Just Whistle While You Work

 

TJ has learned how to whistle.

I'm not even sure how he learned to whistle.  Is the kindergarten playground a breeding ground for lip pursing and blowing?  Just what are they teaching our kids these days?!

I don't whistle very well - truth be told I whistle better on the inward breath than the exhale.  My son, however, is a little tune generator making up little ditties as he goes about his day.  They don't have any rhythm - he just makes them up as he goes along.  And that's the most beautiful part of it.

I don't know where music inspiration comes from but it's neat that there is a song in his head and in his heart always ready to get out.  

Prom Night 2013

Prom Night 2013

Samantha went to her first prom on Saturday.  She went with Christian, her boyfriend and the captain of the men's team of the Triangle Rowing Club. 

For the past five weeks we have all been subject to the daily drama of waiting to be asked, being asked, finding a dress, making plans, remaking plans, getting ready, and finally going to the prom.

Samantha looked beautiful.  Always looking older than her actual age, Sam morphed from a 15 1/2 year old girl to a stunning young woman.  Her dress was just right and her jewelry and hair were great.  They looked like they were about to have the time of their lives - with all of their lives ahead of them - they were a cute couple.

Prom is different than when I went to my senior prom in 1985.  Now you have to go to dinner separate from the actual dance.  After the prom is another party.  Lots of moving pieces driving from one place to another and I let Christian drive her.  Despite my stodginess, I said Yes (or at least negotiated to Yes) more than Sam thought I would.

To her credit Sam did a great job of following the rules we set together by making the right choices, meeting her curfew, and being responsible.  I did warn her date that I'd be up waiting - cleaning my guns - until he brought my daughter home safe and sound.  Whether or not he truly believed it is irrelevant. 

To my credit I didn't check on her via text every five minutes and held my ground when she tried to push her curfew.  

While we spent most of the day running Sam from appointment to appointment to get ready we all piled in the car in the later afternoon to go see her in her final glory.  That bit of craziness; loading the kids, getting to North Raleigh, meeting strangers, taking pictures took away from the reality of watching Sam take another stride in being her own person.  And while those strides are getting longer in distance and closer in interval - this one was stunning. 

Senior Prom 1985

Cutting the Cord

We are cutting our cable.  Off.

Yep.

The cable company has us over the barrell with a bundle of cable, internet, and phone.  Oh, you want HD channels?  That's a premium.  You want a DVR for shows you may or may not watch?  That's a premium too.  The bill is over $200 a month and do you know what? 

THERE'S NOTHING ON TV!

Seriously, $200 plus a month for shows and sports I don't watch.  In fact, none of us watch many shows that are not reruns; Sam watches a lot of Law and Order and other forensic type shows.  Yes, the exceptions are The Walking Dead and Downton Abbey, but we do not watch a lot of current TV. 

So we ditched the house phone - only telemarketers call us anyway.
We cut the cable.
We kept the internet.

We hooked the TV up to a ROKU - a brand name streaming wifi device that gives all of the shows we watch via Netficks, HULU, and 600 other on line services that do not need cable.  Are we on the cutting edge?  Maybe.  Quite possibly cable as we know it is on the way out at other, cheaper services out pace the demand of the instant gratification age.  Think about it, do you still have a rotary phone with a cord in your house?  The technology has moved on.  The younger generations are already ahead of us.  The more and more people I talk to the more and more I hear about people who have been without cable for months or longer - and they are all younger than me.

I have to admit, its scary not to turn on the TV and have to flip through channels or the guide, but then that's a stupid response.  It isn't like we can never go back to cable.  Yes, the next few months might be challenging as we learn a new way of watching TV.  The most important thing I've learned so far is that you have to know what you want to watch.  With 600 on line services you really have to know what it is you are in the mood for.  Its like going out to dinner and having to know what you want before you get there because the menu is so vast you cannot go through it all.

I apologized to my wife for cutting her into March Maddness but she just streamed the game onto her iPad. 

So why do we need cable?