"C" is for confident

Last month Chip had his bike stolen. He left it in the bike rack at school over the weekend, (ill advised move), and it was gone by Monday morning. He was upset, but not nearly as upset as his mother and I who had just finished buying his birthday and Christmas presents, (His Birthday is nine days before Christmas.) Now what ? We are going to have to buy him another bike? We didn't. Hannah and Jake both have bikes that they hardly use and we told him that he would have to use one of those. He was fine with that, and so were we. A couple of days later at dinner Chip shared with us that a friend at school knew who stole his bike. It was a seventh grader who lived in the neighborhood next to ours. I was anxious to go get it but he said he didn't know which house it was. He told me he would get it the following day. I didn't like the idea of him going without 'protection' so I told Jake, Captain Machismo, that he needed to escort his little brother. (Seriously, what kind of sick, twisted, deranged, evil, little kid steals bikes? Chip cannot go alone right?) Jake gave a comforting "I'll kill that little punk!", he is such a tough talker.

The next evening as I pulled into the drive I saw Chip's bike on the porch. I hurried inside to get the details. Jake was sitting on the couch and I asked him how it went down. He told me he had just arrived home and didn't know anything about it. What?! I gave him the green light to kill, how could he pass that up? I hollered up to Chip and he very nonchalantly came down the stairs. For some strange reason there were no cuts, torn clothing, or black eyes. I asked him how he got his bike back. He simply said, "Hayden, (his friend), showed me which house was his. I knocked on the door, the kid answered, I asked him to give me my bike back. He closed the door, opened his garage door, and rolled my bike out. I took it and rode it home."

Simple right? Well, simple for Chip. I saw again how confident this boy is. He believes he can do anything. He doesn't not concern himself with critics or naysayers. He believes in himself. I am so glad for that .

my boy

It brings a smile to my face, everytime.

I am huge fan of the mullet. I have never had one, I have never wanted one. I don't think anyone shares the same affinity that I have for them, but there is something indescribable about them. When mullets were more mainstream, like 1987, I loathed them. I couldn't figure out what the deal was. Two decades and a million nicknames have passed and it is still an eye catching hair style. I feel like we are living in an era of mullet liberation because recently I have seen some of the finest pieces of hair that I have ever seen. It's like the mullet militia is on the rise. I love it. A good mullet captivates me, I have followed a guy around a home depot just to watch other people see this guy and his huge lions mane sans the sides. And at the school play I stopped taking pictures of my son so I could take pictures of the army cut on top and Louis XIV curls down the shoulders. I don't know what it is but I love it.

Long live the Mullet.