It's been a while

and now I am singing the song by Staind, and roughly half of you are too...any way, it's been far too long since I have roamed through the barnyard with you guys. I'm sure you're getting withdrawals. So, what has been happening in the barnyard? Shit, mostly. Like the saying goes, it happens and happen it has at my house...as some of you may have seen, what I thought was rain water in my basement turned out to be a full blown sewage back up....p-fucking-u....thanking sweet baby Jesus in his golden fleece diapers that I do not have a full out finished man cave, merely one with the waterproof wall board and cement floors.
After wet vacc-ing the mess up not once, not twice, but three times and then using six gallons of bleach and tossing anything that was on the floor out to burn, we are back to normalcy and the slight shitrus scent wafting in the air has been eliminated. (Even after six gallons of bleach, two cans of febreeze and the scentsy pots going 24-7 I still think I can smell lemon scented shit.)
In the midst of the shit show, we (I shouldn't say we, as I and the kids had nothing to do with it, but we sounds better) moved the cattle to the pasture, leaving Fredrick Guggenheimer, the bottle calf, to his own devices. He now thinks he is part dog. Or perhaps Stewie the coon hound thinks he's part Angus. Either way, the two have bonded and are now hanging out, which means Black Freddy (one of Fredrick Guggenheimer's nicknames) is out of his pen every morning chilling with the dogs in the yard. Drew is trying to give his pen the Fort Knox treatment as I type.
Let's see what else? Oh yes, the playground at the elementary school is being torn down and replaced. This subject has my asshairs all knotty. Yes, it sucks to see it go. Yes, it was unique. Yes, the community took great pride in building it 20 years ago. I myself took part in the construction.
I am not delusional enough to think that people live and die by and read every word of the newspaper I work for, but it HAS been publicized, for the past 18 months. It has been discussed at nearly every school board meeting for the past 18 months and there have been public meetings held by the Board to show the plans and to take input. The final one of those meetings was held Dec. 17, before the final stamp on the plans was given. Less than a handful of people attended. As I have said, reading about it coming and then actually seeing it happen are two very different things.
I am in total agreement that it looks like hell right now, BUT here's where I get a little irritated. Do you honestly think that they will not replace it with ANYTHING? "Sorry kids we are tearing out your playground and replacing it with nothing...recess has been cancelled."
Come on...think for a second. Here's the other part of the equation...what do the kids think? Yeah, my nine year old is sad to see it go, but is just as excited to see the newly finished playground because kids like new shit....will it be the same, oh hell no. But, what in this world is? Change happens and we have to adapt to it, as much as it may suck. And fair warning: the next person who calls my office and asks if I know whats happening will get my foot up their ass...
Hmmm...what else...summer insanity is in full swing...the last of three straight weekends of cattle shows is happening this weekend, golf for Jaci started, tennis starts next week, summer theatre the week after that, then it's Haiti and a back surgery...phew...I need a drink just thinking of it all.