From Jonas to Justin

It's over for the Jonas Brothers. There was no exact point in time, no overt clues, or actual discussions. There never is in these situations. Just ask Leif Garrett. But make no mistake, the days of Jonas Brothers music, TV shows, posters, and assorted paraphernalia in our household is over. Cue the slow motion flashbacks (with Jonas Bros. mid-tempo music, of course): the girls and I at the Izod Center concert in the summer of '09; Stef and I at MSG in 2008; the 3D movie somewhere in between; the teen mag. poster pullouts; and countless car rides listening to Nick, Joe, and the other guy, the one who plays guitar.

But weep not for the girls, or the Jonas's's', because something new, something better, always steps into the void. His name - Justin Bieber. His hair - immaculate. Stef has full-on Bieber fevor, while Jess is just along for the ride at this point. Stef bombards us daily with facts and figures related to his JB-berness: his favorite color (blue), his favorite outfit accent color (purple), his shoe size (8), his favorite team (Lakers), how many minutes it took him to sell out MSG (22) and his approximate fade from the spotlight (2012, hopefully).

Bieber espouses the same "if you work hard, you can achieve anything" mantra that I heard repeatedly throughout the Jonas Brothers' MSG show back in 2008. I guess Bieber is working a little harder right now. Or maybe the Jonas boys are working really hard at regaining their anonymity. Or maybe it's just zeitgeist fellas.

I actually enjoyed the Jonas run. So here's to you Nick (the talented one) Joe (the cute one) and Kevin (the other one). May the girls cheer you again in the summer of 2041, with their kids, when the reunion tour hits the Chris Christie Garden State Arts Center. If I'm still around I will join them.

Mancala Madness

After nearly 487 battles, I finally beat Jessica at Mancala. I told her I would mark the date; she asked, "Are you serious?" and I replied, "No, of course not." Then I remembered the blog.

I followed up the historic win with another loss. That makes 1 win, 488 loses, and 9 "time to go to bed" disqualifications.

Helping Out

There were a couple of instances in the last week that made me realize how thoughtful the girls are.

Last week during one of the many snowstorms we had, I was out shoveling the car so I could get to work. After about 10 minutes, Stef came out in her coat and pajamas. "Dad, I want to help you shovel" This was quickly followed by Jess, who also wanted to help, and who was also in her coat and pajamas.

Yesterday I was trying to clear off what could easily be called "shrice" (a mixture of slush,rain, snow and ice) from the walkway. It was miserable out, but after a few minutes, both girls were at the door with their coats on. "We want to help," they said. It was way too shricy out for them, so I told them thanks but they should really go back inside. They did reluctantly.

Then last night I came home, and Stef had made my entire dinner herself, as well as an awesome brownie concoction with chocolate icing in the middle.

It made me realize that helping someone when they don't ask for it is even more impressive and appreciated then helping someone who does.

Time Capsule

Every once in a while Steffi will hear me talk about politics (imagine that). She recently asked me if I was a Democrat or a Republican and for the first time, I wasn't sure. I remember being about her age and starting to read the newspaper because I was just getting very into sports. Occasionally I would glance at the front of the paper or watch the news with my mom. Between this and comments I heard from my parents, what little I knew about the Presidents could be boiled down to this:

(then current) President Jimmy Carter: nice guy, peanut farmer, trying to make peace in the Middle East (I always thought Camp David should be called something more formal).

JFK: Great President. He was Irish (so are we) Catholic (so are we); he helped get man on the moon and challenged us to "ask not what your country can do for you..."

FDR: THE GREATEST President. He ended the Great Depression and improved the lives of millions of people with the New Deal. Built the middle class. Elected 4 times!

Nixon: He was a crook and then Ford took over and he was clumsy.

I bring this up because if Steffi were to ask me to point to great Democrats in history, I basically have to dust off the 1977-78 talk track above. Oh, and the current President is a Democrat who really wants to be Reagan.

Now excuse me, I have a sports page to read.

The Dance

Saturday was the annual daddy daughter dance for Jess and I. She was not feeling well but as expected, she did not want to miss the dance. As I noticed with Stef, the older Jess gets the more she actually wants to dance with me. Of course she spent a lot of time running around with her friends, dancing, comparing jewelry, outfits and the candy they took from each table, but we did get to dance to a few numbers before she ran out of steam due to not feeling well. The only thing we missed was the obligatory "livin' on a prayer" closer from the D.J., but I'm never sure if that one is for the girls or the middle-aged guys pretending they can reach the high notes of the chorus.

Overall we had a blast and we can't wait to see the pictures.