1.1.06

Um... So...

A couple of weeks ago, in the height of the holiday season, the O-Dog and I were walking around Elmwood Avenue when we came upon a troupe of costumed Christmas characters. Santa, of course, being the main draw. After making like Frogger to cross the street, we caught up with St. Nick, did the old sit on the lap routine and came home with one pretty jazzed kid.

Me: Tell mommy who we saw, Rock.
O-Dog: Santa Claus.
Mommy: Wow. Did you tell him what you wanted?
O-Dog: Yeah.
Me: Who else did you see?
O-Dog: Rudolph, Frosty and Santa's Mother.

Santa's Mother.

Either Mrs. Claus is not aging as gracefully as her husband or the O-Dog has not yet grasped the concept of wedded bliss. Should I fill
him in? Not according to Bill, my defensive partner on my hockey team.

"I don't know why we bother to tell them."

Somehow I think the kids pick up the concept osmotically. For example, there's a little girl in my son's Pre-K class who says she wants to marry my son.

"Next time she says that to you, little buddy, say, 'What's the hurry, baby? We're only four.'"
(Punch from wife.)

As a guy, you just don't get all that warm and fuzzy about mah-wage. I mean "mah-wage is what bwings us togethah," but the male gender of the human species tends to mature a lot slower than our female counterparts. We just have a lot more fun single... There's much more time for play (you'd never get me out of a hockey rink). Our bills, checking accounts and carefree spending habits are our own business. Our weekends are our own. The drunk girl at the bar that just puked on her shoes might actually be fun to talk to. The tomatoes that just fell out of your sandwich can be picked up at your leisure, even if it takes weeks.

There are many other perks. You don't have to tell anybody their ass doesn't look big. You can drink out of the carton. You don't have to empty your browser cache, history, etc. on a daily basis and the bathroom is the perfect and logical place for porn. If you find the girl you're hanging out with is a bit of a pain in the ass, you could just not call her... I could go on.

For these and many more reasons, I find it difficult to say "Congratulations," to a man when he gets engaged or married. In fact, I abandoned the practice altogether. It leads to some awkwards moments, since people seem to expect it.

Me: (to college classmate holding news clipping of his new wife) Is that your wife?
College Classmate: Yeah. I just got married three weeks ago.
Me: ... ... ... ... So, ... um. What are you taking next semester?

I realize it's a natural progression, and in most cases ends up being a move in the right direction for some, but in any case, congratulations just doesn't seem to fit.

Funny enough, today is the anniversary of my engagement. Six years ago, the Whores (Buffalo Sabres) were playing the Toronto Maple Leafs. The .0002 carat ring had been in my possession four about three or four weeks. I decided to propose between the second and third periods, provided of course, the Whores were winning.

At the end of two... Buffalo 8 - Toronto 0.

That sealed my fate.

In hindsight, I'm glad the Sabres won. I love my wife, we've got a great couple of kids. We're a tremendously happy family. I don't remember if anybody congratulated me or not. (Nobody WARNED me or PREPARED me, that's for sure.) I don't think I needed to hear congratulations or advice. No high fives or shots of Cuervo. I wouldn't trade where I am now for anything... but were congratulations truly in order? Maybe just a set of earplugs to use in case of emergency, a partial lobotomy and a primer in how to say "I love you," and "You look great tonight," even though I already think it.

Happy 'Anniversary' Mrs. Claus. You do look great tonight.

19 comments:

Sandy said...

In some weird sort of way, that was really sweet. :) Happy anniversary to you and the Mrs.

Michele sent me tonight.

David Edward said...

michele sent me - can you drop by later and answer the question I posted on my blog _ need lots of input thanks and happy new year

Ten Thirty One said...

my brother just got engaged and though i am happy for him, do i really want to congratulate him? I know what he is in store for and it's not pretty! it's a lot of work, esp when kids start popping out!

Unknown said...

Santa's mom. So innocent and sweet. He'll grow up to be just like his dad. Oh well...

Michele sent me.

Karen said...

I agree with Sandy. Weird, but sweet. And congrats on the anniversary and remembering it. Pretty cool.

Michele sent me!

Anonymous said...

No one EVER warns anyone else about getting married. If we did that, there would be no more marriages. And besides, happily engaged, never-before-married couples are too immersed in their own love-bliss to actually HEAR what we are trying to tell them :D I'm on my second marriage, btw.

Happy engagement anniversary though :) And I wouldn't worry about the "Santa's Mother" thing...that is a whole lot easier to explain than Santa having a wife (and not listening to his buddies advice either).

Mary Tsao said...

We just saw Princess Bride the other night. Love that line...

What took you so long to propose after you had the ring? Working up the nerve or waiting for the perfect moment? I love hearing stories like this. A belated congratulations to you. I think proposing is the bravest thing a person can do.

Joe said...

Hello. Michele sent me tonight.

jsdaughter said...

thanks for the laugh.. here via Michele

OldLady Of The Hills said...

Here via Michele this evening...
Funny post...Made me laugh..and I wish The Clause's Happy Anniversary!

Anonymous said...

Happy "anniversary" I loved this post :)

David Edward said...

wow - excellent post - thughtful and fun, Glad you have a good life, and that Mrs. claus has civilized you a bit.

Anonymous said...

Here Prego. Take these and share them with the wife... CLICK HERE Congrats and Happy New Year!

Anonymous said...

Oh, I forgot to mention that I put you IN THE SPOTLIGHT over at my place. This way I won't forget to come over more often!

utenzi said...

Maybe Santa has a thing for older women. Since he has that list of naughty and nice, you know he picked out a real winner!

katie said...

It really isn't just a male thing, I never congratulate people on engagements either. It's the cynic in me. I always kind of think, "I'll congratulate you when you've made it five years".

Suzanne said...

well. you make some interesting points, but in our case, my husband is much better off than he was before I came along. You can congratulate us ...or not. We are happy! very good post though, especially if you don't mind tomatos on the floor! ha

carmilevy said...

Happy belated anniversary, Prego. I could feel the happiness in your words, and smiled right until the last one (and beyond, of course.)

It's nice to see such love.

glomgold said...

Yeah, saying that kind of sincere stuff is pretty tough when everything normally is dripping with sarcasm and such.
(funny post. again.)