September 21, 2019 - Saturday morning
64 degrees/cloudy skies/breezy
Pentoga Road

*Cough* "... whew, it's dusty in here," said Tom, as he blew two weeks of inactivity off the shelves of blogdom. 

I think this has been the longest I've been absent from writing in the past fifteen or twenty years. 

It felt good. I've been so darn busy that not being obligated to publish something was a relief. This blog thing's supposed to be a release valve, a hobby, therapy to keep me between the lines, not a chore. 

Still, I'd be less than honest if I didn't admit I've missed it. After pouring my insides out for the world to see for decades, it's seemed strange to pull a veil over the goldfish bowl in which we live. 

Ah, what's been happening? SCHOOL SCHOOL SCHOOL. I've not had time for anything other than school. It consumes my thoughts from 4:30 in the morning until I literally crawl into bed at night. The Bobkitties have kept me busy.

I've enjoyed my tenure as the Dean of Students, my official title. I simply refer to my current vocation as The Kindergarten Cop.

Other than possessing near perfect bodies, it seems Awnuld and I have something in common. I get to police the munchkins of Bobkitty Land.

My coworker, Vanessa, is the official principal and does the paper and brainwork of the operation. Me? I'm the strong arm of the law. 

I love my munchkins, every one of them, and stick my head in each classroom to tell them that at some point every day. 

Unfortunately, I've been reminded that a dark side can lurk behind a few of those beautiful happy faces. It's a dark side filled with abuse, drugs, and neglect. 

I'm amazed how resilient young children can be, how some can come to school and seem so happy and normal, yet return to a dark hell hole they call home.  

Once or twice these past weeks I've been forced to step to the edge and look down into that hole and admittedly, shed more than a few tears in private. 

It hurts. It hurts bad to see my babies hurting, especially when all I can do is to love and protect them at school before seeing them off at the end of the day.

I remain convinced that God didn't make bad children. Its the big people that seem to get it all wrong.

But, good, bad, or ugly, my babies are my babies and I love each and every one of them, even when we're both having bad days. 

I collect loves and hugs on a daily basis, get to hear fantastic stories of dinosaurs and super heroes, and on any given day, my pants have had multiple noses wiped across their surface, a gift from three foot tall munchkins giving big, sincere, nose wiping hugs.

I've been living the dream.

As with all good things in life, my tenure as the Kindergarten Cop is winding down. My replacement is due to begin on October 7th, a mere two weeks in the future. What began as a two to three week interim position will have lasted for six and I'm happy to relinquish the reins of deanship to another. It won't be long and this Pawpaw will return to being the occasional sub, filling in where needed once or twice a week.

I'm looking forward to going back to being the grandpa with the banjo who teaches and listens to stories of dinosaurs and super heroes. It's time to let someone else be the strong arm of the law in Bobkitty Land. 

Page Two

Mom's been in and out of the hospital these past couple of weeks. After experiencing some heaviness in her chest, two stints were installed around her heart. The stints worked, but she experienced heavy bleeding after which caused another hospital stay. 

Mom was home for two days before she had an incident on Friday morning that caused her to be taken back to the hospital with a high fever. A blood culture found she has an infection and is currently receiving some strong antibiotics via IV. Hopefully Mom will be able to come home early this coming week. My sister told me last night that Mom was doing well, sitting up in bed enjoying a grilled cheese sandwich along with a strawberry smoothie. 

I'm also told that Mom knows each and every nurse's name and holds social court at every opportunity. The girl's a social butterfly.

Let's see, not much has happened on Pentoga Road. In fact, NOTHING'S happened other than living day to day life. By the time I get home, I'm too tired to pick up a hammer, work up wood, or play in the shop.

Shop? SHOP? Do I still have a shop? Lord Almighty, it's been weeks since I even set foot out there. I hope I still remember how everything works. 

Sargie and I got to sneak out onto the lake late one afternoon.



It was a perfect evening for conversation, beauty, and fishing. We even caught a nice mess of crappies.

Our garden, the one that's been ignored all summer, has produced a bounty of vegetables. 

We've been picking for the past several weeks and unless a killer frost comes along, the season should continue for some time.

Sargie made some to-die-for stuffed peppers the other night. Being the pig I know how to be, I ate two.

The garden house and pond remain unfinished. Oh, there's a roof on the garden house and water in the pond, but nothing's changed in the past two weeks. 

Hambone has been with us the past couple of nights and he and Grandma Sargie spent Friday together. I'm told they played in the sand, ate apples, and Hambone was happy to assist Grandma Sargie with a bit of housework.



The Bone is growing up, faster than his grandmother or I care to see. 

Friday evening was beautiful so we decided to go fishing.

We didn't catch a lot, but we had some great conversations and Grady received his first lessons on how to cast a lure. Thankfully, Sargie and I, both, emerged without any new piercings.

Of course, when one takes a five year old fishing, everything needs to be explored and discovered. Hambone didn't let the opportunity go to waste, even if it meant peering under the boat to the bottom of the lake.

I'm going to head out to the shop fairly soon. We're going to add a member to the Bobkitty family in the next week or two. Melonie, one of our kindergarten teachers is expecting a baby any day now. I learned this past week that Melonie and I are related, something like third cousins-in-law by marriage. 

At any rate, I want to make something to commemorate the birth of the newest member of our family, both in name and at school.

I imagine we'll have a Bone exchange at some point today. No doubt, after working all week, Mommy and Daddy will want to see him a bit.

I don't think I'll begin writing again until I'm finished on a daily basis at school. There's simply not enough mental or physical fuel left in the tank at day's end. 

With that being said, it might be a couple of weeks, but rest assured, just like bad breath, I'll be back.

After all, a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...