You get what you get and you don't get upset

That's something I say to my boys almost every day. It's gotten to the point where they'll say even though they don't mean it. But they have no problem saying it to each other when they know they can get a rise out of the other.

Our boys being born was not only amazing and magical, it came with a some very serious issues, which I will not get into on this blog. For those who know me, they know what we have gone though. Suffice to say that it is behind us now, and we have these two lovely little boys who are growing so rapidly, making our lives much richer that we had ever thought.

I recall how proud I was when the boys were first born. On some weekends when my wife would watch the infants, I'd go hang with my brother, and my buddy. We'd get on our bikes and ride all over Long Island. We'd hit our local watering holes along the way. Our favorite was T-Bones Boneyard, across the street from the Huntington Cemetery. It was one of the few good biker bars left on Long Island that didn't carry the real nasty biker attitudes. It was just a great drinking bar where riders would meet up to have a few and swap stories. There was this crusty old biker named Pete, who I got along with because of my  bizarre sense of humor. He's always laugh at my jokes or snappy comebacks and say, "Paulie, you're a sick boy". He was good fun to be around.

One time Pete says, "Hey Paulie, let me see a picture of those boys". I proudly whipped out my wallet and displayed their picture. He takes one look, and says, "Paulie, that one on the left, what's his name?". I said, "Matthew". He says, "And the other one?". "Neal", I replied. Pete says, "Matthew is gonna be trouble". I asked him why. He said that it was in his eyes.

I never forgot what he said, and I've repeated it so many times since that day, and the reason I repeat it is simple. Pete was right. Matthew is a wonderful, loving little boy, but he's a real handful. Since the day they were born, Matthew has been a tough one, and it hasn't changed one bit since 2004. He will fight me at every opportunity. I guess that's the payback my Mom always told me I'd get when she said, "you'll see when you have kinds and one turns out just like you". Holy crap, that does happen.

No matter. Neal and Matthew are the lights in our lives... no matter what. You get what you get and you don't get upset.