The Most Wonderful Time of the Year . . .

Believe it or not, I put up my Christmas tree last weekend. I know . . . November 21st. For years, Christmas wasn't allowed to happen until after Thanksgiving had passed. But this year, I wanted to have time to enjoy the tree and the decorations - besides, if it wasn't done early, I'm not sure it WOULD get done!

The boys and I wrestled the tree into the house (and yes, the entire living room had to be re-arranged to accommodate the tree . . . but isn't that what usually happens?), and spent the afternoon decorating the tree and listening to Christmas music. I was very good this year. Usually, I am just a little particular about where ornaments are placed on the tree, but I told the boys to put ornaments wherever they wanted. And it looks great! We ended the evening by watching Elf. It was a great day.

And now we have made the trek over the river and through the woods to Nanny's house in VA for Thanksgiving. The boys and I spent the morning search for treasure with a metal detector - I felt like I was some retiree from NY combing the beaches of South Florida! But we found some interesting things, an couple bullet shell casing, and actual bullet . . . and an Old Milwaukee can! Tonight we head over to my brother's for the big feast. Why they hold it at 6pm, I'll never know. If you have thanksgiving dinner in the early afternoon, you can get over being miserably full before bed! But oh well, not my party!

The only down side to this whole holiday season is Mom's health - it has really declined in the last few months. She can no longer stand up straight, falls often, and is on so much medication that she is constantly falling asleep. Just this week, I found out that she is in congestive heart failure and her kidney function is steadily declining. To top it off, she fell last week (I had no idea - the phone lines from VA to SC don't work), and she tore some cartilage in her chest. This only causes her severe pain when she, ooohhhh, takes too deep of a breath, or coughs. Then she cries out in pain. I think it is really beginning to scare the kids.

But this all just drives the point of Thanksgiving home - gratitude for health, family, good food and friends . . . to name a few. When there is family tension over the dogs not getting along or whether you mix the cheese in with the macaroni or put the cheese on top, I step back and am grateful. Grateful for this crazy group of people I am fortunate enough to call family; for my health and that of my children; for the cheese and macaroni/macaroni and cheese we do have, etc. And I'm grateful for this time I have here this week. Because this may be the last Thanksgiving with Mom around.

A new low

I think I hit a new low yesterday morning.


I have been traveling for basically 3 straight weeks, and needless to say there is precious little food in the house.

As I stood in the kitchen, anxiously waiting for the coffee to brew, I started to look for something to eat for breakfast other than the condiments and beer that are in the fridge. My selection? Chocolate peanut butter ice cream with chocolate covered pretzel chunks. I just stood there and ate it out of the carton.

Pitiful.

In-flight Safety Memo

Dear US Airways -

If there is a gentleman seated in a window exit row that requires a lap belt extension and is probably tipping the scales at 450, he's incapable of helping in an emergency. I am no smalll man myself; however, he won't fit through the window. Period. Ever. No matter how much lubricant is used. It will be like Winnie the Pooh getting stuck in the tree because of eating too much honey. Meanwhile, the rest of us will die.

Just a thought for your consideration.

Best Regards,

A frequent flyer

Jump Start

Not sure why I haven't blogged in a while, but I want to get back into it, so here goes the jump start with a brief snapshot of my life today:


Outside my window... it's a beautiful, sunny crisp fall day

I am thinking... I have to get my expense report in today before 5, review resumes, and approve 2 hotel contracts. So why am I here blogging?!?!?

I am thankful for... coffee with my pastor yesterday

From the kitchen... my refrigerator asking, "Why am I so Empty?" Hey, I've been traveling for 3 weeks, and head out for 3 more weeks tomorrow - why buy lots of food. It does look pretty pitiful though. It came down to me eating a can of Ravioli last night for dinner - yes, one step above Ramen Noodles!
I am wearing... my big ol, 5 pounds of terrycloth robe. It was cold this morning! One of the benes of working at home.

I am creating... this blog entry - trying to get back in the habit

I am going... to get crackin on my work to-do list, fully acknowledging I will be reading resumes tonight as well.

I am reading... well - I just finished "What's Left of Us", powerful, gritty story about addiction and recovery. And not made up like "A Million Little Pieces"!

I am hoping... for some inner peace

I am hearing... Greeley, my dog, snoring at my feet. I think she sleeps more than my cat.

Around the house... my office is a DISASTER.

One of my favorite things... my morning coffee

A few plans for the rest of the week... punkin' pickin' and punkin' carvin'!

The Sign

Last night I got home to Greenville ay about 9pm after a missed flight in Chicago. I was tired, hungry, and just plain ready to be home. As I headed down the escalator to baggage claim, I saw a family gathered at the bottom, welcome home balloons tied to the stroller . . . and all of them were holding small American flags. That's when I remembered following the serviceman onto the plane in Charlotte. He was tall and really thin - what struck me was how exhausted he looked. I wanted to say something to him, but I didn't. And I don't know why.


About 6 months ago, I had a layover and sat at the bar next to a young guy that was on leave heading home to Buffalo from Afghanistan. We talked about what it was really like over there - not just what we are shown in the Media. We talked about how excited he was to see his mom, dad & brother. He told me about how he had saved up and was going to buy a new guitar, since the one he had taken over was pretty much destroyed. And about how excited he was to catch up with his buddies for a night on the town. It was a great talk, and when he asked for his tab, I told him his drinks were on me - that it was the very least I could do. And he just stopped, and stared at me for a second before I said, "Thank you. For all that you do." He smiled, said "You're welcome," and headed off to catch his plane.

So I knew that it meant something for those in our armed services to her a simple thank you. But I didn’t say anything last night to the man in front of me - I was too absorbed in my own little world.

Anyway, as I got off the escalator, I noticed that some of the other passengers hadn't taken off for the baggage carousel. They were standing there - waiting . . . watching . . . for this man to meet his family. He took the stair between the escalators and was barely down before his sobbing wife had her arms wrapped around him. They made it to the bottom of the stairs and she handed the infant to him (was this the first time he had seen his child), dad, mom, and brother all gathered around in a family hug. And then we onlookers turned away - many with tears in our eyes, to get our luggage.

I just cannot imagine the sacrifices our service men and women make - to be away from friends and family in the 4 corners of the world with none of the comforts of home. I couldn't do it. I know I couldn't. But what we CAN do is show gratitude for their sacrifice and service.

This was in my email inbox when I opened it this morning. I haven't seen this happening in airports I've been flying through – I’ve probably been caught up in my own world. But I know I'm going to start doing it and say a simple thank you. And I hope you will, too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSfFYxSdKdo

Be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger

I really liked this -

James 1:19

James reminds us that there are some things we should be quick to do, like listen, and other things we should be slow to do, like talk and express anger.

We might want to expand the lists. Here are some things I want to be slow to do: presume that I really understand what is going on in another person's life; be convinced that I am right; walk away from a friendship; assume that someone meant to hurt me; say something that may wound another; conclude that there is nothing I can do to help; think that what someone else most needs is my advice. It's not that it is always inappropriate to do any of these things, but often it is not, which is reason enough to slow down and reflect.

And here are some things that I want to be quick to do: express appreciation; extend forgiveness; offer encouragement; apologize when I know I have messed up; stand up for the oppressed; offer words of confession; remember the promises of God; praise God in all circumstances; keep quiet when I cannot improve upon the silence. All of these things may sound good in the abstract, but the point is to do them now and not delay.

As Henri Amiel affirmed, "Life is short, and there is little time to gladden the hearts of those who journey with us… so be quick to love and make haste to be kind."

Martin B. Copenhaver

It's all worth it . . . .

Last night I was tucking Andrew in bed when he looked up at me and said, "You know . . . I think you're the best dad anybody could ever ask for."

Yeah - there were tears.

Tippecanoe and fishing, too

Yesterday, we headed up to the mountain house to hang out by the pool for the afternoon. The higher up we drove, of course the cooler it got . . . and the cloudier, too. After driving through a couple rain showers, we stopped in front of the house and saw that it was a balmy 68 degrees. Well - so much for the pool.

But the kids had the back-up plan. Fishing. Now let me go on the record here: I really don't like fishing. Maybe it's that I don't have the patience. Maybe it was that damn perch that stabbed me with its fin when I was trying to remove the hook from his jaw when I was 7. Maybe it's because I don't like to eat freshwater fish, so I really don't see the point in sitting and waiting to catch something, just to remove the hook and toss it back into the water. Fun.

So, I gathered towels, packed a cooler (still holding out hope that there would be pool time), and we headed over to the clubhouse. We headed to the fishing dock and started to fish, which in Adam & Andrew Land means casting, reeling in, repeat. I kept encouraging them to let it sit in the water for , oh at least 3.2 seconds, but I might as well have been talking to the dock. After about 30 minutes of the cast/reel/repeat fishing technique and 2 rain showers, the sun broke and we all decided it was time to hit the pool. And Dad was happy.

However, the boys apparently caught "The Deadliest Catch" bug and begged to go fishing . . . just one more time. I thought what the hell - live in the moment . . . we can get back to Greenville later than I had hoped. Well, 2 minutes and one more rain shower into Fishing, Part Deux, Adam actually caught a freakin' fish! My first thought - WOO HOO!!! Adam caught a fish! This was quickly followed up with my second thought - please don't let it be a flippin' perch (flashback to being 7 and stabbed in the hand). Once we captured the moment on SD card, we freed our little scaly friend from the hook and tossed him back into the lake - after Adam gave him a kiss, of course (it's a ritual he picked up from a friend of ours . . . no, I don't understand either).

That's when I caved again. "Dad, if we can take a canoe out into the lake, that's where the biggest fish are, and we can catch a real fish." Again - live in the moment, make memories. So, we gathered up life jackets and headed to the canoes.

The canoes were pulled up on the bank, so we started to launch. I knew I had to be in the back, Andrew in the middle, with Adam in the front. The only problem was that if I got my big ol' butt in the back of the canoe, it would be impossible for us to launch the thing (because the back would sink in the mud). So Engineer Dad that I am, I told Andrew to sit on his knees in the middle while Adam and I launched it further out into the water. Then Dad the Brilliant boarded said canoe with disastrous consequences. It tipped left, then I over-corrected right and that was it. We were out of the canoe . . . in 6 inches of water. That's right, the front of the canoe was on land when Andrew and I got tossed in the mud/water. All Adam could do was just stand there and watch. Andrew was crying, not so much because he got hit in the back by the canoe, but probably because he had the crap scared out of him. And me? I just laid there in the mud and 6 inches of water laughing my ass off.

It takes a special kind of graceful to flip and swamp a canoe that was still partially on the bank. I've always said I was as graceful as a cow on ice.

Yeah - we won't be forgetting that excursion for a LONG time!

Looking Beyond Yourself

As I was drinking my coffee this morning and going through email (delete, delete, delete, delete), I cam across my email daily devotional. I have just recently signed up to receive these, because, try as I may, I just can't find a devotional book I like or that seems to be what I need right now.

Anyway, these devotionals are short, sweet, to the point . . . and in clear language - not steeped in theology. This morning's was based on Paul's letter to the Colossians that he wrote while in prison for teaching people about Jesus (Colossians 1:9-14).

The devotional starts out with having us place ourselves in that situation:
Most folks, if thrown in a prison cell on trumped up charges, would feel sorry for themselves. The range of their concern would not extend much beyond the four walls of the prison cell. In such a circumstance, they would be looking for someone to visit them, someone who could cheer them up and offer a word of encouragement.

But Paul didn't concern himself with his needs, but those of others (especially those in Colossia). And then the next part really struck me:
We all know folks who are like black holes of need. No matter what the circumstance, even in the midst of health and plenty, they are so keenly aware of their own needs. Then there are other people who are like bright lights shining in even the darkest corner. No matter what the circumstances, even in the midst of need, their lives are directed outward, offering encouragement to others. The contrast makes it clear that it is not so much what happens to you that makes the difference—it is what is going on inside you.

I have caught myself being one of those black holes of need lately. Amid all of the good going on in my life, lately I have been focusing on the bad . . . what's not going on the way I want it to, when I want it to - well, you get the idea.

So today, I'm going to work on focusing not on my own needs, but on the needs of others.

And tomorrow, I'll try again . . .

A quick snapshot of what's happening in my life

Outside my window... it's getting cloudy. Hoping the rain stays away until later

I am thinking... I need to get the kids out of the house

I am thankful for... 2 great kids that let me sleep late this morning

From the kitchen... not a sound - just lots of shine from the freshly scrubbed sink and floor

I am wearing... shorts and a t-shirt. Need to shower and change before the kids riot

I am creating... this blog entry - trying to get back in the habit

I am going... to grab some sandwiches and head to the park for a picnic

I am reading... reading? What is that?

I am hoping... Susan and Adam have a safe trip to Cincinnati for LH's funeral

I am hearing... The Wizards of Waverly Place . . . again. The boys whining that they are hungry. Adam randomly shooting a toy gun he re-discovered

Around the house... laundry to be done. Animals that need to be furminated - how can they shed so much and not be bald?

One of my favorite things... my morning coffee

A few plans for the rest of the week... spend some great Dad & Andrew time since Susan and Adam will be out of town. Maybe a drive game Wednesday. Help get the kids ready to go to camp. Maybe paint the vanity in the bathroom I hate - or at least touch up where I need to.