I really did not care. But my anger faded in an instant, as the boy burst into tears and ran, literally ran away. On one had I made the kid cry just as he made Nathan cry, and that was a very mean thing to do because as they say, “you can’t right a wrong with another wrong”, but I can say it sure was fun. And as I said, my anger faded in an instant and laughter replaced it. Sure you say, laugh at the kid for crying when you were mean for him making someone else cry. Yes I know, the reasoning behind the episode made me laugh all the more. And the sight of my grandfather laughing, where as it might have been a tad bit evil of him as well, at least meant that the action was deserved.  We all laughed and talked and still had a good time on the way to the cars and all the way home.

This time the right thing was as it usually is, it is the fun thing. And this time I was a bad girl and listened to my more basic instincts, and did the fun thing not the right thing. This time, I was happy that I smacked the crap out of the fly.

It makes me wonder

There are a lot of times in my life that I have wondered how far would one, should one go to get what they need to get by in life. How hard do we have to try? How much stress should one person go through alone, just to try their best to provide for them or their family? What lengths are to far to go to just pay the bills? And lastly, why is it always those that try the hardest, that have the worst time just getting by?

Yes, in life it is our choices that put us where we are when both good and bad things happen to us. Unfortunately, there is no magic sign that tells us what path to take to make our lives the easiest. If there were a little sign or signal that would help us all to make not only the most intelligent decisions, but also the ones that bring about the more fruitful consequences; then our lives might be far less painful. Those of you that are reading this, if you understand what the feeling is, then you also understand the question, “How far is to far to go, to get what you not only need but deserve out of life/”. The things in life that we need are basically simple, if we let them be. We all need food, water, clothing, and shelter; we need to also be able to provide these things for our families. Is it right that some of us try; we try so hard that we hurt? We do our best so many times, and always still try to do what’s right, that when we see others doing the opposite it hurts us even more.

Between both work and school, I have only had perhaps 5 days off in over 8 months. (Excluding the time I fractured my foot trying to do something nice for someone else, I had to miss work for two weeks for that, but I still went to school.) I attend school full time in the fall and spring, as well as work every Friday Saturday and Sunday. Over the summer I went to school part time and worked my regular job and I also picked another one working for two hours a day every day that the Mud Hens had home games. I am also a single mother who does not get to spend nearly as much time with her kids as she would like. Well sure you say most parents feel that way. Well in my case I live in Perrysburg and my daughter technically lives with me, while my son has lived his life time in Findlay with my Mom and Dad. And until an year ago I had lived my whole life in that town as well. Both of my children go to school in Findlay, even my daughter who as I said, technically lives with me. I say technically because even though I never get days off and work so hard that I sweat, I barely make enough money to pay the gas to go between school and work little lone drive back and forth to Findlay every day. Well you might be wondering why my daughter goes to school so far away, well simply put she goes there because it is best for her education. My little girl is in very advanced classes and was even chosen to be one out of only 30 third graders in the entire town to take those special classes too.  I feel that I would be doing my girl an injustice by giving her less of an education. My problem is that I make so very little money that Hanna has to also stay with my Mother and Father 90 percent of the time. I try, I try real hard, but I can only do what I am able to do. I live up here because I lost my house I was buying in Findlay, trying to take care of my friend’s kids for a couple years while they were incarcerated. And as if a gift from above, the opportunity to buy this one for a less than 1/3 that I spent on the roof of the house that I was about to be made homeless from. Now that the threat of homelessness has passed, I am forced to live lonely.

You by now I am sure are wondering why I am talking about all of the above rambling. At work recently we have been having a lot of thefts. And the two suspects are still employed. In fact, the only two people who are working every single time that money has come up missing in the last couple months or so, get more hours than me every week. Believe me when I say that I try as hard at work no matter how horrible and low paying the job is, as I try at everything else. And I am the kind of person who when I don’t try my hardest I cant sleep at night thinking about what I could have done better, Ok, so maybe that is a bit of a neurosis, or maybe it is just good values. What ever it is, I see two adults with children, one in my age and lives with her husband, five kids, her two brothers, all at her mothers two bedroom apartment. And the other girl lives with her mother and is pregnant with her first child. My point of that would be to say that, where as I do not feel that I am better than anybody, I do feel that I try so very much harder than most and certainly him or her. This makes me so very angry, and hurt, and practically victimized. What is the deal here? Do I have to learn to steal? Why is it that not just I, but all of us who try the hardest in life, and ALWAYS the ones who have the hardest times? How fair is this I ask? And I answer that it is NOT! I have come to the conclusion this time as well as every other that I have wondered in my head this very same question: that I am hoping that all the times we hear the empty and over repeated rhetoric of “they will get what they deserve someday.” or “you will be rewarded in the end”, I am hoping that those people are right. But my people do not be deceived in to thinking that I actually expect either to ever come about. But I do know that I will stand by what if feel is right and not sink to the level that people like theses two have. I will stand firm to my decision to just suffer though and keep on trying.

Hanna and Dad Face Swap 2

Dad and Hanna Face Swap 1