Glad You Approve

Last night, Little Girl and i were called into extra duty at Ms. P's house.  It seemed she had a rehearsal and something to do at church, and while the evil-ex was willing to pick the boys up from school, he'd flaked (again) on keeping everyone overnight.

As we were leaving, The Big Boss paid us and said he might have to press me into more service as a nanny in the future, as evil-ex is "not going to be able to keep them," as he put it.  Yes, we made sure the kids were out of earshot.  We never criticize the other parent in front of the kids, for all his faults, he's their father and they love him

On the way home, though, i was muttering about how any man who can abandon his family would, of course, flake out on taking care of his kids.  Little Girl asked me a bit about the situation, and i told her that he had messed around on his wife with one lady, and now was with another, and that it was no wonder he couldn't handle his kids, he was a big kid himself, chasing what felt good to him and nothing more.

As we pulled in at the house, she asked me, "How many guys did you date with before dad?"

Well, i answered, i had a couple of dates, but nothing serious.

"You mean dad was the first guy you really went out with!?!" she exclaimed.

Yep, i said, i was one and done!

"It's nice to know you picked so well," she said with a bit of sarcasm in her tone, but a huge smile on her face that belied it.

Glad you approve, i replied drily.



Today is:

Barbie and Barney Backlash Day -- if you need an explanation, you don't have kids; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Beethoven Day -- celebrate the anniversary of his birth by listening to one of his fine works

Bijoy Dibosh -- Bangladesh (Victory Day)

Day of Reconciliation -- South Africa

Day of the Republic -- Kazakhstan (Independence from the USSR in 1991)

Festival of Sapientia -- Ancient Roman Empire (personification of wisdom and knowledge)

Icelandic Yuletide Lad of the Day, Pottasleiker -- Pot-licker, who tries to snatch unwashed pots and lick them clean

Man Will Never Fly Memorial Society Annual Meeting

National Chocolate Covered Anything Day

National Day/Independence Day -- Bahrain(1971)

Posadas Navidenas (Fiesta of the Virgin of the Lonely) -- Mexico (celebrated through the 24th, "pilgrims" go house to house seeking shelter to commemorate the search of Mary and Joseph for shelter in Bethlehem)

Simbang Gabi -- Philippines (Christmas festivals that last until Three Kings Day)

St. Adelaide's Day (Patron of abuse victims, brides, empresses, exiles, in-law problems, parenthood, parents of large families, princesses, prisoners, second marriages, step-parents, and widows)

Stupid Toy Day -- make sure you aren't giving any of those to any kids you buy for

Tea Party Day -- Boston, MA, US (anniversary of the 1773 Party)

Vijay Diwas --  India (Victory Day)

Wan Kila Haeng Chat -- Thailand (National Sports Day)


Birthdays Today:

Michael McCary, 1971
Benjamin Bratt, 1963
William "Refrigerator" Perry, 1962
Jon Tenney, 1961
Alison La Placa, 1959
Billy Gibbons, 1949
Benny Andersson, 1946
Steven Bochco, 1943
Lesley Stahl, 1941
Liv Ullmann, 1939
Bruce N Ames, 1928
Arthur C. Clarke, 1917
Margaret Mead, 1901
Noel Coward, 1899
Wassily Kandinsky, 1866
George Santayana, 1863
Jane Austen, 1775
Ludwig von Beethoven, 1770
Catherine of Aragon, 1536


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"One Day At a Time"(TV), 1975
"Dragnet"(TV), 1951
"Me and My Girl"(Musical), 1937
Variety(Magazine, first issue), 1905
"From the New World"(Dvorak Symphony), 1893 (often called "New World Symphony")



Today in History:

An Lushan revolts against Chancellor Yang Guozhong at Fanyang, initiating the An Shi Rebellion during the Tang Dynasty of China, 755
Mount Vesuvious, Italy erupts, destroys 6 villages & kills 4,000, 1631
Oliver Cromwell sworn in as English Lord Protector, 1653
The last recorded eruption of Mount Fuji in Japan, 1707
A big tea party in Boston harbor -- Indians welcome -- is "celebrated" (Boston Tea Party), 1773
Fire burns over 600 buildings in NYC, 1835
In New Zealand, the Charlotte-Jane and the Randolph bring the first of the Canterbury Pilgrims to Lyttelton, 1850
The Kingdom of Nepal accepts its constitution, 1862
Antonín Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, From The New World is given its world première performance at Carnegie Hall, 1893
The first submarine with an internal combustion engine is demonstrated, 1897
The "Great White Fleet" sails from Hampton Downs on its round the world tour, 1907
The first credit union in the US is formed, in Manchester, New Hampshire, 1908
The first US postage stamp picturing an airplane, a 20 cent parcel post, is issued, 1912
Albert Einstein publishes his "General Theory of Relativity", 1915
The Haiyuan earthquake, magnitude 8.5, rocks the Gansu province in China, killing an estimated 200,000, 1920
Theodore Cole and Ralph Roe attempt to escape from the American federal prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay; neither is ever seen again, 1937
Thailand joins the United Nations, 1945
William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain build the first practical point-contact transistor, 1947
Cleveland, Ohio becomes the first post-Depression era US city to default on its loans, owing $14,000,000 to local banks, 1978
An episode of Pokemon, "Denno Senshi Porygon", aired in Japan induces seizures in 685 Japanese children, 1997
George W. Bush signs the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 into law, 2003
The US National Institutes of Health places a moratorium on new studies using chimpanzees as research models when a report comes out showing that most of such research is scientifically unjustified, 2010
After years of receding, the Arctic sea ice is shown to have rebounded in extent and volume, 2013