Scattered thoughts

I have a few miscellaneous thoughts to put out there today--nothing very well organized, and some of them completely unrelated to being a single dad.  So, in no particular order:

First, here's an article about the continuing decline of tourism in Egypt.  It's killing the Egyptian economy.  We actually visited the temple in Luxor that's pictured in the article.  (Yes, I knew that 60 tourists were killed in an attack there back in 1997, but I figured the odds of that happening again during our trip there were pretty remote.  Turns out I was right.  We're not dead.)  I still think back on that trip as one of the two best trips we took while we lived in Switzerland.  I'm glad that we were able to squeeze in a visit while things were relatively calm.  (Norway was my other favorite trip.)

Second, some of you already know this.  There's a rock band called Rush that's been around for a long time.  They're going to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame later this month, but they're still going strong.  Tanner and I have made a habit of catching the occasional Rush concert.  We've seen them in Chicago, Saint Paul, Minneapolis, Winnipeg, Denver, and Salt Lake.

In 2007, just before Tanner turned nine, we got front-row seats to a Rush concert in Salt Lake.  Tanner and the band's guitarist exchanged goofy faces throughout the show, and the guitarist ended up giving Tanner a guitar pick.  It was a fun night.  Well, I got those exact same seats for a Rush concert this summer, and in the grand tradition of the Wood boys, Lindsey is now demanding her chance to see Rush.  So this time, Lindsey and I will be on the front row.  Poor Tanner will have to suffer all the way back on the fifth row.  But he's now tall enough that seeing the band won't be a problem for him.  We're all pretty excited.  (Yes, I'll insist that she wear ear plugs.  It would be child abuse not to.)

Third, Stace was around the house most of the day and was in pretty good spirits.  She's been giving me tutorials on which drawers contains which of the kids' clothes, and we all had a nice dinner together again.

Fourth, I think Lindsey decided to try to push some boundaries tonight to test how things are going to work around here.  Stace left after dinner, and I started in on homework with Lindsey.  Lindsey's got some pretty hefty challenges with learning, so her homework takes a long time.  It was time for her to go to bed when she was done.  She insisted, though, that Mom had said that she could watch TV after she was done with her homework.  Now it's possible that Stace actually said that, but I doubt it.  At any rate, Lindsey threw a major fit, which was a little out of character.  I explained to her that even if Mom said that, we had run out of time and there would be more time tomorrow.  I was gentle with her, but I stuck to it, and she went to bed.  She wasn't happy.  I'll have to compare notes with Stace tomorrow, but even if Stace did actually say that, Lindsey needed to get to bed, and it wasn't worth the ruckus she caused.  I try to be tolerant.

Fifth, and finally, I'm sometimes struck by some of the absurdities of my situation.  Here's one.  I've already shared this thought with some of you, but it still gets me:  I HAVE TWO SINKS!!!!!!  Yes, I have a nice, big master bathroom, and it has two sinks.  What on earth am I supposed to do with two sinks?  Use one every other day?  I used to torment Stace by waiting to take out my contacts until she was taking out hers.  Then I'd tell her how great it was that we had two sinks because taking out our contacts side by side was our "special together time."  Knowing Stace, you can imagine the annoyed looks I could successfully get from her each and every time.