So that's a fairly good representation of the GoFast household at any given moment in time. The wifeage is forever cleaning up after the kiddiewinks and me. So last night, as she slaved over a hot stove getting the dinner ready, she gave me very explicit instructions to get into the family room and get cracking on cleaning the room up. With the aide of the kids, of course. It had been a long day at the rock pile and I really wasn't all that interested in doing or even supervising the clean up routine. So I got a pillow off the couch and got down on the floor. The kids know that this is the universal signal for the game "Thrash Daddy" to commence. But they're a reverent little bunch and Mama's word is gospel, so I had to coax them into the event. Thrash Daddy is a basically anything goes game where we wrestle, steamroll, tickle, lift, and throw each other about. The only real rules are that there is no biting, no stomping on Daddy in any way, and the game is over if there are any tears. So the kids are sitting there knowing that they're supposed to be cleaning per Mama's instructions and I impart, "if we make it sound like we're cleaning and not playing Thrash Daddy, she'll be none the wiser." With that it was on. They both jumped on me and I flung them about. They did their best to stymie their giggles as I said random things like, "fold that blanket" and "be sure to put the caps on the pens." At one point I had the boy aloft while he balanced on my hands. The girl got up on my legs and I told her that I was going to fling her up in the air. I wanted her to do one forward roll and then land on Jackson's shoulders. She got quiet and then said she didn't think she could pull it off but that she'd try. So I flung my legs and Jackson braced but at the apex of the swing, Maile hung on to my legs like her life depended on it. And of course they both giggled. So I told Maile that we'd have to try again and again until we got it down because, with the downturn in the economy and everything, we might have to join the circus and this would be a fantastic stunt that people would come from all over to see. Alas, we never pulled it off and of course the giggles became too noticeably loud and the hammer fell and we scrambled like scared chickens and quickly straightened out the room and then went to the table for dinner. All while suppressing a devilish little smile. And I'm going to go home and do it again tonight. Hope you are all well.

Johnny GoFast