Dad Entry #138

Michael has some dark hair on his legs now. So does Megan!

Sometimes I look at Megan and she is so gloriously angelic and perfect that for a kind of timeless, transcendent, wonder-filled moment nothing else matters whatsoever. Michael casts this spell on me too, on occasion, when he's doing something like writing in a notebook or standing in the batter's box. I just feel enormous gratitude. The kids hear this voiced regularly; it's how I start nearly every prayer with them. God, thank you for my children. Thank you for my son. Thank you for my daughter.

It's ridiculous how cute Megan looks in skinny jeans. They're tailor-made for her. She's pretty thin. She would eat up the whole potato chip aisle if we let her, but we don't let her.

Megan loves the board game Monopoly. She played a bunch with Grammy and Papa over the weekend. She viewed me as fresh meat, and I acted like it when we squared off yesterday. I let her explain the rules, which she did with an eager confidence and a dash of condescension. She said, "I just need to warn you, if you run out of money, you lose." She added, "And you can end up in jail, and there's lots of other weird things, and the game can last a long time." I thought, hmm, sounds like real life. Our game isn't finished but things are going as Megan planned; I'm slowly getting crushed and bled dry. While Monopoly isn't exactly analogous to real life, it is interesting to note that being responsible and generous hasn't served me very well. I didn't overextend myself financially, or buy everything in sight, or try to outmaneuver my neighbor. And yet I find myself on a downward slope, paying fees and rent wherever I land, hemorrhaging money while my covetous opponent straightens her piles of cash and – despite a sweet and gorgeous facade – seems to relish my every misfortune. Megan still throws me a look of doubt when I explain that five ten-dollar bills are not worth more than one fifty-dollar bill. And yet, I lose :)

Megan had her 7th birthday party! Ten seven-year-olds petting puppies and bunnies at Petland. Pizza, cake, presents... gluttony! It was fun. Only occasionally did I check college football and Ryder Cup scores. (Papa Mike held the Ryder Cup at the Wentworth Club in England years ago following a European victory.) Also, I should mention that Iowa State and the Bears are both 4 - 1.