The last few weeks have been a mix of fun and fear while consistently worrying about my little girl.
I agreed to let Anastasia spend three weeks with her mother this summer. After the last bit of drama I went through I felt we both needed a break. She needed some time with her mother and I figured some time alone would do me well.
So, Monday the 5th of July I put her on a plane to Las Vegas to spend time with her mother.
The first week I was pretty good with the silence/alone. Then that weekend I left to go visit my friend in Park City, Utah. It was definitely nice to get away and spend some time with a close friend. I left there the following Thursday and went back to AZ. From there I spent most of the days working and a lot of the nights over a new friends’ house. Just hanging out with them and their kids.
I told Anastasia I would not call her and that if she wanted to talk to me she could call me. I heard from her no less than 5 or 6 times a day on the phone and we chatted online throughout most of the day. :D Needless to say I was thrilled we kept in touch as much as we did.
I missed my little girl. That is the longest she has been away from me since she was born. I am not sure how I am going to deal with her growing up and wanting to leave home. I am sure I will be ‘ok’. Although I know I am not looking forward to it at all. I guess it is no use worrying about it now, I still have at least 6 more years.
Anyway, things are ok. She is becoming a little lady, attitude and all. I will try to be the cool dad, although when she brings a boy home the cool goes out the window with the boy. ;)
So I decided I needed a new Harley after my Sportster just sat in the garage and I wasn’t riding it. I needed something larger. Something that would take Anastasia and I to places we haven’t thought of yet in style, comfort and most importantly safety.
Now, I know that a motorcycle is not the safest mode of transportation, although I like riding and Anastasia loves going with me. And since I am a big boy, a Sportster just didn’t support everything I wanted to do.
So I bought a new 2009 Harley Davidson (is there any other brand of motorcycle?) Road King. It is black, of course. and beautiful! And most importantly, with standard air shocks I can put two of me on the bike and the ride would still be sweet! Here are the pictures I took during Anastasia’s and my ride today.
Harley Davidson Road King
2009 Harley Davidson Road King
2009 Harley Davidson FLHR
Plenty more to come, I’m sure of it. :)
Seems like 2008 was a year full of change for my daughter and I. I got out of a 5 year relationship with my girlfriend, my daughter and moved to Arizona, I quit my job to start my own business, my daughters mother resurfaced, changed her life and is now working to be an active part of her daughters life and I have lost more than just my heart over the course of the year.
It was a good year with plenty of bumps and changes. I guess that is what we need every once in a while to make us better people.
I am looking forward to 2009 with renewed hope in my business. I take with me the hard lessons I learned the year before in love and life.
Anastasia and I have had a few defining moments in the past few days and I feel like some how, some way we get each other just that much more.
I wish you the best for 2009 and keep coming back as I chronicle the lives of my daughter, myself and those around us. :)
I got a call from Anastasia today from school. She was in the office. She was sent there because her and friend thought it would be funny to have a poking war and the teacher waled in and gave them both three days detention. Technically they wrote her up for fighting even though it wasn’t. She was touching someone when she shouldn’t have been. Both her and her friend were written up.
Anastasia told me the story and after all the lies in the past, I decided to call her teacher, just to check on the story make sure she didn’t decide to start making things up again.
So, I called the teacher and left a message for her. She called back this afternoon and we talked about the incident. It was as Anastasia described and her teacher laid out the discipline like a fight because no one should be touching anyone in school. I get it, understand it, and agree with it.
Anastasia’s teacher then continued on. She told me how she has had to move Anastasia four times because she will not stop talking. She told me that she knows Anastasia is smart and can do the work, although half the time she has no idea what’s going on because she is talking while the teacher is trying to teach.
Looks like it’s time to crack the whip again.
I told Anastasia she would be grounded any day that she gets full-day (detention). So she knew she was going to be grounded when she got home.
So she got home, I told her she was grounded and that she needed to STOP the talking. I am going to be rough on her for the next few days, kills me, although if it teaches her to control what she does it will be worth it in the long run….
Fun with parenting…..ugh.
Sorry I haven’t written in a few days. Been quite a fun week so far.
According to Anastasia, she has been good all week. I am going to call the teacher today to verify her story. So I know what I am dealing with. I am sure I will have plenty to write about if the stories don’t match up.
And I need to write about Anastasia’s cell phone…ugh…can I get a break? Please?!?
