Ohio’s Coolest Hotel

Most of this week was spent on the road. From Indianapolis to Columbus to Cleveland and then home, I racked up miles (and airline points) this week. The highlight of my travels was staying at the Brewdog Hotel near Columbus, Ohio. Yes, I know… I don’t drink. But Brewdog has some really great non-alcoholic brews that don’t make me miss beer.

I shot some iPhone images during my stay to give you a little peek at what you could expect if you wanted to reserve your own room. If you do, why not upgrade to a room with a beer fridge in the shower?! Yeah, they have that!

A Disappointing Decision

Friday night, we loaded up the car [we = me, ty, scout, and tyler’s parents] to go watch Ellie and Scout dance at the Joplin High School (JHS) halftime game. I try to go to whatever games I can of Ellie’s to watch, and this week Scout took part in a dance camp for little ones that Ellie helped teach. I missed the rehearsals because of travel, so I was extra excited to watch Scout perform in front of the thousand or so people in the stands at Junge Stadium.

It was warm-up time so Tyler took Scout over to the side of the field with all the other littles. They ran through the dance a couple times (they were too far away for me to see) and then I got a text from Tyler. Scout had a bit of fright and wasn’t going to dance. I was so bummed.

Don’t be mad at me…

Before you get all pissy with me about being bummed, let me explain why.

One of my favorite things in life, and something that truly helped me come out of my shell, was performing. I hated the anticipation of going last at almost every piano recital I ever had, but felt exhilarated when I finished my piece. When I was in a ska band, I loved seeing the enjoyment on the audience’s faces. I wanted Scout to feel that. It wasn’t so much about me not being able to see her perform (though I was bummed about that); instead, it was that performing can give you such a big boost of self-esteem. I really wanted her to experience that.

It’s ok… I mean she was the youngest by a couple years compared to the other girls, and she’ll have plenty of opportunities to perform for others. And, a big positive was that she got to hang out with Ellie and cheer for football.

Normalize Giving Flowers

Finally, I want to talk about giving flowers. Every time Scout and I go to the grocery store, we get flowers for Tyler. Scout usually pics them. Then she is the one who hands them to Tyler when we get home. Flowers are a special thing, and I want to normalize the act of doing kind things for those we care about. We are practicing making each other feel special. Often, I think about what things are doing long-term to Scout. In this case, is she going to want a partner who treats her special like this because it was modeled to her as a child? Well, I’d love that.

Of course my mind also goes to a teenage Scout who tries to change the person she is in a relationship with into someone who shows affection. Too much of something is bad, and too little of something is bad. I don’t know what to do. But if I screw her up by loving her mom too much, I suppose that’s a fate I’ll accept.

Talk to you soon,
Dale