A Different Kind of Shooting Star

http://www.dadandburied.com

So for our first assignment we’re supposed to write about a family tradition. My first thought was: what family?

No, I’m not some psycho with wives and kids scattered across the land. But, like many people, I grew up with one family and started another when I got married. Since my blog is about being a dad, it seems to make sense to write about the family that consists of my wife and son. Unfortunately I’ve only owned a son for two years, and while the three of us definitely have some hilarious traditions (there’s this one where my wife and I remove feces from our son’s pants that makes me cry every time we do it. I’m just sentimental that way!), they are somewhat short-lived.

But part of the point of this assignment is to introduce ourselves to the millions of new readers following Blogger Idol, and since one of the themes of my blog is hanging on to the life and personality I had before I became a father, I’ve decided on a tradition that started before I purchased my son: I’m going to write about the Christmas star.

Not the one the Three Wise Men saw. The one my wife and I perform after we have the three wisemen shot.

What I mean is: MomandBuried and I like to drink. (How else do you think she got pregnant!) (Sorry, honey.) My wife is also a huge sucker for holidays, and that goes double for Christmas. It actually goes triple for Halloween, but Halloween doesn’t offer target practice (that’s the night before Halloween).

You see, every year for Christmas, my wife and I buy this thing called a “Christmas Tree.”  The procurement and subsequent decoration of this tree is a big deal in my house, and it’s gotten even bigger since my kid was born. My heart died years ago, but now I am able to experience to joy and wonder of Christmas through a child’s eyes! But mostly only when I’m drinking. Which works out, because we drink a LOT during the holidays. And when you live with my wife, drinking = champagne.

I'm more of a beer guy. But I can deal with my wife's champagne habit because a) there's alcohol in champagne and b) popping the bottle is a lot of fun, especially when there's a Christmas tree in the house. Because, for our nearly decade-long relationship, it’s been a tradition for me and my wife to attempt to shoot the Christmas star with the cork from every bottle of champagne we open. Sadly, we've yet to hit the bull's-eye - a bottle of champers is not exactly a sniper's rifle - but Christmas is a time of miracles. It will happen. And now my son will be around to see it!

Of course now that we have a kid, the tradition has had to be tweaked a little, i.e., we make sure he’s out of range when the bottle goes off. And asleep before the bottle is finished. 

And then we hope and pray he sleeps in the next day. Champagne gives you a hell of a hangover.

From the Judges:

At first, I was all "Oh... shooting stars! How cute!" But then, as I read, I started laughing at my mistake. I love the post. The only issue I had with it, is that in the middle section, you used parenthesis quite a few times and it kind of broke things up in a way that made it hard to follow. It also seemed like you broke up the paragraphs a little oddly as well. Mainly the one where you started talking about the shot. It felt like that should have somehow been blended with the paragraph above it, and breaking it up made my brain think it was going to be kind of a new subject, and when it wasn't, I had to go back up and re-read what the other part said to try and get my bearings on how it should read.
-Tessa Taboo

I am so torn on this one. I love the story and I find it absolutely hysterical. Your story telling is great, almost as if we are sitting at a bar and you are talking to me (you want to get a beer by the way?) BUT, is this a story that will turn a lot of people off? There is a lot of drinking involved and not everyone is the biggest fan of that. You want people to like you and I know for some alcohol and kids doesn't mix well. I'm not one of them as I have been known to have a few (too many) with the kids around. But I guess we will see what kind of audience we have here on Blogger Idol. I thought it was very good though.
-Daddy's in Charge?

Very funny story, and I have to admit that I'm pretty jealous that you have such an awesome tradition! I agree with Daddy's in Charge: you are a great storyteller.

I'm not sure how much we really got to know you, though, and that's half the assignment.
-The Spaghetti Westerner

I've mentioned in another blogger's post here that I don't really like it when a blogger opens a post by mentioning the purpose for it. It's not necessarily bad. I just don't like it personally because every time I do that, it usually means that I don't really have much to write/say. Again, that's just me.

I like that you and your wife have a tradition that brings you closer together. Very sweet.
-Bay Area Mommy

I agree; there's some good storytelling here. I like how you told the reader how the tradition came to be. We learned a little bit about you, but I'd like more.

Overall, I felt like the post was a bit rushed. Don't let the promise of immunity detract from the quality of your writing. One last, minor point: I think the ending would have had greater impact without those last two sentences. Otherwise, good post.
-From the Bungalow

This is a great story, one I can relate to quite easily with 5 kids of my own. I loved the beginning, I was sucked in with the opening paragraph and found myself giggling. After that I felt as if you were rushing to finish. I love that you and your wife seem to have a wonderful sense of humor and enjoy sharing it with each other and I think most readers would get that as well. Great job, just slow down a bit :)
-You Know It Happens At Your House Too (Guest Judge)