Parenting: Year One – Lessons Learned

As of this writing it has been roughly a year since we were blessed with the opportunity to welcome our boy, Jonathan, into the family. Suffice that we have been through a lot since October 21, 2014, emotionally, physically, and every other adjective that ends with the “-ally” suffix. Rather than recapitulate a whole bunch of memories, I thought I might spend this blog entry (the first I’ve written in a number of months; more on that later) talking about some of the lessons I’ve learned from then to now.

10) Everyone thinks they know what’s best for our child

We get a lot of input from others about things that we share regarding how J-Man is developing, changing, and becoming this unique little person. I don’t think some folks have the ability to discern that there’s a difference between genuinely asking for advice and merely telling you something because we happen to be engaged in conversation. For example, when I tell you my kid has 8 teeth, that’s not an invitation for you to tell me I should go buy Product X because it will help soothe their gums. I’m just telling you he has teeth, period. Feel free to add in your own quip or anecdote, but don’t take it into “I know more than you territory”.

9) We have no idea what’s best for our child

I’m just being honest because we really don’t, but in admitting that I’m also stating that we’re not unlike every other parental unit in that we have to work through scenarios in order to take care of our boy.

Case in point, not that long ago Duke was having trouble one evening getting comfortable in his crib. He whined and carried on to a point where we didn’t know what to do – milk, rocking, nothing was soothing him. I was ready to give him some Tylenol because he appeared to be in pain for one reason or another. This went on for about 20 minutes and then by pure happenstance we somehow got him to let out a massive burp and he was fine afterwards. Neither of us even thought of that because we haven’t had to burp him in months (he usually does it himself just fine).

Being a parent really is like having to maintain a knowledge base that has to be updated 24/7.

8) Logistics, logistics, logistics

In my line of work (IT), logistics management is a part of everyday life. I guess it helps me keep my mind in gear because it’s rather amazing how keeping a child functional (for lack of a better word) is about successfully maintaining a flow of necessary supplies. Everything from feeding spoons to diapers, formula to bibs, clean bottles to albuterol vials – our being able to provide him with an environment in which he will thrive is all about logistics, ultimately.

7) Travel is as much about timing as it is anything else

When you have a baby, it’s important that they get onto a schedule. It helps them but, more importantly, it helps you as a parent to stay in a rhythm of daily life. My wife & I know what to expect out of Jonathan every day, more often than not, because of the fact that we’ve worked with him enough to know when his needs – food, a fresh diaper, naps, etc. – are likely to arise. As such it is very important that we keep those aspects of his life in mind before we head off down the road to visit NeNe (pronounced “knee-knee”) & Paw Paw (Jill’s Mom & Dad, FYI), Walmart, a restaurant, or anywhere else for that matter.

6) Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is the bomb

Have you ever watched an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse? You should, it’s rather amazing.

Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto, and an assorted cast of recurring characters (I like the little piggies from the barnyard, personally) make up the fun little objective-based world where there’s always some minor problem getting in the way of the goal of the day. They’re assisted by their super-helpful artificial intelligence friend, Toodles, who has the ability to transport objects from some ethereal realm to wherever the Clubhouse gang may be in order to help them in whatever task they’re facing. The best part of it all is that every episode ends with everyone doing the Hot Dog dance, which is like an Irish jig only with less whiskey involved.

5) Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is infuriating

I say that as someone who admits that the part of my brain that is responsible for logical deduction connects directly to that of my sense of sarcasm. For example, Mickey & Minnie are giant mice; how much sense does it make then that Minnie has a pet cat named Figaro? Are there smaller mice that Figaro can chase? Are these mice somehow lower on the Disney evolutionary scale or are they proof that Mickey, Minnie, and the rest of the Clubhouse gang are all escapees of a genetics research laboratory that succeeded in creating humanoid animals who all somehow speak English?

That comment isn’t aimed just at Mickey Mouse Clubhouse but a lot of children’s programming. Doc McStuffin’s is another one that I’ve spent too much time analyzing. What is the origin of her stethoscope’s power? Does it contain some shard of a crystal used in ancient Egyptian burial ceremonies? Is it even terrestrial in nature, as in could it be an alien technology that somehow wound up being incorporated into a child’s plaything?

I wish I could turn my brain off, I really do.

4) You can’t draw blood from a turnip

What I mean by this is that there is only so much you can do in terms of encouraging a child like our boy towards engaging in one activity or another, namely crawling or walking. He’s a year old and he’s only now really started to show signs of wanting to get moving in ways that don’t involve him rolling from back to belly over & over again in order to get where he wants. It’s just one of these things that as a parent you can’t help but notice other kids who are younger than him who are already crawling, standing, or walking meanwhile he’s still on his booty. It’ll come to him, in his own time.

3) Baby food is revoltingly bland

I taste Duke’s food – yes, all of it, because I feel like I know what he likes and dislikes, and if odds are that he’s going to dislike something I’m certainly not going to force it on him. If you’re a parent and you don’t at least taste a tiny bit of the foods you’re giving your baby, you’re a douchebag. You open a jar of what’s described as being “mixed vegetables” and blindly give it to your kid without first seeing what it’s like? That’s a good way to foster discontent in my mind, but you go ahead and be you.

My personal thoughts on sampling our child’s food having been aired, I will add that I find a majority of it to be rather disgusting. Don’t get me wrong, there are some very good jarred baby foods out there (my current favorite is apples & cinnamon with granola) but there is also a lot that you couldn’t pay me to let past my lips. (Any of the varieties that involve meat, for instance.) The worst part of it all, I think, is that none of these foods are seasoned. It’s essentially a boiled or steamed, mashed up, pulverized version of whatever it was in its whole form. I’m sure it’s fine for him because he’s never known the benefits of proper seasoning when it comes to food. The squash might not be so bad if it was warm with a bit of salt, pepper, and butter – then again, what isn’t better with a bit of salt, pepper, and butter?

2) I don’t know what we’d do without Grandparents

It makes me very happy to know that my Mom and Jill’s parents live within an hour’s drive of our home, because quite frankly there are times where we need the help.

Not to say that we can’t manage Duke ourselves, rather that there are occasions to where having a convenient fourth option behind the two of us and his daycare for supervising him when we aren’t able is a real stress reliever. We’re not unlike any other working couple in that we have a finite amount of leave we can take, so having a trustworthy, reliable, competent resource we can ask to fill in for us occasionally is a huge help. He’s had a rather odd propensity for developing ear infections while cutting teeth and he’s had 11 teeth come in thus far – you do the math on how often we’ve had to take him to the doctor. That’s not counting the few other times we’ve had to take him to be seen or when he’s had to be away from daycare due to having fever or otherwise being contagious such as when he had Hand, Foot & Mouth disease (something I contracted a touch of as well).

Of course it helps that his Grandparents love him dearly. They would do absolutely anything for him, which I guess is somewhat expected of Grandparents but for them it’s never a labor of love – it’s just love. It puts a smile on my face and a warm feeling in my heart when I see our boy interacting with my Mom as well as Jill’s Mom & Dad. I know he’s being cared for and I know he’s safe.

1) I’m only scratching the surface

I kept this blog in the “top 10” list format more for the sake of an attempt at brevity than anything. As usual, you see how that effort has turned out.

Truth of the matter is that any attempt at condensing what we’ve learned this past year into one easily consumable piece of content would be impossible seeing as there was a beginning but there is no end. It would be a living element, to borrow a phrase, constantly growing and changing on a daily basis much like Duke himself does. And so it goes that we will continue to learn about him as he learns about the world around him. I hope we’re at least putting him on the right path and that he understands the decisions we make. I mean, he’ll be the one to decide what nursing home we wind up in, so we’d best do a good job.

WHY DON’T YOU BLOG ANYMORE: I do miss this blog because I’ve always enjoyed writing, however I’ve been putting my creative juices more into Rasslin’ with Redbeard than anything else these days. If you don’t know what that is, I run a Facebook page and YouTube channel (I have a Twitter feed too but I don’t use it as frequently) focused on talking about professional wrestling and the talent/companies in the Carolinas (as well as a bit of Georgia). If you’re into that kind of thing, please check out what I’ve got going on via the links below.

https://www.Facebook.com/RasslinWithRedbeard

https://www.Twitter.com/RasslinRedbeard

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdGYmL8mA9q-KvcLNTw7jQA

ADOPTION UPDATE: I get asked, sometimes several times a day, where we stand in the adoption process. People we know are aware of the fact that we’ve been at this for more than a year now and unfortunately it appears as though we’re going to be waiting for the next steps to be carried through longer than we’d anticipated.

As I understand it, at present we’re waiting for paperwork from the Orangeburg County DSS office to be completed and assembled into a packet that will then be submitted to South Carolina’s DSS for final approval. Once that’s done we will be given a letter legally authorizing the adoption and can then contact our attorney who will assist us in scheduling a court date when the adoption can be finalized before a judge. We had originally hoped to have all of this done by his first birthday but at this point my best guess is that we’ll be waiting until sometime in 2016 for everyone involved in this matter to get their ducks in a row.

To say Jill & I are frustrated would be putting it lightly. We’ve done all that’s been asked of us and been more than patient. The only silver linings I can find right now are: 1) that because the packet is still in Orangeburg it wasn’t in the state DSS offices in Columbia that were ravaged by the recent catastrophic flooding that’s impacted our part of the world, and 2) we know he’s ours regardless of how long the process takes.

Event Report: PWX Wrestling presents THE LINE HAS BEEN DRAWN

When fans of independent professional wrestling talk about top tier indie promotions you usually hear about a handful of organizations that have rightfully earned their a position of prominence in the sports entertainment business. Companies like Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Ring of Honor, Chikara, Pro Wrestling Syndicate, and others. They began small then grew to be dominant entities within the industry thanks to hard work on the part of folks behind the scenes and, of course, the tremendously talented competitors in their employ. It takes time to build the sort of credentials those promotions have gained, and I feel as though it won't be much longer until another company gets put into that same realm - that company being Premiere Wrestling Xperience.

If you trace its lineage, the company that is now PWX began sometime around 2007-2008 as Carolina Wrestling Association, making it one of at least 3 companies running under the "CWA" acronym in the Carolinas at the time. It would later become Premiere Wrestling Showcase before eventually settling as PWX. All that said, I will be forthright in stating that I have been a longtime fan of PWX and its various permutations, having followed them since the CWA days when they commonly ran shows at a recreation center in York, South Carolina. Back then wrestlers such as Team Macktion (Kirby & TJ Mack), Jake Manning, KC McKnight (now known as Scott Dawson in World Wrestling Entertainment's NXT division), and others were mainstays on the roster. The name of the company may have changed over the years but one thing that has remained constant is the quality of the talent associated with it as PWX features a roster consisting of up & coming stars such as Cedric Alexander, Tessa Blanchard, Caleb Konley, "The Southern Savior" John Skyler, and a host of others.

I had the opportunity to travel to Charlotte, North Carolina to see PWX's April 19, 2015 event, a show they dubbed THE LINE HAS BEEN DRAWN. This was obviously not my first PWX show, however it was the first one I'd been to in quite some time as the last event of theirs I attended was PHENOMENAL DEBUT in January of 2014.

The big thing about this particular event was an appearance by "The Samoan Submission Machine" Samoa Joe. Joe has been a star in companies like ROH and Total Non-stop Action Wrestling (aka, Impact) for the longest time. Earlier this year it developed that he & TNA had part ways, making him free to travel as he pleased. There have been reports online (which naturally means they are 100%, guaranteed true) that Joe is not taking any more bookings with independent promotions after April 23. This has lead many to speculate that he will be signing with World Wrestling Entertainment, joining a lineup in NXT that is already loaded to the gills with talented athletes. Time will tell whether or not Joe signs with WWE, but if the April 23 date is accurate and Joe does get a WWE contract that would mean his appearance with PWX would have been one of his final dates on the independent scene.

Joining me for this trip was my friend Billy Morris who was kind enough to drive us from Columbia, South Carolina to the venue, that being Escapade VIP in Charlotte, NC. Neither of us had ever been to this particular venue previously but we were anxious to see the layout of it as it seemed like a rather inviting joint for wrestling fans seeing as how it is frequented by - according to a recent flyer, anyway - former WWE Divas champion Eve Torres (as seen near the bottom of the document).

Nope, I couldn't not throw that into this write-up...


Here are results from THE LINE HAS BEEN DRAWN as well as my thoughts on each match.

1) "Mr. Match of the Night" Anthony Henry def. Lance Lude

If you've never seen either of them before, Henry and Lude are two guys whose combined weight is probably less than my own by roughly 70-100 pounds. They're definitely cruiserweights but they are incredible athletes in that their cardiovascular conditioning allows them to compete at such a high pace that their stamina alone is enough to earn the respect of an observer such as myself.

There were a few blown spots in this match, mostly coming from Lude's high-flying offensive maneuvers. I hate to be critical of these guys seeing as how they're the ones doing back flips off wet ring ropes whereas I'm the schlub sitting in the second row but it is what it is. When you combine that with the fact that matches of this nature often come off as highly choreographed, the misses gain that much more attention when looking back at the entire thing.

Regardless, the real story here is a continuation of a plot line that developed several months back when Henry's girlfriend Amber Young left him after they both became involved in a feud with "The Southern Savior" John Skyler. As a result of those dealings Young turned on Henry and after this match she managed to persuade Henry into viciously attacking Lude. Henry now stands as a man who's lost his girl and now through his actions potentially the respect of his peers.
 
2) PWX Innovative TV Championship Match: Mason Maddox def. "The Thoroughbred" Jaxson James, "Son of the South" Billy Brash & "Mr. Elite" Drew Meyers
 
Brash came into this match having successfully defended the PWX ITV title against the likes of Lance Lude and Moose at recent previous PWX events. The combination of having to stave off not only one but three moving pieces in this scenario would prove to be too much for him and his rather unstable personality to handle.

Maddox, being the least experienced of these four competitors, would have appeared to be the least likely to emerge as champion. He defied the odds, though, and bested three of the better up & coming talents on PWX's roster in the process.

3 and 4-way matches are always difficult to plot out thanks to their being so many variables to control. This one was very well paced and arranged, I thought, as the action never slowed down and there was a consistently interesting combination of talent engaged at all times. The finish was particularly clever and executed perfectly so as to get the crowd behind an unlikely new champ while not making the old one look weaker.

3) Tessa Blanchard def. Candice LeRae
 
Tessa Blanchard is the daughter of Tully Blanchard - yes, that Tully Blanchard, as in original member of the Four Horsemen Tully Blanchard. Tessa has less than two years in the business; while that would make her "green" in the eyes of many, the fact of the matter is that you'd be hard pressed to find someone who has worked harder to have earned the admiration she's garnered thus far. Candice LeRae, on the other hand, is one of the most widely respected female professional wrestlers competing today. In other words, it was only a matter of time before they wound up in the ring together.

This wasn't one of the best women's matches I've seen - in truth it was one of the best matches I've seen in quite some time, period. From start to finish these two were clicking on everything that was involved. The exchanges and segments were set up in such a way that Blanchard and LeRae both seemed capable of winning the match, and that's a welcome piece of booking there as it often seems like drawn talent get a certain level of privilege.

4) Best-of-Five Series: Submission Match - Chip Day def. "The Black Cloud" Joe Black
 
This was my first experience in seeing Joe Black compete live, although I have seen a number of his matches online. He's making a name for himself in North Carolina as I've seen him pop up on posters for a number of different organizations. Chip Day has become something of a mainstay with certain local companies - his focus seems to be on promotions in his home state of Georgia but he gets around plenty.

If you watch what these two did here it was very much a representation of puroresu in that it was a combination of heavy strikes and holds (obviously). I was not particularly caught up in this match. The submission stipulation didn't really meld all that well with the style of wrestling typically employed by either of these men in my opinion. It became kind of tedious to sit through, which is as harsh a criticism as I'll levy. I hate that this was the match out of their series that I got to see because I feel like under different circumstances they could've stolen the show.

5) The Bravado Brothers (Harlem & Lancelot) def. Country Jacked (Corey Hollis & Adam Page)
 
I don't know that I can introduce the Bravado Brothers with the proper amount of appreciation necessary without sounding like a gushing fanboy, so we'll leave my opening comments about them as simply that. (Seriously, for my money, they are one of the best tag teams in the world right now.) Country Jacked are the current PWX tag team champions but the title was not on the line here, for whatever reason. Page is a current Ring of Honor talent and Hollis has appeared on an ROH card in the past year or so, which should give you an idea of their level of talent if you've never encountered them yourself.

I don't think you'll find many tag team matches that go off better than this one did. The Bravados were at the top of their game and the teased strife between the members of Country Jacked was played out perfectly by Hollis & Page. This was a great set up for another encounter between these teams in the future that will likely involve the PWX tag team championship being on the line. Fantastic work all around!

6) "The Southern Savior" John Skyler def. Johnny Gargano
 
John Skyler is one of many talents who would likely have a contract with WWE or some other larger organization if only he was a few inches taller. (He's had several matches with them where he was used as "enhancement talent", including one televised contest within the past year where he and another local competitor took on the Ascension.) It's sad that 2 or 3 inches in height can be all that keeps a person from being viewed as a legitimate prospect but that's the state of this business - as much as it is about ability it's also about presentation. Johnny Gargano (otherwise known as Johnny Wrestling) could be put into that same category of person, although he's at least enjoyed exposure on a grander stage thanks to his involvement with groups like Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and Evolve. Skyler himself even made a point of this as he talked about Gargano being one of "his doppelgangers" prior to the match.

For a guy who has been criticized for only being able to have "good matches with his friends", Skyler made an excellent showing for himself here. He & Gargano are near mirror images of one another, meaning it was a very even match-up physically. Gargano looked to outdo Skyler on a number of occasions with his athleticism and advanced experience but Skyler was ultimately able to get the Duke.

7) The Revolt (Caleb Konley & Zane Riley) def. Worst Case Scenario (Ethan Case & Elijah Evans IV)
 
The Revolt is a group hellbent on standing up to "the man" behind the scenes at PWX, that being owner Brian Kanabroski and his minions, specifically "The" Tommy Thomas. Why do they feel the need to stand up to him? I'm not entirely certain seeing as how Konley has been at or near the main event of almost every PWX show and Riley is awesome regardless of where he's at on the card. Nevertheless, here on this night they found themselves facing Worst Case Scenario, a well-traveled tag team that has earned the adulation of their growing fan base by way of a combination of colorful personalities, classic tag team maneuvers, and a ton of talent.

The only criticism I have for this match is the fact that with WCS teasing strife in their team it made them the second unit to have expressed such sentiment in one show. It wound up having less of an impact than it should have, kind of like how by this point in the program there had been an excessive number of dives to the outside (resulting in a rather humorous number of broken chairs from where fans at ringside had been landed on) making them feel less meaningful.

8) Samoa Joe vs. Cedric Alexander ruled a no contest after Skyler interfered

If you're a fan of professional wrestling and you don't know who Samoa Joe is, then you're way too far behind on matters of state for me to catch you up in these confines. Suffice to say the man's a legend, having dominated the likes of ROH, TNA, and the indies for many, many years. With the possible exception of AJ Styles, he's one of few American talents to have done all that he has without ever setting foot in a WWE ring. That may or may not be changing in the near future as he's allegedly either signed a contract with them or has at the very least had talks with them about doing as much. With that in mind, the possibility exists that this match would be one of if not his last independent bout, making the notion that it would be against PWX heavyweight champion Cedric Alexander all the more poignant.

I had the opportunity to see Joe wrestle "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner at a TNA house show in Columbia, South Carolina back in August of 2006. That was almost a decade ago, and back then Joe was the young upstart whereas Steiner was the old veteran. Now it feels like the roles have changed in this setting as Alexander is the one with youth and Joe is the one with the mileage.

My preconceived thoughts on this match going into it were that it would be a fun thing to watch but it likely wouldn't end with any kind of definitive conclusion because it realistically couldn't. What happens if Joe wins? He's the PWX champ and he's got to either come back to defend the title or it winds up being stripped from him when he can't fulfill his obligations, neither of which would serve any real purpose moving forward. What happens if Alexander wins clean? Good luck convincing anyone in that audience from now on that Cedric is beatable because he just put down one of the best there is. The only real option was for the bout to end via interference of some variety and that came in the form of John Skyler taking a shot at referee Mitch Blalock first before setting his sights on Joe. This did feel like Joe (pardon my French) "getting his shit in" at times and it was a predictable finish but neither took away from my overall enjoyment of the match.

Final Thoughts

My nit-picking aside, this was a fantastic show top to bottom. It's more clear to me now than it ever has been that PWX wants to be the preeminent promotion here in the southeast. They have the production, they have the talent, and they certainly have the financing to pull it off. If they can maintain this kind of pace, I have no doubt in my mind that within 2 or 3 years time you're going to hear fans on a national level talking about PWX the same way they do PWG, Pro Wrestling Syndicate, Beyond Wrestling, and other more well known indies.

Rasslin' with Redbeard - Episode 15

You knew it was coming...

Our Road to Building a Family - Legalese, Antibiotics, Baby Food, Easter Bunnies, Car Seats, and Grandmas

It's been a while since I have sat down to write a blog, period, but it feels like it's been an especially long time since I've written one about the continued development of our little family. I hate to say it because I rather enjoy writing long, drawn out blog entries but I'm going to do my best to keep this one concise. I feel as though some bullet points are in my near future, which is probably the best mechanism available for keeping myself on topic and not getting too far off into the kind of rambling for which I'm known. This site is called Redbeard's Rambling, after all.

* Legalese

We have not had any real contact with the court system since January when we had a hearing that wound up having to be continued due to the fact that there was paperwork missing from the filing that DSS had generated. We were told then that the follow up hearing would be expedited and that it would hopefully combine several maneuvers to completing the process into one session, yet here we are roughly 4 months later and we have nothing new to share.

My wife has done what she can to keep in contact with the paralegal involved (I'll add that she's been nothing but vigilant throughout this whole shooting match) and the response we've gotten is essentially "I'll check on that for you..." then nothing else happens. I feel as though this aspect of the adoption process will grow to frustrate my wife & I substantially going forward because we are both headstrong individuals and there is literally nothing we can do to move things along. Truly "hurry up and wait" is not something either of us do all that well. Of course I say that then I'm immediately reminded of the fact that there have been several stages to this process where we could literally do nothing to impact our standing in the situation. It is what it is, and regardless of what we may encounter next we remain confident that this is just one more hurdle. The Duke is our little boy and if it takes years for him to be legally recognized as that then so be it - he'll still be ours and he'll be loved, adored, spoiled, and so many other things because that's what he deserves.

* Antibiotics

The Duke isn't unlike any other baby in that he's brand new to the world and, as such, prone to getting hit by any number of infections. This is somewhat compounded by the fact that he's in daycare and also gets to spend some time with other babies at our church while my wife & I go to "big people" church. I do love our daycare but I will be quick to label any such facility as a breeding ground for germs. Don't take that the wrong way, though - it's a good thing. After all, if he never gets any exposure to bugs his immune system won't develop as it should.

That said, Duke has had a few bouts with colds and here most recently he's gotten an ear infection. These are the kind of things an antibiotic is good for and he's currently getting the third such treatment he's received in his lifetime, this one an effort to clear up what was left of the ear infection. The tricky thing about antibiotics, though, is that they do interesting things with his digestive system and bowel movements - and by "interesting" I mean his poops are of the "OH DEAR GOD!" variety.

* Baby Food

We've begun to put Duke through his paces in regard to letting him experience different varieties of baby food. We've adopted the format of giving him a new flavor every week and thus far we have moved from bananas to peas to pears and I believe the next step is green beans.

Of those he took most easily to bananas, perhaps not surprisingly given their sweetness. I tried them myself and they are certainly quite tasty. They'd likely be a good additive to a smoothie or could even be frozen for an icy treat. The peas didn't go over so well at first as he all but rejected them. The expression he had on his face when I fed him peas was as if he meant to say "Father, what have I done? Why have you betrayed me?" Given that reaction I was shocked to find out that mixing the peas with the bananas wound up being palatable for him - go figure.

Pears yielded an entirely different reaction, one that I wasn't expecting. Evidently the pears had a tartness to them, and Duke scrunched up his face accordingly when eating them for the first time. I have video of this and it is absolutely priceless.

These are the kinds of things people who aren't parents have never had the joy of seeing. This life, this person, who is so knew to the world and all that's in it has so much to look forward to enjoying. It's simply amazing.

* Easter Bunnies

Holidays present unique opportunities for parents to dress up their children in outfits they'll likely only wear once and, on occasion, have their picture taken with a person dressed as a giant rodent. Such was the case for Duke's first Easter as we took him to one of the local malls to meet the Easter Bunny set up therein.

Our fear was that he would see the humanoid hare and respond with bloodcurdling screams of terror, as some children are prone to doing when faced with such beings. Duke's reaction was all business. He never so much as cracked a smile, which we believe was due to him having some sort of innate ability to sense when cameras are around. Catching him smiling in a photograph is about as easy to do as getting into Metallica. This being the case, we have a set of pictures of him with his first Easter Bunny experience and he looks every bit as though he'd just as soon be somewhere else. He's not sad, he's not angry, he's just kind of meh. Given some of the alternatives, I can live with that.

We considered this a dry run for our upcoming adventure to Walt Disney World in November. Even though Duke might not smile for the camera whilst in the grasp of a costumed character, hopefully he'll at least continue to be agreeable with the idea of meeting the likes of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and all their cohorts.

* Car Seats

One of the items that was very generously given to us when we first brought Duke home was his first car seat, that being a Chicco KeyFit model. We have used that seat for more than 5 months, moving it between our vehicles with a level of ease I didn't think was possible out of an infant car seat. Alas, the time has come that our little dude isn't quite as little as he used to be, hence the reason why we've recently upgraded him to a pair of Chicco NextFit convertible car seats.

As I said when I posted that photo to Facebook, my kids' car seat is cooler than your kids' car seat.

In all seriousness, my wife & I couldn't be more pleased with the Chicco brand. The seats are easy to install using either the latches built into the car or by threading one of the shoulder restraints through the seat (we used the former setup in my wife's car, the latter in my truck). They're well made with safety features that mimic technology more commonly seen in racing applications. (If I didn't know any better I'd say the headrest is actually a HANS device.) They're not exactly the cheapest things in the world but this is a matter where you get what you pay for, and in these seats Duke is going to be one safe world traveler.

* Grandmas

I sincerely don't know what we'd do without Grandmas. Not to say that Grandpas aren't special people too, mind you, as they mean plenty in the grand scheme of things, but Grandmas are a resource as valuable as platinum in my opinion.

Before I go further into this chunk of commentary I am obligated to state, for the record, that Duke has two Grandmas. My Mom has assumed the official title of Grandma, as in this is the name we're hoping he comes to know her as. Likewise, my wife's Mom is now known officially as Nene (pronounced "nee-nee"), a derivation of her actual name, that being Nita.

There have been so many occasions where the fact that my Mom lives nearby has saved my wife & I from having to use our annual or sick leave. She gives her time willingly and is always there for us no matter what the situation may be. What's more, she never seems to come to our home without a bag filled with food, diapers, wipes, or some other useful commodity. Generosity is her forte, and she is a living example of what it means to be a cheerful giver who expects nothing in return.

Nene comes to visit Duke (I first wrote that she comes to visit "us" - implying me, my wife, and Duke - but the reality of the thing is that she's here to see Duke; we just happen to live in the same house that he does) every other weekend. She stays with us, usually from Friday evening until Monday morning, and spends just shy of every second of those days in contact with her grand-baby. Sometimes she sneaks in a visit on those weekends where she wouldn't normally be in town, and sometimes Pawpaw (that being my father in-law) makes the trip as well on those occasions.

The Grands can never get enough of the Duke and it means the world to my wife & I to have them involved in his life.

As I have gotten older the value that I place on members of our family has increased by leaps and bounds. (Not because of their willingness to pitch in or to help my wife & I but because of the fact they're there. More than that, they make the effort to be there.) I attribute this to the benefit of age and maturity. Youth and the associated blinders that come with it can be blamed for seemingly innumerable foolish decisions, and I am undoubtedly guilty of such blunders as not taking advantage of the time that I had.

While I may be lacking in various cosmetic attributes - I'm still coming to terms with the ever growing bald spot on the back of my head and the streaks of grey that now run through my beard - what I've gained in wisdom and foresight is so much more meaningful. There have been many moments here lately where I have wished that certain of my family were still on this Earth to see what has become of us. I know they're watching from a much better perspective than ours, but I can't not selfishly wish they were still here instead of there.

WrestleMania 31 Predictions

We are roughly a week away from WrestleMania 31 as of this writing and I can honestly tell you that I am cautiously optimistic about how the card for this particular edition of "the showcase of the immortals" will turn out. This is in light of the fact that if you go back and look at an entry to this here blog that I published back in January (click here to read "My Still-Way-Too-Early-to-Tell WrestleMania 31 Predictions") wherein I attempted at that point in time to predict the card for WM31 you'll find that I turned out to be a half-assed prognosticator at best. I successfully predicted 5 of the 8 matches on the card, but they were the 5 obvious ones so I'm not even going to go so far as to claim a moral victory on that effort.

Looking at the official card for WM31, there were a few surprises that I did not see coming, namely the decision to feature the Intercontinental title in a ladder match that will likely be the "HOLY CRAP, DID YOU SEE THAT?!" portion of the show. I imagine it will be like the Money in the Bank match used to be before it was removed from WM cards in order to become the subject of its own pay-per-view in that it includes a whole bunch of athletic, super-talented competitors who don't mind getting into a train wreck every once in a while. I was glad to see that the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal is being brought back; it won't be a match with any consequence outside of the show, however it's an opportunity for someone to possibly break out as a talent to watch in the next few months. The Divas being in a tag team match as opposed to there being a match for the title makes me believe WWE didn't think a one-on-one match would've been anything other than a restroom break for a majority of the audience. Chances are it will still be a restroom break for most fans because the Divas division has been awfully stale for the past 4-5 months (which coincides with Nikki Bella's reign as champion, oddly enough). I am genuinely upset that the tag team division isn't on the card as it seemed as though there was momentum in building up that aspect of the roster that has now completely vanished. (Anyone seen the Ascension lately?) It's troubling because, for the life of me, I don't know why tag teams don't get a fair shake anymore.

Be that as it may, now that we know the full card for WM31 (other than whatever may take place during the pre-show, that is - assuming there is a pre-show, of course), lets revisit things and make a final set of predictions for WWE's biggest event of the year.

1) Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

Participants: The Miz, Curtis Axel, Ryback, Fandango, Adam Rose, Zack Ryder, Jack Swagger, Titus O'Neil, Darren Young, Big Show, Kane, Erick Rowan, Damien Mizdow, Sin Cara, Goldust, Heath Slater and Mark Henry

I half way hate to say this seeing as how I want to think the Andre Memorial is supposed to mean something, but I look at that line-up and I can't think of anything especially noteworthy that's happened for more than half the names listed there in the past year. That's how Battle Royals tend to me, though; you've got a match where 95% of the talent involved have zero chance of winning plus 3-5 participants who should logically blow all the others out of the water.

What's interesting about this assemblage is that there's a chance several storylines could be conveniently tied up or extended during the course of the match. Curtis Axel and Ryback were tag team partners at one point (Ryback has also been tied to Erik Rowan ever since the 2014 Survivor Series); similarly, Titus O'Neil and Darren Young just recently reformed the Prime Time Players. Kane and Big Show have been in an uneasy alliance with the Authority lately, and Mark Henry has lately drawn the ire of both men. The Miz and Damien Mizdow haven't seen eye to eye ever since Mizdow became a bona fide fan favorite. Everyone else in the match - Fandango, Adam Rose, Zack Ryder, Jack Swagger, Sin Cara, Goldust, and Heath Slater - is there as filler in my opinion, but at least they'll get a nice payday.

I am going with this man as my predicted winner because I think the fans in attendance would all lose their minds if the match is executed properly and he were to win.

PREDICTION: Damien Mizdow

2) AJ Lee & Paige vs. The Bella Twins (Nikki & Brie)

There's been something of a women's rights movement within a segment of the WWE fanbase as of late stemming from comments made by several of the WWE Divas and how they should be respected, treated, etc. as their male counterparts on the roster are. The hashtag "Give Divas A Chance" became a thing just long enough for it to seem like WWE cared, but here we have this match that (in my eyes) tells me they had to put two of their best Divas (that being AJ Lee & Paige) in there with the Bellas just to counteract the level of suck that Nikki & Brie will introduce. I can't help but feel like this is an extension of something to do with the Total Divas show on the E! network, which is why I'm going to go ahead and say that the Bellas will win.

PREDICTION: The Bella Twins

3) Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match

Participants: Wade Barrett (C), Dean Ambrose, Stardust, Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, R-Truth, Luke Harper

There is so much talent involved in this match that it blows my mind R-Truth somehow got involved. Seriously, R-Truth? Why? True, the guy has been gainfully employed since 1999 by either WWE or TNA, but having him involved makes no logical sense. Of course I say that yet if you were to ask me to name someone else on the main roster that could've taken that spot (who isn't either injured or involved in an angle that would preclude their participation; i.e., Cesaro, Tyson Kidd, Sheamus, etc.) no one comes directly to mind with the exception of Goldust, and I think the only way his inclusion would've benefited the show is if he or Stardust were set to win the title. That would've been a great way to extend their feud, which is now dead in the water.

As it stands, I feel like whoever wins the IC title is going to do great things in elevating that championship, which has been woefully ignored for far too long. There are a lot of possibilities that can come from these men feuding with one another, but only time will tell where they go from here.

PREDICTION: Dean Ambrose

4) United States Championship Match - Rusev (C) vs. John Cena

In talking about professional wrestling, critics and smart marks like to talk about how someone either does or does not need to win because of how it can affect storylines relating to them. Even though some want to say that wins and losses don't matter these days, the truth of the matter is that they do (and they always will) because they affect our perception of how good or bad a wrestler's abilities are in the context of the angle they're involved. For example, last year at WM30 when Brock Lesnar defeated the Undertaker, Lesnar - who was already thought of as a monster - suddenly became this whole other thing in terms of him being thought of as a beast because of the fact he beat the Dead Man. In this instance you would likely find that a lot of observers feel John Cena doesn't need to win this match because of the fact he's John Cena - the man is one world title reign away from tying that of Rick Flair, for crying out loud. He should be used here to help further elevate Rusev, who's been a real tear here lately and who could be a very useful commodity in the coming year.

PREDICTION: Rusev

5) Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins

When I originally wrote up my thoughts on where this match would go I talked about how a win for Orton would be a great way to finish off a feud that's been ongoing since November of 2014. The Viper being victorious wouldn't necessarily derail Seth Rollins seeing as how he's still able to direct his own destiny so long as he holds the Money in the Bank briefcase. Even so, I can easily see how the script might get flipped here and Rollins wins the match, and in convincing fashion without the assistance of anyone from the Authority being involved, thus making him into a legitimate contender in the future with or without the MitB contract. I'm sticking with my gut, though, and hanging by my original prediction of Orton getting the victory.

PREDICTION: Randy Orton

6) Sting vs. HHH

Of all the matches on the WM31 card, this one has my attention more so than any other. It's a match that is decades in the making. Sting - the legend, the icon, the stalwart representative of World Championship Wrestling who never left that company, even as it withered and died - now finally set to make his debut in a match for WWE. I honestly never thought I'd see the day, but if I have learned anything from watching professional wrestling for as long as I have it's that you should never say never.

There aren't many men left in the business who could serve as a quality opponent for a man like Sting, and one of them has a match on this same show with Bray Wyatt. Triple H is an old wily veteran who knows everything there is to know about ring psychology and what it means to tell a story inside of a wrestling ring. I am hoping this lives up to my expectations because, truth be told, they're pretty doggone high at this point.

PREDICTION: Sting

7) Bray Wyatt vs. The Undertaker

When Bray Wyatt lost to John Cena at WM30, his character literally had to be relaunched because the defeat left Wyatt at a point where he had nothing to do, nowhere to go, and no one to feud with. In the time since then he's mostly bumped around between his old charges, Luke Harper & Erik Rowan, and Dean Ambrose. Despite how uninvolved that may make him sound, the truth of the matter is that he's been able to capture the minds of anyone who watches him through some of the most stellar development anyone has brought to WWE programming in ages. Wyatt's promos in building this feud with the Undertaker have been nothing short of amazing, and they've mostly had to be thanks to the fact that Taker has been kept off TV - some say because of business, some say because he's not in the shape he once was. Regardless, this match strikes me as a turning point for both men. I don't know that either of them can take losing at WrestleMania two years in a row.

I predicted this man would win back in January. While I have some concerns over that selection I'm not going to deviate from it.

PREDICTION: The Undertaker

8) Brock Lesnar (C) (w/Paul Heyman) vs. Roman Reigns

This match has shown me a number of reasons why I hate the internet and what it's done to professional wrestling. Why? Because for weeks now all the talk surrounding it has been about one of two things: 1) Whether or not Brock is going to renew his contract with WWE or go back to UFC, or 2) how Reigns is terrible at anything other than looking like a greasy, long-haired tough guy while walking down stairs. Sometimes conversations around the match bring up a bit of both, but the fact remains that's all anyone's seemingly been wanting to talk about. The internet has made it infinitely worse because no one would know of Lesnar potentially wanting to skip town if not for it, and Reigns wouldn't be seen in nearly the negative light that he is if not for the fact that every Tom, Dick, and Harry with a cell phone can chime in on social media with their uniquely idiotic perspective on the matter.

Don't get me wrong, to an extent insider knowledge is fun. Here, for this contest, it's taken so much away from the actual match that I more or less just want it to be over so that we can move on to whatever's coming next. It all depends on what Lesnar's intentions are, which is rather startling seeing as how he could leave with the WWE world heavyweight championship and create such chaos that the ramifications of it would be felt for years if not decades to come. That could certainly happen, and Lesnar would be the only one to say whether or not that's what's going down, but I think he's smart enough to know doing a job isn't the end of the world.

PREDICTION: Roman Reigns

One of the things about this time of year that comes around just as regularly as WrestleMania itself is the thinning of the WWE roster. Many years ago I read in a book how wrestling promoters tended to run their product much like how a television series does in that they treated them as seasons with a beginning, middle, and end. For WWE, WrestleMania signals the end of the current season and the start of the next one. With that in mind, you can see how this becomes the appropriate time of year to let go talent that aren't viewed as being worth keeping around. I think we could be in for a deeper cull than usual this year as there is a wealth of talent under WWE's employ that aren't exactly going anywhere anytime soon.

Overall I'd say this stands to be an entertaining installment to the WM mythology. You've got legends, you've got brutality, and you've got a ton of unanswered questions many of which will likely still be unanswered after the show is over. Even so, it'll be as big an event as anyone in the world of wrestling has produced (well, since New Japan Pro-Wrestling's WrestleKingdom 9 event, anyway), and worthy of your attention. Until then, watch this trailer and imagine all the possibilities!