This was a tough weekend. Not the worst, but it was indeed tricky.
If I'm being honest, it was like a "compliment sandwich" - you know that "good manager" counseling tactic where you start with something good, discuss a problem you have, and then end with another positive? That. That was my weekend.
Things started pretty great with a rare date night with the wife.
The Mrs. and I went to see a local performance of Young Frankenstein, thanks to a kind co-worker of hers.
This isn't exactly a review of Derby Dinner Playhouse, but I will say that the service was awesome (shoutout to our server Kyle Braun, who was part of the performance. Has a great singing voice and he's a pretty good actor, though he didn't have a huge role in this. Got his name from the program) and the performance was very entertaining. We had a great time.
For those that don't know, at Derby Dinner Playhouse, you get dinner and a show. First, you have a buffet-style dinner and after a few a couple hours, the show starts. The food is okay, but for me, it's about the show. The cheesecake was the shit though!
If you're in the Louisville/Southern Indiana area and you want a decent night out, Derby Dinner Playhouse is a good spot.
The downside of Friday night happened when we got home.
Surprise, surprise - our kids are messy!
Recently, I made the kids clean a massive mess that had amassed over time and I told the children that I wasn't going to allow these habits to continue and manifest into another big mess.
When we came home, we found that they had drunken chocolate milk in an area they weren't supposed to, spilled the milk on a blanket, didn't clean the mess, didn't tell the adult who was watching them about it, and left the empty bottle on the floor.
The issue I had is that, with as much as we've discussed this, they're just choosing to disobey the rules. For this, I had to ground them, both boys. No devices (laptops, phones, tablets, etc) for the weekend and no outings. The oldest was supposed to go to a birthday party and the youngest had an outing with me planned that I was looking forward to.
The next day, I sat with my oldest son and asked him more directly who was responsible for the mess the night before. I tried to raise my son to think of being a man-in-training and part of that is taking responsibility for your wrong-doings and accepting what comes from that. For this, I lifted his brother's punishment.
There was something else that weighed on my mind. When I turned nine, I had my parents book me a birthday party at a local skating rink. They paid for 20 and about seven kids came. Despite what reasons were given or my ability to "understand", I remember my feelings being hurt. I just felt crappy and unloved by my friends.
When I talked to my son, we discussed this point and I agreed, for the sake of the little boy's party, to allow him to go with the understanding that the range of his punishment would be extended. He accepted these terms and my wife would later tell me that there weren't a lot of kids there so I'm glad that my son went for the sake of the kid's big day.
As for the youngest and I, we went to a local Applebee's and had a ball! Wasn't anything major, but it was special to have some one-on-one father/son time. Sports on TV, lots of food on the table. It was a blast!
Buffalo Wings, Mini-Quesadillas, Mozzarella Sticks, Spanish Dip, Mini Cheese Pizza, and BBQ Ribs. We had a great time talking and hanging out.
Later that night, I went out with some friends and had a nice little mini dinner and watched them sing karaoke. It was nice to just be out of the house enjoying time with my friends. Thanks to Bryan for inviting me out!
In the end, it was a good weekend. I had a good time, saw some friends, and taught my son a lesson in responsibility. All positives in my book.
Thanks for reading.
- The Moon
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