Ry and Coop Dot Com

I’m 31 years old.  I feel like I’m 47 years old.  Now for those of you over 31 or 47, well you are old.  Me, well I’m feeling older these days.  Now my wife just celebrated her 34th birthday and, though I just mentioned she is considered old, it’s fairly obvious that she doesn’t feel too old.

Mark Twain once wrote, “There comes a time in every rightly constructed boy’s life that he has a raging desire to go somewhere and dig for hidden treasure.”  That was no more true than tonight as we were preparing for our Memorial Day trip to Western New York.

It’s not a secret that traveling is sometimes a challenging task in the Austin household.  Poor Jenn has to spend most of her time making sure that I’ve packed enough underwear for Ryan, or enough socks for myself.  Did we forget medicine?  Did we forget our wallets? Did we forget our dog?  Did we forget where we were going?  All of this can make us very late.  So, as we were preparing, Jenn sent Ryan and I outside so we could get out of her hair as we made the final push to get ready.  So, what to do with our few minutes of freedom before a three hour drive?

Ryan nearly immediately found the answer to the question of how to spend our minutes of freedom.  Nothing better than sitting down in the middle of the driveway and chasing ants through their homes.  It was eventful though a bit disgusting at times, especially when entire ant colonies were hanging from the hands of our little excavator.  We’ll say a prayer tonight for the homes of our little neighbors and the lives lost in the battle with The Drooly Monster.  Their lives didn’t go in vain, they served to remind us that Mark Twain thinks we’re doing a great job at parenting.

I’m not sure I remember my first date though I should probably be able to since I think I had three before I turned 20.  I do remember my first date with Jenn and I can tell you, with a degree of certainty, that my knuckles were as white as Ryan’s are in this picture.  A few weeks ago a bunch of friends met at a local amusement park and had a blast watching Ellie Rossi and Ryan together blasting through the rides. 

Though our little man was fresh off his trip to Disney, there’s a fairly significant difference between the relative safety of The Mouse and ghetto amusement parks in Upstate New York.  For starters, Disney would never allow a child to ride alone and Disney employees actually bolt their riders to their seats in sort of the style of a NASCAR pit crew.  In Upstate New York, well we do things differently.  Here, we allow our children to be “tied” with a used belt in six inches of water with navigation bells carefully placed directly inside our children’s ear canals.  And for my money, we’ve got it right.

As you can see, Ryan wasn’t too sure about this ride but was quickly comforted by the infectious giggles from his back seat companion.  As I typed that last line I realized that in twelve years I’d better not be writing a similar one. Hopefully there will be many more rides this Summer and many more lessons he can learn from his elder lady friends.

It was the less-than-famous Russian Mystic Sophie Swetchine who said, “There is, by God’s grace, an imeasurable difference between late and too late.” Certainly for me this is, thankfully, very true.  I make no excuses to my loyal fans (both of Ryan’s Grandma’s and Jen Howard) and the countless other’s who’ve dedicated an average of 5.3 minutes (according to the folks at Google) reading my posts.  I leave you with the words of Henry Ford whose legacy should not be remembered for the Ford Taurus but rather for being the first to say, “Don’t find fault, find a remedy.”  I shall find a remedy for my dilatory ways. 

It was the beloved Confederate General Robert E. Lee who famously told his troops before the battle of Gettysburg, “Duty, then is the sublimest word in our language. Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more; you should never wish to do less.” Words to live by.

It is then my duty to continue to post pictures which aim to sufficiently embarrass Mr. Man as he grows older.  I can find no greater picture than this one of our fine young hero at breakfast.  In this particular case, you will note the firm grasp on the table, the extended thrust of his left arm and the flattened grimace of a young man trying to evacuate his demons.  As it turns out, this was a particularly large demon which was promptly cleaned by Grandma.  As the day burns to an end, I will rest easy now knowing that I’ve added to Ryan’s memoir one of the more embarrassing images of his youth.  Duty has never been so much fun!  Ahhh the power of the pun!

So, I have to rhetorically ask you,  What do you do on the average Saturday night?  For many of my friends and family, it’s dinner out on the town or perhaps a movie.  As I read in the paper, SUNY Albany students find themselves passed out on sidewalks on Lark Street in Albany.  For us, Saturday night is no longer about dinner, movies or drinking.  Nope, for us, all the entertainment we need comes from a good Billy Joel song and our little court jester.

236 years ago this month the war that started this country began.  Of the two years of fighting, arguably the most historic of all the battles took place only 40 miles from our front door.  The Battle of Saratoga was the turning point of the war and led the British to give up on the colonies in order to fight larger battles with their European neighbors. 

I’ve always been a history buff so when my sister invited us to join her on a walk through the historic site, I was happy to take the opportunity.  I figured it was a nice sunny day and we hadn’t been outside much this entire weekend and we had a few hours free.  So, we bundled up and packed Ryan and Maddie for the trip.  When we arrived, nearly forty minutes late, Calyn and a few of her friends had started off on the main trail through the National Park. No worries though, we had plans to meet up.  What I hadn’t realized was that Ryan’s stroller (see earlier posts about the Disney Mobile) was in no condition for the trip.  I believe I had, first hand, experienced what it must have been like for the soldiers who’d been defending the heights on the field with cannon.  There were times when I had to pick Ryan and the stroller up to carry it over a large pool of water or a thick patch of ice and other times I had to push it up small mountains while leading the group through the trail.  It did give me a nice reminder of the sacrifices that those made before me.  I’d like to go back and really study the history behind the field.  I suspect though I may need to wait a few years to do that. 

For most, today is a jovial time of practical jokes on friends and co-workers.  For me, that has it’s place on every day but today.  April 1st, for me, has a completely different meaning.  It was five years ago today that I lost my good friend Tim in Iraq.  So, for me, today isn’t a day for jovial practical jokes (even though Tim would’ve wanted it to be.) Today, it’s a vivid reminder of what I subconsciously feel every day.

I can’t wallow in self-pity for too long though. It wouldn’t be fair to Tim’s memory. Instead, I can simply say a small prayer that Ryan will form the kind of brotherly bond with a friend that I did with Tim.  Looking at this picture of Ryan exploring a pirate ship playground, I’m reminded of all the adventures that Matt, Tim and I went on and all of the time we spent together.

The pain of Tim’s loss has been so great but the comfort of his memory has gotten me through some challenging times.  I can’t wait for me to share with Ryan the stories of the man who gave him his middle name.  Here’s to you Tim.

He did it! Ryan has taken his first steps into manhood by going on the potty. It’s been three times in two days and he’s really starting to get the hang of it.
This is yet another victory for these proud parents.