A war has begun.
My family and I, as well as many of you most likely, are now neck deep in this seemingly unwinnable fight against a foe we all fear. This enemy creeps into our homes, almost without warning, and quietly preys on those we love. And before you can put a stop to this evil it seems to disappear leaving only one sign it had ever been there at all ... a red, itchy bump.
Yes ladies and gentlemen, I'm talking about the dreaded mosquito.
For those who think I'm being dramatic, you must have never had a red polka-dotted 1-year-old before. For those who haven't, thank whatever god you pray to; but for those who have, you know the struggle is real.
Mosquitoes are annoying, we all know that. They buzz and hum and can be pretty elusive at times. As an adult, however, it seems I rarely end up with any actual itchy bumps--although that unsatisfiable itch is burned into my brain.
About a week ago, though, Caroline woke up covered head-to-toe in so many red dots that she looked like a walking pepperoni pizza. It's was hilarious and sad all at the same time (you know, just like life itself).
Ashley and I jumped into mosquito-killer mode, spraying outside the house several times, applying ointments and creams to our little girl's battle wounds and even putting a fan on her at night to hopefully blow them away, but nothing seemed to help. Each day she woke up with more and more bites.
It got considerably worse on Tuesday when we had to take her to the doctor because a few of the bites on her face were feverish and just didn't look good. But now, armed with prescription weaponry and some insider tips on fighting those pesky parasites, we are storming the hill and making a rejuvenated push back against our tiny foes.
So to those fighting the same war, keep your head up and soldier on.
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So I think I am, despite all my best efforts, one of those TV dumb dads ... at least in part.
I came to this conclusion while watching "Everybody Loves Raymond" this morning before work. I usually watch the "Star Wars Clone Wars" cartoon with Caroline (she loves to dance to the Imperial March) before work, but I decided to switch it up a bit today.
In the episode, Ray made Debra mad but couldn't figure out why, just like in every episode. Now I had seen the episode several times, so I knew why Deb was mad, but as I thought about it and put myself in the situation, I realized I would be just like Ray. Given the circumstances, I would have no idea why Ashley was mad at me.
Then I thought about my entire life and realized that I'm everyone's dumb TV husband. I say things, people get upset and I have no idea why. Then once they tell me why, I have this moment where I step back and say "Really? That's why you were mad at me?"
Now the TV dumb dad analogy kind of ends there, because I'm a great dad who loves to spend time with my little girl. I never put a baseball game or movie or comic book above spending time with Caroline.
Coincidentally, I'm also lucky enough to have a wife who would never drag me to a quaint little B&B that has no TV and a shared bathroom in the hopes of proving she's not a boring wife (which is what happened in the episode).
Still, even if I have the dad part on lock, I don't want to be a TV dumb husband -- to Ashley or anyone else. So I'm going to work on that.
But let me also suggest that if you know you get mad easily, you cut others some slack. Those of us who seem to always make people upset aren't mind-readers. We can't look at you and just know what will set you off.
So let's all work together and try to make this world a happier place.
For more, follow me on Twitter at @CN_ChrisP. May the force be with you.
cpinkard@blythevillecourier.com