As I write this, the house is silent, except for Ferris and Riley playing “tear the everlivingcrap out of what used to be a soccer ball” in the living room, while several varieties of finch and sparrow are singing songs in my mist-shrouded back yard. It’s cool in Pasadena — my ambient orb glows green. Nolan and Ryan are on the couch, reading books, and the smell of coffee and toast is wafting out of the kitchen behind me.
Man, it’s a peaceful, serene morning, and a great way to start out the last day of an incredible weekend.
Thanks to WWdN readers, Just A Geek climbed as high as number 21 on Amazon’s Top 100 this weekend. At one point, it was the third highest pre-order they carry, alongside books by Stephen King and Bill Clinton. Dancing Barefoot also climbed back up from the 9000s to number 208!
You know, two years ago, when I started writing what became these two books, I thought I’d be lucky to sell 1000 combined. I hoped that readers would enjoy them, but I was unsure . . . this is just amazing: Barefoot is rated 5 stars with 93 reviews, and the chief complaint is that it’s too short (I agree, but the idea all along was for it to be a companion to Geek), and Geek has already peaked higher on the charts than Barefoot ever did, and it’s not even released, yet.
But this incredible, and unexpected, book success isn’t even why the weekend has been so amazing. Actually, it pales in comparison to why I’ll treasure the memories of this weekend for the rest of my life . . .
Anne’s goofing off with a couple of her girlfriends who have birthdays this weekend, so I’ve sort of “taken point” with the kids, and it has been sublime, effortless, joyous . . . I have felt the way I’ve always hoped to feel with them: like we love and respect each other, and enjoy each other’s company.
For the last eight years I’ve done everything humanly possible to help build a loving and supportive relationship with them, while always respecting their emotional limits . . . even when it was incredibly painful to feel like I was more interested in closing the gap than they were. I don’t believe that it’s my place as their stepfather to try to be their buddy, or force closeness on them if they’re not ready for it, or interested in it. It has not always been easy, and sometimes the hardest thing I’ve experienced as a parent is setting aside what I want, when it conflicts with what the kids need. It’s been especially tough when my relationship with them, (and my role in their lives,) has been intentionally and actively undermined, but I’ve always stayed focused on what’s best for them, and it’s during times like these, when I see and feel the results of my parenting, that I know I’m doing the right thing.
Friday night we watched Miracle, which is that movie about the 1980 US Men’s Gold Medal hockey team. I remember when that happened in real life, and it was awesome to watch it with them, and share my personal historical perspective on the Iranian Hostage crisis, Jimmy Carter’s “We have to be able to dream” speech, and, of course, the Olympic games themselves.
When I was a teenager, I played ice hockey, as a goal tender, and I got to play in a few charity games with this celebrity hockey team. Several of the players on that team were from the 1980 men’s team, including Mike Eruzione and Jim Craig, and while I didn’t get to know them very well, they always treated me like a fellow player — especially Jim Craig — so I have always felt sort of a connection to those guys. It was great to see their story brought to life in such a great movie.
Hey, this is a good time to throw this line into the water: I know that the celebrity team still plays, and while I’m not really an “A” List celebrity right now, I still skate. If anyone from the team is reading this, or hears about this, I’d love to play with you guys again.
Ryan and Nolan loved the movie as much as I did, and I can enthusiastically recommend it to WWdN readers. Kurt Russell is fantastic as Herb Brooks, too. I’m hearing, “I’m proud to be an american, but I’m ashamed of my government” a LOT recently — a sentiment I wholeheartedly agree with — and “Miracle” reminded me of a time when I was younger, far more innocent (I was 8, after all) and those guys really were heroes to a generation. We could really use some more heroes right now, couldn’t we?
Yesterday, I did a virtual book signing in the afternoon (something so cool, it will have its own post later this week), then took the kids over to my brother-in-law’s so he could help Ryan with a geometry project. Ryan’s uncle is a brilliant architect, and a talented craftsman, and he helped Ryan build this art deco lamp out of several geometric shapes and solids. It’s awesome!
Nolan and I got to hang out with my niece and nephew while Ryan and his uncle worked, which was great. I hardly ever get to see my niece and nephew, and it was awesome to see how much they’ve both grown (in size and in emotional development) since the last time I saw them.
When we were done there, it was almost 8, and too late to cook, so the three of us went out to dinner at Chevy’s in Glendale. We were seated in the last booth on a wall of booths, behind a table of five teenage girls. Nolan was oblivious, but Ryan sat on the side facing them so he could “appreciate the view.”
The funniest moment of the meal was when one of them recognized me as That Guy From That Movie, — which is really weird because they probably weren’t even born when it came out — and all of them began signing “Stand By Me.”
Okay, look — I hate that. When I was a teenager, girls would see me and start singing that all the time, and it always made me feel like a sideshow freak. I used to like that song, but it follows me everywhere. I swear, 3 out of 5 times when I go shopping, it comes on the muzak. It’s on the oldies station on the radio all the time, and the Pennywise version was even on Fungus (XM 53) recently.
“Man, that follows you everywhere,” Ryan said.
“Yes, it’s haunting me,” I said.
“What following you?” Nolan asked, “The Stench?”
I have no idea where he got “The Stench”, or why he said it with capital letters, so I shook my fist at him and laughed.
“I’ll Stench you, mister.” I said.
Both of them looked at me.
“Yeah, I don’t know what it means, either. How about if I just embarrass you both in front of The Table of Hotties?” I took a deep breath, and struck a dramatic pose.
Ryan jumped like he’d been shocked with a cattle prod.
“No! It’s cool!” He looked across the table. “Nolan, Ixnay on the Enchstay!”
There was some serious giggling from us after that, enough to compete with a table filled with teenage girls . . . maybe I shouldn’t be proud of that after all. Heh.
We finished dinner (the spicy steak taco is where it’s at, yo) and made it home just after 10. Nolan was asleep as we pulled into the driveway, but insisted that he wasn’t tired, so he wrapped himself up in my geek blanket and sat on the floor while we watched Ghostbusters on TNT.
He was asleep before the first commercial, and I was asleep soon after. I woke up drooling on the arm of the couch right around the time dickless shut down the containment grid.
Ryan was still awake, so I let him watch the rest of the movie and went back to my room.
“Remember to turn the TV off,” I told him.
“Can I sleep out here?” He said.
“Yeah, that’s fine. But Riley will probably be licking your face at 7,”
“That’s okay. I love you, Wil.”
“I love you too, Ryan. Sleep well.”
“Remember this,” I thought, as I let my head settle down into my pillow.

It’s been over an hour now since I sat down to write this. The kids are playing catch outside, and Ferris is trying to convince Riley that she’s ready for a nap (Riley isn’t having it. Whenever Ferris lies in her bed, Riley walks in and paws at her face until Ferris either snarls at her, or gives in and comes out to play.) I’ve turned on iTunes, and I’m listening to “Morphic Fields” from the classic ambient record “Earth To Infinity.” My coffee is cooling, and it’s about time I got up, took a shower, and started the yard work I have planned for today.
It’s still a peaceful morning here, though, in my house, and in my soul.
Remember this.