The Fortress of Solitude....

...ain't all it's cracked up to be.

Kelly and the boys left for Oklahoma yesterday. She typically takes them out there for vacation during the summer to spend a few weeks with her parents and their aunts, uncles, and cousins, who they absolutely love to play with. Problem is, they are usually gone for about 3 weeks. Kel's mom broke her ankle earlier in the week and has surgery on Monday, so Kelly may be staying even longer in order to help out as much as she can there. So, end result is, I am doing the bachelor thing for the next several weeks. And it always follows the same pattern:

• Stage 1
• "Woah! Cool! I get a little quiet time to go see movies, sit and play video games until all hours of the night, maybe hit a Braves game... It's a whole lot quieter and less stressful around the house... I can do what I want when I want and nobody can get in the way of having a good time. This is like my vacation too!"
• Stage 2
• "Hey, this is nice. I can get stuff done around the house... need to do some painting, maybe clean up those weeds outside. Man, this house is a mess. Maybe I will clean it up a bit. Sure seems quiet..."
• Stage 3
• "Ok. I'm tired of painting. I want to play some more. Dang I am bored. Oh well, guess I'll watch some TV, maybe rent a movie or something. I need some sound... it's just a little too quiet around here."
• Stage 4
• "I CAN'T STAND THE SILENCE ANYMORE! Screw the painting and weeds. To heck with the house. I am sick of looking at the TV and Xbox 360. For the love of Pete will somebody do something? Maybe I will invite the neighbor kids over and let them play in the backyard... break something or mess something up. SOMETHING TO BREAK THE MONOTONY!!!!!!!!!!!!"

And just before I end up drooling in a corner wearing a straightjacket, Kelly and the boys come home to save the day. She removes the Kryptonite from around my neck, and I am alive again.

Always happens this way. Kelly, y'all have fun but I can't wait to see you walking back through the door babe...