Where do you begin trying to explain what type of week you had, or are having? I think I might know a thing or two about bad weeks. To be fair, this wasn’t a bad week. Just a busy one.

One of the most unique things in my family unit between my ex-wife, my wife, and the kids are how many things we make as a unit for each other. Everyone in the family has some type of talent they like to use to make things. Where as I feel like I am the least talented artistically; there is nothing I cannot design and build. I love making plans, and executing them after working through tolerances, and material choices because of how I want it to function. This is probably the engineer in me coming out in the most constructive way but truly it is like watching puzzle pieces coming together as my brain pieces together all of the function and form be it wood, metal, wiring, etc.

My children both have talent for different things. My younger son loves making videos online, and creating scenarios he acts out or tells as jokes. He is very funny, at least to me. He also is talented at modding games, and is working on some Roblox creations practically anytime. My older son can write quite well like his mother, and I. He also is quite talented in painting, but don’t tell him that, as he will not work on it more than he has to; usually. Outside of that he is one of those absolutely insane Minecraft builders. He loves survival, and learning how to make insane creations inside of that game world. Him and his brother without any help from people in the family or really the internet learned how to make red stone creations on their own. Never making a functioning calculator or anything — they did make their own version of Five Nights at Freddy’s and several other legally distinct but similar too other games to play with friends online.

My ex-wife is a published writer in several books (mostly poems if memory serves me), makes small art items (to be fair I know this is called something — but at the moment I cannot remember what it is) to send out to random people sorta like postcards, but they are hand made, and is a great knitter. She also learned the ukulele at one point, and sings. Outside of that she really sees the art in things that most people don’t. Not much else to really say there other than she is talented.

And then there is my wife. If there is anything to be said of this absolute ball of chaotic energy in my life, she is so talented at making things it will make your head spin. Swearing up and down she cannot see an object in her “head” (a thing while I am aware is a specific issue for folks just seems unreal when I think about it); she can and does absolutely everything in the textile arts you can think of in her spare time. Her main hobbies in this respect: Making her own clothes and sometimes for others, stuffed animals (knitted, crocheted, or sewed), and finally the real thing I wanted to get to: She makes the kids, and most of the adults, costumes for Halloween. This year’s was a definite crowdpleaser with making a Bender ‘Bending’ Rodriguez costume as my younger son still likes to trick or treat, and so she made it.

This was before it was completely done, having the straps shortened, and the pants fixed and all, but he absolutely loved it. His school teachers loved it, the people in neighborhoods that saw him loved it, and he of course got to do Bender’s classic line once on video forever to be one of my favorite kid clips: “Bite my shiny metal ass!” If this was a one off or something, that would already be cool, but over the years she has made: Charmander / Charizard (I was Charizard, younger was Charmander) / Squirtle (with obviously cool Squritle Squad glasses), (Pikachu and Jigglypuff were also in the costumes but were mostly store bought fair.) Fat Thor, and Black Widow — family were going as the Avengers. And other costumes throughout the years but those were just some of my favorites.

I don’t know how she does it, but she always comes through. Her talent is insane. But that is what has been up the last week and a half. We have been doing family costume stuff. Bender is being kept and gonna be improved on for potentially con going with the family this next year. We already have a family cosplay idea figured out, but we aren’t near done or anything to show it off, but I am sure they will be amazing as usual.

Add to that: voting, work, poker, cooking most meals at home, and continuing to just try to not go crazy all makes for a recipe of a very busy last week. Hopefully yours was not as crazy, and this weekend of rest hasn’t been more a need than a want.

Good luck with the next week. I hope it treats you kindly.

Onwards and Upwards, I.P.O.Y.
Phil