Bless the little buggers!

[Nathan Caroland]

I recently changed areas where I'm working - from a nice climate controlled professional atmosphere with good people to another side of the facility that is dirty, only climate you get is whatever gets let in the door when its open, and overall a distinct dislike and aggrivation running through everyone that the supervision encourages - oh, and the work flat out sucks.

So yesterday, I spent four hours under a fighter jet doing my job, crawling around on a creeper with my hands above my head for hours at a time, manage to get sliced through the palm of my hand by a peice of shim (very thin metal) which should have required stitches but frankly, I didn't have time for, so I simply superglued it together (works just fine as long as you clean it out), then sliced up my other hand with metal tape (part of the job - oooh joy! more superglue). Whew ... then lunch comes around. Yay. I promptly crumple into a chair, only after cracking my back four or five times - I'm going to need a chiropractor.

After lunch I'm sent back to the other facility where I worked to get all my gear - of course I walk through the door and I get swarmed as they have a problem with wings that apparently I only know about (which is true, which is also one of the reasons why I can't fathom why I got shipped off, told them I would be happy to help them out, just call me back over, needless to say the supervisor wasn't happy but said he would have a talk with the head honch - we'll see where that goes). So then I go back to my 'new' facility, and I promptly get stuck in a white suit, full faced masked with respirator, gloves, all sleeves and openings taped off and a head sock (basically a giant head condom) and have to carry around a 2QT pot for painting (which, when filled, is about 30lbs or so ... no much really right - until you lug it around for hours, up and down and all around). I spend the next five hours working straight, painting the jet, up and down, up and down, refill, clean out the pot, spray, spray, spray. This whole time I'm covered from head to foot in dripping sweat, breathing through a respirator, and generally wrung out and misserable. I finished just in time to go home (in case some of you are adding hours, I work 10 hour shifts).

Of course by this time, I'm blazing hot, but after about fifteen minutes, I'm shivering with the cold due to the sweat drying. I litterally had to peel myself out of the paint Tyvex suit. Fun.

Get home last night, spend about 10 minutes looking at stuff and taking care of computer whatnots, then crawl into the shower for half and hour and fall asleep in it (woke up when my head hit the wall). Went to go get in my bead and then had to move all THREE of the kids out of my side of the bed - they do that - alot. Manage to kick the dog out of my bed that I had just vacated the kids out of when I get back, and promptly fell into oblivion.

Now here is where I do the 'Bless the Buggers' as all the above was just the lead up, though a general 'oh my god this sucks' bitch-a-thon.

So this morning my two littlest ones (6 and 7) wake up, see that dad doesn't respond even to the most painful jabs to the ribs or a purring kitten stuck in my face (she sounds like a diesel engine) and decide that I've had a hard night. I wake up about forty minutes later or so (they did manage to atleast bring my concious forward somewhat with the jabs and the kitten) with the kids radio blaring downstairs (how my wife wakes me up some days if she wants to be kind) singing something about an inchworm, and I crawl out of bed. Immediately I've got two kids staring at me telling me to close my eyes and to follow them.

After a path frought with much danger, the occasional slip and kicking a toe into a doorframe (I promised not to look .. damnit) I was lead to the kitchen table where the kids had sat out breakfast for me - a very big (tupperware big) bowl of Frosted Flakes, and then proceeded to sit down with me and have breakfast.

Cheered me right up! I'm still dead tired, but I enjoy mornings like that, and to be truthful, it isn't often that I get to eat a meal with my family as I work a seperate shift, kids are in school and I do a good bit of overtime for one reason or another. It was neat watching the two little ones chomp down their cereal as proud as they could be (they couldn't find the eggo's I was told later).

[wiccanpony]

Great story Nathan... Next step is when they learn to serve breakfast in bed...an over flowing bowl of corn flakes with a kitten in the middle. lol

Sounds like a nice warm “Hot Tub” would be the ticket ...be sure to wear a life jacket in case you fall asleep in one.

[Nathan Caroland]

Heh, this morning is one of those days where you just got to wonder about the boy - he obviously has been watching too much TV I'm guessing.

So I'm sitting here, writing nice things about the kids, relaxing and generally doing nothing at all, when I realize, there is someone behind me that has snuck up on me. I turn around to find the boy in his red ski mask, holding out an avon bag yelling "PUT THE MONEY IN THE BAG!!"

I'm being robbed ... by my own six year old son.

After repeated demands and me holding back laughing, he resorted to physical violence, tackled me to the ground and the little bugger made off with my pocket change and is now upstairs robbing his sisters if the screaches and demands for money are anything to go by. I just listened to the oldest girl (11) coaching my son on "no, no, tell them to put their hands in the air first".

I really have to have a talk with their mother ...

[EricJ]

awww, that's sweet. I know, I talked to you last night when you got home, it's amazing, Nathan managed to convey even in his writing the "I'm tired as hell monotone, all I can think about is sleep" tone.