It’s been a while since I last did this, so here’s a description of the motley crew of characters that inhabit my world.

First and foremost, is my loving and oh-so forgiving wife, the Irish Woman.  She’s mama to my youngest son, and “second-hand mom” to the rest of my brood.  She prefers the title “parental consultant” to “stepmom”, by the way.  She came into our lives when the kids were very young, and I don’t think that they can remember a time without her.  I know I can’t remember many good times before her, that’s for sure.  She is the voice of reason, the loving hand that cares for us, and the choker chain that yanks me back to the straight and narrow when I need it.

Next, we have Little Bear.  I like to say that he is my son by choice, not by chance.  His mother and I became a couple when she was pregnant with him, and I may not have made him, but I have formed him.  He is at that stage where Dad is a goofy annoyance sometimes, but he’s coming around into a pretty strong young man.

Next, we have Girlie Bear, my hunting, shooting, and goofing off buddy and only daughter.  To the detriment of my sanity, she is developing into a beautiful young woman.  She has a lot of the normal teenage girl issues, but I’m proud to say that I have no doubt that she’ll spit in the eye of the first man who tries to hurt her, just before she beats the tar out of him with her bare hands.

Our last son is Boo, who just turned 5.  He is convinced that he wants to be a pirate, and is acting the part already.  He is the apple of his mother’s eye, a constant reminder to me that life should never be boring through constant attacks with light sabres, dart guns, and foam bats.  He is the child of my aging years, and I look forward to him keeping me young for years to come.

In addition to the humans in our family, we have pets.  We have three cats:  Annya, who is neurotic, Koshka, who is psychotic, and Timmy, who doesn’t know he’s a cat.  Add to that our dogs, Bluegrass, Shadow, and Moonshine.  Blue and Shadow are getting on in years, but Moonshine is so new he still squeaks, and he’s keeping them from spending their days napping.  It’s hard to sleep when a six-month old puppy is chewing on your ears.  We also support a menagerie of outdoor critters such as goldfish, squirrels, and an entire flock of sparrows, cardinals, and blue-jays.

Yes, we live right on the very edge of madness, but it’s fun and it works for us.

As for me, I am DaddyBear, the pater familius, head bottle washer, and comic relief of this little tribe.  I’m the one who does the icky stuff, lifts the heavy weights, opens the recalcitrant jars, and gives stern looks across the kitchen table.  I’m also the one who enjoys Dr. Seuss stories as much as Boo, has more fun at the range with Girlie Bear than I do going alone, and wonders where Little Bear got his artistic streak.  I’m socially moderate, fiscally conservative, and unapologetically proud of my family, friends, and nation.  I like to think I have a dry, quirky sense of humor, but I’ll let you all be the judge of that.

So thanks for joining me as I use this space to give vent to the voices in my head, silly jokes, rants, and diatribes.  Beer’s in the fridge and coffee’s on the counter, so help yourself.