Archive for the 'My Sweets' Category

Not-So-Silly Bands

Published January 25, 2012 My Sweets Leave a Comment
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For years now I have been wearing silly bands on my left wrist. I wear them because my daughter Rebekah gave them to me. I can tell it makes her glow inside to know that I do. Every so often she’ll turn to me and say “Daddy, are you still wearing your silly bands? Do you need new ones? Want to trade?” Now the ironic thing is she no longer wears them, but I do. At first, I wore them because she asked. Now I wear them to serve as a daily reminder that my daughter Rebekah needs my constant protection, love and support.

Each time I look at these simple silly bands I am reminded that life for her is difficult. That each day is a struggle. She misreads social cues. She’s trusting … sometimes too trusting, and suffers from anxiety. Rebekah is allergic to seemingly everything, and does not understand sarcasm. A tough road for a little girl who’s in her first year of middle school. As a result, she has become an easy target for bullies at school. I know, kids are kids, and some of her classmates, or friends on the bus may not intend to hurt her feelings, but I certainly remember being 12. Kids jockey for social position during these years. It has to be hard for Rebekah to know that she doesn’t quite relate to her peers, but not understand why. As a Father my heart breaks for her and I am fully aware that I am overly-protective. Rebekah may be wired different and she may struggle, but that does not mean she is not smart. On the contrary, she is very smart, and just sees the world differently. Rebekah’s a good person with a huge heart and beautiful smile. Really get to know her past the playground, and you’ll see.

She is my daughter. My only daughter.

And I will forever support her. Silly bands and all.

The 75th Ride on the Reading.

Published January 3, 2012 My Little Buddy , My Marsupial , My Sweets , Notes, Thoughts & Personal Expressions Leave a Comment
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I love the game Monopoly. If I had to pick a favorite board game this would be it. Monopoly is the perfect game. Just enough strategy, balanced with luck. I love the game pieces, the colors of the board, the illustrations on the Community Chest and Chance cards. Monopoly has just enough math for me and I love that the playing board is filled with properties that are named after actual locations around Atlantic City, NJ. (However Illinois Avenue was renamed Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in the 1980′s and the actual St. Charles Place no longer exists courtesy of a casino.)

Thanks in part to my Brother Dan and his friend Eric this is one game I know far too much about. Property costs, mortgage rates, and the fact that the famed Reading Railroad is pronounced Redding, not Reading. I have played so much I know what properties are the “real” ones you want to get, and when going to jail can sometimes win you the game. If your in the mood for a quick parlor trick, quiz me sometime. I won’t disappoint.

In 1998 Julie and I got a Deluxe Monopoly game for Christmas. The set has wooden, not plastic houses and hotels, gold colored game pieces including a classic train. A sweet spinning holder for the property cards, and a banker’s tray to keep the cash at the ready. More importantly the board has a dark purple Mediterranean and Baltic Avenue. Unlike the brown of the new sets of today. On January 1, 1999 we played our first game. Julie was the boot and I was the racecar and Julie won. I know this because for that game, and every game since, I have written on the underside of the box lid in a white Prismacolor pencil who played, what piece they used, what the date was, and more importantly who won.

Thirteen years later, game 75 was played last Sunday, New Year’s Day, 1-1-12. We had had several opportunities to play this game, We had the chance to play with Dan and Linda, My Mom and Norbert, Julie’s sister Joanne, and even our friends Mike and Rachel. For one reason or another we opted to not play and Game 75 was held. Held until Sunday.

This was the cliff notes version of game 75:

Julie was the thimble, Joey was the train, Rebekah was the dog, Aaron was the racecar, and I was the old utility van. Rebekah made it around the board first and ironically bought the Mediterranean Ave as the game’s first property. Aaron spent a lot of time in Jail, and I mopped up free parking and landed on Illinos Ave seemingly on every pass around. Aaron was out first, even with a saving move by Julie. She was next, then Rebekah setting up a showdown between Joey and me. In the end this game saw at least two fatal moves, mentions of the “full color spectrum, and 3 house plateau”, and ended up with Joey as the winner.

I’m glad my family likes Monopoly. I’m glad that as a family we can play games that don’t end in arguments. I’m glad that for 2 hours or so we can just worry about getting that last orange property versus a high score on some electronic device. In the end, this game was a worthy 75th, and one that I know we’ll all remember vividly when we pencil in #100, #125, or even #150.

All Aboard the Memory Express.

Published December 4, 2011 My Marsupial , My Sweets , Notes, Thoughts & Personal Expressions Leave a Comment
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I like spending time with my Father. It doesn’t happen often but when it does I cherish it. I think about him at least once every day but spending a block of time together is something really special.

The reason for his visit this time was the holiday train track for under the Christmas tree. This weekend I have been look forward to for years, scratch that… decades. Ever since I can remember I have wanted to make a track for under the tree. We just never had the space. Growing up my Father had made one. His was an HO scale set complete with roads, streetlamps, multiple tracks and houses that were colorfully lit from beneath. Some of my favorite holiday memories are traced back to the times I spent playing the engineer, robbing the local bank and having the sheriff come in to make the rescue while the ‘ol blue Norfolk and Western circled the city. The two pictures to the left are old Polaroid photos that I found that detail my Father’s preliminary track layout. I didn’t realize I had these. Coming across them last week in two separate locations within my own collection of train parts and pieces was the Geraldo Rivera find of the century. These two photos have not been together in a very long time. (Time to frame them and give them their proper artistic due.)

As for my track, Santa has been bringing us one HO scale house each year in anticipation of having the space to have our own track someday. After the season, the kids and I would sit around the kitchen table and over the course on a couple nights would build the house. Since Joey is 14 we have a city full of character. My brothers John and Dan and I, divided my Father’s houses up a few years ago that were on his track. So i have 5 additional houses, scattered within my own that makes our final city.

Tonight was fun. Laying out the track parts and arranging the houses. Spending time with Dad in my garage while spending time with Joey and Rebekah as they helped. They didn’t know Grandpa was there with us, and that’s fine. They don’t think about him like I do. I don’t expect them too. I know my Father was smiling when Rebekah went house by house asking “Is this one that Grandpa built?” What about this one? And this one?” Each time I pointed out the next Grandpa house, she’d pick it up and inspect it closely. I liked her comment when she said that “Grandpa was really talented. I wish I would’ve know him” I responded, “Yes he was Rebekah, yes he was. He would’ve loved you. And he would’ve spoiled you rotten.”

I’m glad we have the space in the new house to finally make this track. when I complete mine it will be an HO scale set complete with roads, streetlamps, multiple tracks and houses that are colorfully lit from beneath.

Wait, Did You Say a Rat?

Published November 29, 2011 My Sweets Leave a Comment
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I am not in the door two steps from arriving home from work when Rebekah hits me with her news. “Hey Dad, at school we have these two rats that had 11 babies, and well… the teachers are allowing some of us to adopt two rats to take home as pets, so I filled out the an application at school, so can I get the rats if my application is accepted?” Now, I can safely say that without hesitation I said, “Absolutely not” in the next two steps into the house.” A Rat? Really? I don’t like the chipmunk who thinks he has free reign in the garage. A rat in the house? Wait, two rats in the house?

Um… NO.

Rebekah was crushed at my quick response. She ran upstairs sobbing into her bedroom and shut the door. Now realizing that maybe I answered her too quickly. I went upstairs for some much needed damage control.

I know her heart is in the right place. Unfortunately she is allergic to dogs, cats, and horses. She can’t pet them, be near them and it breaks her heart. Mine too. What little girl does not yearn for the affection of one of these animals? (In case you have not guessed it, we do not have any pets.) She is also allergic to dairy… so no milk, ice cream, heavy cream, and her cheese intake is low. As for the rats, she articulated to me very well that since she was allergic to all the other animals that maybe, just maybe, she would not be allergic to rats. Rather hopeful outlook, and I admired the thought process… but rats in the house? Willingly? Um… NO.

We talked for awhile and she cried some more, I’d like to think that she understands my position, but I guess I’ll find out in the morning.

Switching gears here, I secretly hope she is allergic to rats. It will make dating go a lot easier on my daughter.

And me.

Love at Three Sights

Published November 6, 2011 My Little Buddy , My Marsupial , My Sweets Leave a Comment
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When I was younger I never believed in love at first sight. My life in advertising as an Art Director had trained me to never buy into the movie or television romances exploited by the entertainment industry. From early on I understood that on-screen romances were driven by plot lines, ratings and had nothing to do with real chemistry. A major component to love. However love is very abstract. It doesn’t follow rules and doesn’t pretend to play favorites and I understand that now. Love transcends the logical and gets you to see life differently. Eyes become opened, and this, at times, happens in an instant.

Such as, the first time I saw my son Joey. That was love at first sight. The doctor held him up, eyes wide open and he was big and strong. I picked him up and everything changed (stealing a line from Ben Folds).

The first time I saw my daughter Rebekah. That was love at first sight. Her tiny frame so fragile. Her cry so sweet. I fell hard that day.

The first time I saw youngest son Aaron, albeit one month early, well you guessed it, and that was before i knew he would grow into a sarcastic and witty energetic fireball.

I often think back to that time when I first saw each one of my children. When i do, my heart swells, and I get lost in thought. My reward is a memory burned into the soft tissue of my brain. It’s like the finger print of the one I love is permanently there for the rest of my days. I hope it’s something my three kids get to experience someday.

So if someone today asked me if i believed in love at first sight I would respond with a revised view of “depends on the case”. If somebody said to me “what about chemistry at first sight?”

Well that’s a definite yes, and a whole ‘nother blog post.

The Bedtime Routine

Published September 7, 2011 My Little Buddy , My Marsupial , My Sweets , Notes, Thoughts & Personal Expressions Leave a Comment
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School starts on Wednesday and with it comes bed times, early mornings and mass chaos before the bus clicks on the red lights and slowly comes to complete rest at the new stop. What also comes is an opportunity again to reacquaint the Mayernik household with some normal routines. For me, it’s getting to tuck the kids in at night. With Summer vacation and the house renovations in the mix, normal routines have been smashed into small pieces. Some normalcy would be welcomed in my head right about now.

Nightime rituals have changed over the years from childhood stories, to reading books, bathtime, and heart to heart talks. One thing that has not changed are the prayers and what my kids call the “God Song”. It’s a song by Michael Card titled God’s Own Fool. When my oldest son Joey was a small toddler I got in the habit of singing this song to him after prayers. Naturally, I also sang, and still sing, to Rebekah and Aaron. It has evolved into a nice tradition that I look forward to when I tuck them in. Now at the ages they are at they know the words. They sing along and it makes them smile which in turn makes me smile. The message of the song is clear: Follow God’s own fool.

Most of Michael Card’s songs are a bit preachy for me and they don’t really find their way from the ipod catalog to the earphones, but this one I find to be particularly good. It has a bit of humor disguised in an otherwise preachy message. And that I appreciate. With Joey going into High School this year he has graduated past me sitting by his bed side at night saying prayers and singing the song. He says prayers on his own now. Maybe he sings the song in his head, maybe not. But I am sure it crosses his mind, and I hope when they are blessed with children. they sing the song too when bedtime calls.

The added layer here is that for their First Communion I sang this song for each of them during their services. It was a nice exclamation point to years worth of singing for, and with them. I’m glad I started singing this song so many years ago. I don’t know why or how it started, I’m just glad it did.

In a flash Joey is starting High School. In a flash Rebekah is 5 foot 1. In a flash Aaron is 9. Where has the time gone? I shake my head sometimes at the humor of it all. The first day.. three new schools, new friends, new bus stops, new home… and thankfully holding on to some old favorite routines.

Here are the Lyics to the song in case you are interested:

Gods Own Fool by Michael Card

Seems I’ve imagined Him all of my life
As the wisest of all of mankind
But if God’s Holy wisdom is foolish to man
He must have seemed out of His mind
Even His family said He was mad
And the priest said a demon’s to blame
But, God in the form of this angry young man
Could not have seemed perfectly sane

We in our foolishness thought we were wise
He played the fool and He opened our eyes
We in our weakness believed we were strong
He became helpless to show we were wrong
So we follow God’s own Fool
For only the foolish can tell
Believe the unbelievable, come be a fool as well

So come lose your life for a carpenter’s son
For a madman who died for a dream
And You’ll have the faith His first followers had
And you’ll feel the weight of the beam
So surrender the hunger to say you must know
Find the courage to say I believe
For the power of paradox opens your eyes
And blinds those who say they can see

We in our foolishness thought we were wise
He played the fool and He opened our eyes
We in our weakness believed we were strong
He became helpless to show we were wrong
So we follow God’s own Fool
For only the foolish can tell
Believe the unbelievable, come be a fool as well

The Home that Memories Built

Published July 25, 2011 My Little Buddy , My Marsupial , My Sweets , Notes, Thoughts & Personal Expressions Leave a Comment

“This will be weird. This will no longer be our home. The home I grew up in. Everything will be different.”

That’s what Joey said to me today. And he’s right. It will be different. We are moving into a new house soon and leaving our current home after 10 years. 10 years of winter snowfalls, summer gardens and fall croquet. Bus stop pick-ups and dropoffs, backyard baseball, playroom cleanings and blanket forts. Morning get out-of-bed struggles and afternoon naps. Sunday after church luppers, muggy nights, Halloween trick or treatings, family game nights and Phantom of the Opera dances.

We packed a lot in these 10 years. It’s easy to look to the new house and see the potential of what could be… what will be. But I need to realize that the transition for Joey, Rebekah and Aaron will be a bit more emotional. Our current home is the house they grew up in. Sure we moved from Atlanta, and first lived in Michigan, but for our three children, 609 is their one and only home they remember.

I decided to make a list of ten memories from our home at 609 bay rd. These are in no particular order. How could I pick one as the best?

10. Playing Monopoly for the first time as a family with everyone playing by themselves. This was a big deal. Aaron is old enough now, Rebekah is patient enough now, and Joey can be banker. Life is good.

9. The Garden. We spent many a Summer cultivating our small 10′ x 14′ garden. Over the years it changed location, shape and its yearly crop was always different. We tried herbs, eggplant, beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, squash, lettuce and radishes. Really only cucumbers, lettuce and tomatoes grow there. Perfect for Summertime BLTs.

8. I will miss seeing the deer come every morning in the backyard to eat the cucumbers from the garden. The time Joey was stopped in his tracks due to the two deer that went galloping by was particularly amusing.

7. The day Magglio Ordonez hit a walk off home run to send the Tigers to the 2006 world series. I picked Joey up and spun him in the living room.

6. After dinner backgammon. Best two out-of-three. Julie would win some, I would win some. Sometimes we’d let each other win just to be nice.

5. The realization that living on a main road means that the snow plows leave a thick icy goodness at the base of the driveway that a Buick can never get through.

4. All the family and friends that made the trek to come see us. We truly appreciated the visits. Most of the time we made the journey. To have the ability to share our home was always a welcome change.

3. There is nothing like the final inning of a World Serious game in the back yard. Me batting left handed, and Joey swinging for “Dave’s Yard” for the easy home run. Rebekah always on my team and Aaron always trying 110% just to impress his older brother.

2. Bath time: Blue Guy and his boat, Red Guy, and Green Guy. Singing the Jaws theme while the frog lurked below the surface waiting for just the right time to strike.

1. The birth of our son Aaron John. He came one month early on July 19th. We had nothing prepared. I spent the weekend cleaning the crib, bassinet, and explaining to my Mother-In-Law, who came that day to help us, why we had nothing prepared.

The new house will be a welcome change, and Joey is right, everything is different. But change is good. It will just take awhile for the new house to become our home. And the current home on Bay Rd has one thing the new house on Majestic will never be able to achieve. The title from the Mayernik Trio as “The Home I Grew Up In.”

I Started Jogging Again for a Girl

Published June 26, 2011 My Sweets 2 Comments
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I hated to jog when I was younger. I never understood it. Jog for extended periods of time, sweat like a pig and ruin your knees. Yeah, sounds like fun… sign me up. When I was younger we had a French foreign exchange student stay with us for a summer. Bruno, and he could run. LIKE FOREVER. We would jog and I would try to keep up. trying to keep pace with a Frenchman who was in shape was laughable for me. I wondered if Bruno would ever stop, all the while I fought the urge to quit because I was to embarrassed to give in and say I was not in shape to keep up with with the almost 18 year old Frenchman. Bruno kicked my ass.

I was always a bike guy. It seemed to me that if I was going to put in the energy I would rather ride a bike, travel three times as fast and cover more distance. Well, that was when I was younger. That was before I started to train for my role in Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat last fall. That was before I realized what jogging really was. I always thought of jogging, or running as a physical torture, but i have come to realize that it’s more psychological medicine than torture. Running is workout for the body and soul, and that I like. Frankly, now it’s what I need. My training program for Joseph was designed by Marcus, a friend of mine at Fit For Trips, and he wanted me to jog pretty much every other day (and I wish I had). I have to say it was much better than expected. I found that I enjoyed the solitude and it was a challenge for me to stay focused. (Staying focused is something I found to be difficult for the me over the past 37 years…oh look, shiny object #7 again.)

Just before the Christmas holiday I screwed my back up and was not able to do pretty much anything for about 3 months. Doctors orders. Well I am all healed now (well except that I still can’t feel the outside of my right foot, but there is no pain.) and ready to get back on the roads. This time it’s different. I wanted to get back to jogging not for a role in a play but for my daughter Rebekah. She loves to run. Loves the freedom, and she fancies joining the track team when she starts middle school in the fall. So together we run. Side by side, although her speed tends to vary a lot more than mine. She’s fast, slow, fast, fast, slow. I figure if I stay a comfortable pace that eventually she’d be able to keep the pace with me. It’s just going to take some practice. And we have the whole summer. Don’t worry bike… we’ll ride again, just right now I need to jog with my girl.

…and for my friends who jog, I am on the lookout for my first 5k that I’d like to run in the fall. I’ll try to keep pace with you as long as you promise not to kick my ass like Bruno with a super fast pace. Who knows maybe I can convince my girl to be at my side too. If Rebekah sticks with it he’ll be kicking my ass in no time. Guaranteed.

Welcome to Toys”R”Us

Published June 8, 2011 My Little Buddy , My Marsupial , My Sweets , Notes, Thoughts & Personal Expressions 2 Comments
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SweetsA couple months ago Julie and I took our kids to NYC for the first time. Just a day trip. We took a Megabus from Baltimore, Maryland in the morning and left NYC that same night a 11pm. We did a lot of walking throughout Manhattan, and really pushed the limits of our three children. Thankfully Joanne, Julie’s younger sister was there with us to help wrangle to troops amidst the hustle and bustle of the New York City streets. This trip was the litmus test to a bigger more substantial one to NYC in the near future. Our first stop after getting off the bus was lunch. We took a b-line to the nearest New York Style pizza joint and exposed the kids to a true slice of pizza. I have to say it was fun watching Joey, Rebekah and Aaron try to pick up the large thin crust beauties expecting to eat them like a normal slice of a Little Ceasers Hot-n-Now large pizza. After some coaxing I finally got them to realize the folding technique, and while I am confident they didn’t really understand it at first, I know they were a fan after requesting another trip to the counter and ordering some more slices. Mission accomplished.

We also went into the new Harry Potter exhibition., M&M’s World, Lego, and The American Girl Place stores to pass the time, but nothing was better than walking in hand and hand with Rebekah into the multi-level Toys”R”Us in Times Square. Complete with a 60′ ferris wheel, and more toys than anyone could ever see in one 30 minute visit. Rebekah was very quick to say. “Wow Dad, this is the best day of my life… like ever!”

“Well, Rebekah,” I responded, “I am glad I just got to share it with you.”

Scarlet and Black and Ochre and Sweets.

Published September 29, 2010 My Sweets , Notes, Thoughts & Personal Expressions 1 Comment
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Ever since I’ve gotten back into theater I’ve wanted to perform in Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It’s on my bucket list of shows that I’d love to perform in before I decide to hang up the jazz shoes. Phantom, RENT, Wicked and Forever Plaid are some of the others. So when NAC announced their 2010 November show as Joseph I was excited. This was the opportunity. But more importantly Joseph is a show my daughter Rebekah could perform in with me.

This will be the first show for her. Rebekah has wanted to be on stage for many years now, and her attention span has finally caught up with her desire and beautiful voice. Joseph is a perfect fit. I would try out. She would try out. If we were cast we’d have three months of time together that we’ll both remember for a lifetime. Pretty good trade if you ask me. Rebekah learned the vocal parts, learned the dancing, and gave a gut wrenching audition. Okay, gut wrenching for me to watch while peeking through the small cafeteria windows. Anyone who’s ever given an audition for a role in a stage production knows the feeling I’m talking about. Magnify it by 10,000 and that’s the feeling I had watching Rebekah. I was nervous for her, and she came through beaming as if she had just landed the role of the Narrator (The female lead). What she did took courage. Strength. Confidence. Maturity. And I’m very proud of her. She got a part in the children’s chorus, and she still smiles for ear to ear when she talks about it at the diner table.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has always been a special show to me. I saw a performance in Detroit when I was younger. We sat in the back rows of the Masonic Temple, and the seats as I recall were not very good, but I was there. Donny Osmond was the lead. He was touring North America after opening the Toronto revival in 1992. The music was awesome, the staging cool, and I was there. I remember thinking, “What an awesome experience to be up on stage, performing. What a show.” Flash forward about 10 years or so and Julie and I listen to the Donny Osmond version of the soundtrack while we drive from Atlanta, GA (Where we used to live) to Detroit, to visit family. Flash Forward 15 years and we still have the soundtrack in our top five selections for any long distance car ride we take from our home in Upstate, NY. So when I landed the lead role of Joseph, with my daughter at my side, it’s a dream come true.

Practices have already begun. Rebekah and I have had several car rides to and from practice together. Just her and me. No brothers kicking her chair. No DS game systems to pass the time, just nice conversation between a Dad and his “Sweets”.

____________________

The four performances are in November at the Wayne Central Performing Arts Center, Route 350 South, Ontario Center, NY.
Friday Nov. 19 @ 7pm
Saturday Nov. 20 @ 2pm and 7pm
Sunday Nov. 21 @ 2pm

Tickets are $8 in advance… $10 at the door. And they are all general admission.
www.showtix4u.com or call 315-524-8965.

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