Thank You, Stan Lee…

…and every other comic book writer ever.

Prince Mekhi of Castle Curley has been misbehaving again, as 9-year-old boys will do. He currently is grounded from all electronics (tablet, video games, TV, etc.), his bicycle, visiting his friends, etc. The one thing that we won’t ground him from is reading.

Background: Brian and I love to read. I could read before I was in kindergarten, and I frequently took books out on the playground to read instead of play. Brian gave me a kindle for Christmas years ago, and I take it everywhere. It beats hauling around a library of books.

When Mekhi joined our family nearly two years ago, he didn’t like to read; something which is anathema to us. Being avid readers, as well as geeks, we know an excellent way to get a non-reader to read: Comic Books.

We took Mekhi to Free Comic Book Day in 2014, and Brian helped our little prince make his selections. Now he is addicted to Spider-Man. I don’t know how many times now that I’ve gotten the “Can’t talk; reading” look from our son. I love it.

This morning on the way to school, Mekhi showed me the cover of the Ultimate Spider-Man comic he is reading. “Do you know who this is?” I knew the lady to whom he was pointing was neither Gwen Stacy nor Mary Jane Watson, as neither dressed in a superhero costume. When I couldn’t come up with the answer, Mekhi informed me that she is Kitty Pryde of the X-Men, and she and Parker are dating after he broke up with Stacy. When Mekhi referred to Watson as “MJ,” a common nickname for the character by Spider-Fans, Brian was so pleased, My son reads Spider-Man Comics!

Mekhi spent the rest of the drive to school telling us what is happening in Ultimate Spider-Man, and I know that Mekhi is very familiar with the X-Men since binge-watching Wolverine and the X-Men on Netflix (I watched it, too). He frequently asks Brian for more Spider-Man comics, and when we were out, I offered my Star Wars comics to Mekhi to read. Nope. Just wants more Spider-man.

Gods bless Stan Lee and every other comic book writer/artist out there.

Pog ma thoin!
-Lori

“With great power comes not being a dumbass” -from Dr. Blink Superhero Shrink by John Kovalic and Christopher Jones

 

Holidays at Castle Curley…

…where Geekdom reigns supreme.

For the uninitiated, Brian and I refer to our home as Castle Curley (CC) because of the old saying “a man’s home is his castle.” Brian (the World’s Greatest Husband (WGH)) is the King of CC; I am the queen; and all the critters are princes and princesses. Mekhi, too, is a Prince of CC, and his Mom #1 is a duchess.

We have a very different view of the holidays here at Castle Curley. Closer to the end of the year I’ll give you more information on the major holiday season, but let’s talk about this time of year for now:

Valentine’s Day vs. Gamemaster’s Day

You must understand that the WGH is allowed to buy me jewelry from only one store: the Packers Pro Shop (PPS). Recently I had to include the caveat that he is forbidden from buying anything by Pandora, when the PPS announced they started to sell the ugly and expensive charms. Ugh! Every December I rant that not all women want diamonds or other jewelry for ‘insert holiday here.’ Valentine’s Day is just a candy holiday, so a simple heart-shaped box filled with chocolates is more than sufficient. Brian and I tell each other “I love you” every day (like this couple), so we don’t need a hallmark holiday to remind us to say it.

What’s more important to us is Gamemaster’s Day (GMs Day), celebrated on March 4^th. Usually during our RPGs closest to this day, we’ll have snacks to celebrate, and the PCs may bring gifts for the GM if they so choose. Brian and I attend Plattecon every year, typically convened on the first weekend of March (This weekend!), because UW-Platteville is where we met when we were college students. Every gaming convention has a dealers room, and Brian and I usually buy our GMs Day gifts to each other at Plattecon. One year he bought me a Duck of Gloom; another year I gave Brian more expansions for Mansions of Madness. In another blog entry, I’ll discuss our “no practical gifts” rule.

Critters Day Party

Every spring, we celebrate the birthdays of our feline and canine children with a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Once when a friend of ours took his dog to the same vet that we utilize, he overheard the staff discussing a couple that has a birthday party for their cats. Our friend laughed because he knew they were talking about us.

Independence Day Party

This started when our friends the Stewart Brothers came to our home on July 4^th many years ago, and we lit fireworks and watched Wimbledon. Now we host a barbecue where we provide all the meat (including vegan), some beverages, and some fireworks, and the rest is potluck. We try to keep the fireworks on the ground because we live a block from the local police and fire departments.

Anniversary vs. Thanksgiving

This year, our wedding anniversary is on a Monday. Wazoo. Plus, it’s our 24^th wedding anniversary. Wazoo. Our anniversary is not a big deal (See above re: saying “I love you” every day.). Case in point: the year we moved to our current house, we took off the day of our anniversary (it was a Wednesday that year), and spent the day in bed (the majority of the time devoted to actual sleeping). We’re thinking of doing something big for our Silver Anniversary, but that’s not until next year.

No, the major holiday to celebrate us and our family is Thanksgiving, despite the fact that we almost divorced our first married Thanksgiving (long story short: Brian taught me how to drive). We always have the day off, so now we stay home in our jammies, cook our own meal, and watch football (especially if the Packers are playing) or the Lord of the Rings Extended Editions. We also share our meal with our critters, who nap with us as we watch TV.

My Birthday vs. Life Day

I’m still a pink hatter, which means I’m not yet fifty and eligible to join the Red Hat Society. Unless the Packers play on my birthday again, we’ll probably go out for dinner at our local Nitty Gritty, then watch Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon II on Netflix. Seriously, that’s all I want to do.

I tried to commit suicide when I was fifteen (December 5, 1985) in a desperate plea for help. Since then, I have been diagnosed with depression and anxiety disorders and now am receiving the appropriate health care for these conditions. Now every year I celebrate Life Day (no, not from the hideous Star Wars Holiday Special, which despite being a SW geek, I never have seen) by watching the sunset, then going out for dinner. This year, I’d like to go to the Melting Pot if Riff Trax isn’t having a special live showing that night, as they have done previously with Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.

Curley Con

The WGH hits the big 5-0 in September this year, and the AARP already is sending him membership offers. We’re going to have a party at CC called Curley Con, which basically is a day of games, friendship, food, and celebration. Need I say more?

Pog ma thoin!

-Lori

“My lovely wife, Cristi, sought to get the perfect 3rd year anniversary gift. Consulting the Ms. Manner’s Guide to Geek Husbands, she found that a new graphics card is just the thing!” – Aaron Williams

Prince Mekhi

For those who don’t yet know, Brian and I help take care of an eight-year-old boy named Mekhi. His biological mother Lisa, aka Mom #1, is a single mother of five kids to four fathers. Mekhi’s biological father is the only one of these who is a deadbeat. To make matters worse, Mekhi is the exact middle child, the oldest boy, two of his siblings are special needs (his younger brother is highly autistic), and like President Obama, Mekhi’s mother is Caucasian and his father is African-American. Lisa describes his skin as “caramel-colored.” He is a handsome boy, growing like the proverbial weed.

Years ago, Lisa worked as a live-in aid to Don, who had severe diabetes. Don was a father-figure to Mekhi until he passed away because Don didn’t have health insurance to take care of his disease (this was before the ACA). Lisa asked my Brian (the World’s Greatest Husband) to step in and be a father-figure to Mekhi, and she since labeled me as Mom #2.

Brian is just Dad. Sometimes Mekhi talks about his “real dad”, i. e. the deadbeat, but I try to get Mekhi to use the term “biological dad,” saying that a real dad does more than just contribute genetic material.

Helping to care for Mekhi is both fun and challenging, in that order. Most of the time, he is an energetic and playful boy. Sometimes he gets into fights at school or his after school program (he once was annoyed that his female classmates kept singing “Let it Go” from Frozen), and we have to ground him from all electronics (TV, PlayStation, Nintendo, etc.). He especially has been concerned about police, considering recent race-related events.

Summer 2013, we took Mekhi to a lot of church and community festivals, and he was enthralled with martial arts demonstrations by local dojos. In December of that year, we signed him up at Kicks Unlimited (KU) in Sun Prairie, and now he is a green belt about to test for his next belt. Also, his ninth birthday party at the end of March will take place at KU. When Mekhi earned his gold belt, Brian said, “It was all I could to not start bawling.”

A year ago and on a whim, I bought Mekhi some sticker books, especially from The Lego Movie. He loves them. We’re also encouraging him to read, so he has a subscription to Highlights for Children magazine and their Hidden Pictures books. He lets me do the three sticker pages in those latter books. Yes, I’m still a kid at heart.

Recently Mekhi’s school had a fundraiser, and I asked my siblings to contribute because I contributed to a lot of fundraisers for their kids. Of course, the only one who responded was my brother Fran (more on my siblings in a later entry – maybe).

Sometimes it’s hard being Mom #2: Mekhi still clings to Lisa when he needs motherly love. I’ll take what blessings I can get, though. I love Mekhi very much. Last year was the first time ever that I truly enjoyed Mother’s Day.

Probably the best quality about Mekhi is his quick wit. Recently I was cleaning my home office; lamenting that it had been so long since I did that, the calendar showed October. Mekhi asked, “What year?”

Pog ma thoin!

-Lori

“FTR: the calendar said October 2014.” – LAC