I am really not too sure what to do about all this, as I guess it is a collision between my expectations as his father and the realization that Tirman DNA runs through his body, but I need to share what parts of my conversation with Ben today that I remember.

Yes, I picked him up from school.  When I left the house Amanda was just getting home.  She has been very sick, and she errantly attempted going back to work today, only to arrive home feeling very close to death.  She looked as miserable as she felt, but was able to get up to bed and crawl in under the covers.

I of course left her to pick up Ben.  He was happy to see me, and I mentioned to him that his mom was sick and at home.  He seemed surprised, and asked “again?” And our conversation then turned to how we would deal with things when we got home.

One of those things of course was dinner……I asked him what he wanted, to which he replied “Hibachi Grill.”  I reminded him that his mom was sick and she couldn’t go, so he generously offered for his dog and cat to watch her so he could have some of his favorite pizza (yes, at a Chinese buffet) and Oreo dessert.  I said that the whole dog and cat thing would not happen and that he would have a better chance of his sister watching her, but he wondered how that could happen as Steph lives 300 miles away (yes, he called her an hour later and asked her to come…..she turned him down).

So our conversation then turned to Valentine’s Day.  I gave him some options and he then made up one of his own which would be clearly the least work.  So I said to him, “Ben, you are clearly a lazybutt,” to which he replied, “Dad, you mean amazing imagination.”  So I just guess I was wrong…..at least in his mind.

But we are at home and Amanda is asleep, and I am typing this early so as to not forget it.  It is not yet 4pm, so I am sure there will be more, but regardless, when I post this, or this plus more a little later, I will still be confused.  He is either a brilliant and twisted evil genius, or just about the funniest person I have ever met, and let’s all remember that I’ve met Ben Stein.  So what to do, what to do?

Perhaps I will just sit back and let this one play itself out!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+