By
Allan Olson
First I’m going to come right out and say it – GOODBYE,
WINTER! I’ve lived in Minnesota all of my life, and I can’t remember ever having
a winter that has refused to let go like this one. Last year we might have had
ice on some lakes until mid-May, but I don’t recall any days of -20/-40 below
zero in March.
Of course, five months from now, when the temperatures
hit 90+ with high humidity, I will probably be unhappy about that, too, but at
least I don’t have to shovel it or worry about slipping on the ice. No, I will
be sipping a cold beverage and watching television in front of my air
conditioner. It warms me just to think of it. Thankfully, some relief from this
cold appears to be on the horizon.
Cleaning
I’m sure it’s not just my kids (or maybe it is?), but why
is it that housecleaning is such a production? Is it only my children that take
90 minutes to do a 30 minute job? We asked them to do some basic cleaning on
Saturday and Sunday, trying to create the appearance of a spotless, perfect
house. Well, as any parent knows, with four kids on the loose that can never
happen, but at least pick up that fork on the floor that you dropped.
Most of late Saturday afternoon was spent trying to get
some work done in the house. We even tried racing the kids. My wife and I had to
tackle our room, and we were doing some deep cleaning. We worked steadily and
cleaned our dresser, the closet and more. Still, the kids just didn’t want to
get their work finished. Finally I had had enough and sent them to bed early,
and just to make a point my wife and I stayed up and watched a movie. Okay, I
actually watched less than 30 minutes before zonking out for the evening, but it
was the thought that counted.
Movies
With the work from Saturday finally done, we assigned
additional tasks on Sunday. I decided I had better go help the girls. They had
the rough job of doing a thorough cleaning of the entryway. Normally it isn’t
that bad, but I decided it was time to move the bench and do a thorough job of
it – mopping and all.
Even though it was the weekend, nobody slept in and so
the work got done early. After some discussion, my wife and I decided to take
the kids to the Lego movie. It was cute, but there are some movies coming up
that I want to see, including Sherman and Peabody – a blast from my childhood,
watching Rocky and Bullwinkle.
Oscars
For whatever reason my wife and I have watched at least
parts of the Oscars several times over the last 14 years. Some have had great
hosts, others, well . . . yawn. So with the kids in bed again, snacking on
Twizzlers, we tuned in on Sunday night. The opening acts are what I like best. I
don’t follow the movie scene enough to know what movies are good or not, and
most I’ve never heard of.
This year’s host was Ellen, and she was pretty funny
again. The thing that struck me was when she added up all the years of college
education of all the actors/actresses, etc., in the room and came up with six. I
don’t know if that was a joke, but if I was there I could’ve nearly doubled that
number, and I make a lot less than the majority who were. That got me thinking:
maybe I should find myself a manager and an acting coach and embark on a new
career, with all the glamour and ritz one could ever want. It wouldn’t take much
– after all, I already have half the battle won, with my good looks, charm and
wit. It should be no problem to land an Oscar nomination by 2016,
right?
Please be safe while ice fishing this season, and
remember to take a picture to preserve a lifetime of memories. Also, please
watch out for the buses that are transporting our children, and remember to
drive safely this winter. Thanks for reading, and have a great week! For more of
my columns visit: http://allan-crazykids.blogspot.com
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