Frustration - thy name is Ashtonio.

It's Thursday morning and I started last evening reminding Ashton that she needed to pick up so that the cleaner could clean. This morning I reminded her again to pick up all the crap on her bedroom floor so that it could be vacuumed. I didn't say she had to definitively organize her room, I just asked her to clear the floor so it could be vacuumed. I also asked her to feed and water the dogs, her job this week. I shouldn't have to remind her of her job. She assured me it was done.

You know where I'm going with this. Right, so neither was done and it pissed me off. So I've closed off her room and I texted her that she would be vacuuming her room when she got home. She told me she'd done all those things. Right. So then a long involved round of texts from her, firstly saying she'd done everything, then apologizing for not doing the things.

It takes a more level-headed person than myself to be a parent. She's 17 and assumes she's an adult now but constantly pulls this shit. Ah, me!

In other news, the world continues to turn. I read an interesting article about George Wills last night at bedtime. It seems that Trump was enough to drive him away from the Republican party. Go figure.

So far an altogether unsatisfying beginning to my day. I hope to get something done but first I will reinforce my routine by meditating after I finish writing a note here. My hands are stiffer this morning so I think I should make this entry a little longer than usual.

I haven't gone back to work on any of the stories so far. That has to be the next part to add to the routine. The more I do in a row every day, the better I will like the results of my days.

For some reason, I just jumped the tracks and went in search of information about Franz Biber. I found a plaque in Wartenburg Germany where he is buried saying that he died in 1704 and he was a musical somebody and onetime archbishop of Salzburg and Steward and Chapel Master. The plaque was put up by the Haydyn Society there. This is probably more than I will have and for good reason.

The world was a smaller place then. A lot of other people were born and died in 1704 but none whose name I recognize, except for John Kay (but I don't think he was the one that sang for Steppenwolf). In 1704, there were approximately 770 millions people alive on earth. So what I said before was wrong. The world was the same size but the phone book was definitely smaller then.

I don't long for the year 1704 but I do miss the time when the kids were little. Having little kids allowed me to see the world again through new eyes. I mean aside from being deeply in love with them. I miss watching the cartoon movies over and over and knowing all the dialog.

I remember making an audio recording of the kids current favorite movies and playing them in the car when we went places and the kids would describe exactly what was happening in the movie. It was like having a secret shared language together. It was as good or better than watching the movie. It was definitely better than showing the video in the car.

I miss that. I shouldn't have to rely on having little kids to look at the world through new eyes, I should be able to be able to appreciate the world that way on my own. But part of the adventure was watching their reaction to the new things they would see. To have them guide me past the boringness with which I had taught myself to see the world. I am too weak to do that without the constant reminders from the little ones.

More later,