Weekends, not so restfull when you fill them.

             This weekend is going to be busy.  It looks like I may have overtime and have to work.  Hopefully, the civilians will volunteer and I can spend the weekend with friends and family. I also have some planning to do as I am heading up the church's brunch for those who serve for the Easter services.  This means I have to plan and coordinate enough to feed about 200 people.  I will have 10 people helping me to cook and serve, I just have to figure out how best to use them and what, exactly, we will be serving.  It sounds harder than it is, I hope.  I have a few ideas and hopefully I can get them into action.  I really need to get to the church and figure out what the kitchen has for us to use and what I need to get provided, I do that Tuesday.  Overall, it should be a fun time.
            As for the rest of this weekend, we are having friends over Friday, going to Friends Sunday, and in between I have a bible study, we need to go grocery shopping, and I need to spend some quality time with the boys.  I fully expect to be exhausted each night when I go to bed.
           Then I get to start the next week with calling for estimates for my septic system.  I still haven't got any and the darn thing needs replaced.  I have so much to do, that the list just keeps growing (I talked about the list a few posts ago.)  Sometime this month I need to get the camper out of storage and get it ready for camping season and the list grows some more.
          Amazing how time off doesn't equal rest and relaxation.  Maybe later, like August when we go on vacation.  Then again, I will be driving and trying to keep kids entertained, so maybe not.  I guess I can get my restful day some time later.
          Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.

Short and to the point, sort of.

           Today is my boy's school conferences.  I think I am dreading them more than my boys are.  I know that they do well for the most part, it is the low areas that scare me.  As a parent, I find that I fear hearing the bad about my boys and it is never as bad as I fear it could be.  I guess I am lucky in that.  I know that I hated conferences as a kid because I knew I didn't meet expectations as often as I should have.  Luckily, my boys do well enough that I shouldn't have that fear.  I still do and it puts my stomach in knots.
           Throw in the fact that the boys have today and the rest of the week off as well as next week for spring break and you suddenly find yourself wondering what you will be doing with them.  You try and plan things and then discover that, between work and other such things, you really don't have time to do much.  Hopefully the weather gets better and we can get them outdoors and doing stuff.
           Anyway, that's about all I have for today.  Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.

Extremely short. Probably not worth your time. Enjoy.

            Finally caught up.  This is why I don't like going on leave.  I end up spending the first day or so back getting caught up on what I missed while I was away.  It is doubly worse when it is unexpected.  I still enjoy it, if only because it means I have that time off to ignore work completely.  Anyway, I now have to do what needs done today, which is showing the new guy around.  Not that that is hard or painful, it is just something I need to do.  So again, I give you a short post.  Better than no post, I guess.
           Thanks for reading (all 5 seconds it took you) and, as always, have a great day.

Short note of return.

             For those of you out of the loop, I did not post last week due to being out of town to attend my Grandmother's funeral.  It was the first time in about 10 years that my entire family was together at the same time.  Sad that it took the passing of my Grandmother for it to occur, but she would have been proud.  We celebrated her life and were able to share our fond memories of her.  At the same time we were able to catch up with each other and enjoy each other's company.  We also reminded ourselves why we stopped playing hearts with dad (he wins to easily).
           The sad thing is that it took me 4 hours to get caught up enough at work to post this blog.  I still have some other things to do, but I was able to take a long enough break to post this.  Once I am fully caught up, I will start making longer posts, but it may take me a couple of days.
           Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.

A tribute to my Grandmother

           Today, I received the word that my grandmother had passed this morning.  It was not an unexpected thing as she has been in a nursing home for the past few years, but that does not make it any easier.  While her last few years were less than good, I prefer to remember her as she was for most of her life.  With that in mind, I give you the following.
           My grandmother was a great and wonderful woman.  Her house was always a safe and inviting place.  Filled with the smells of great food and the aura of welcome.  She always had a smile for everyone, not just her grandkids.  She welcomed any friend we brought home, or neighbor kid that stopped by.  She engaged them in conversation to learn about them and was genuinely interested in all that we said.  She did have rules and we followed them. That isn't to say she didn't spoil us.  We spent nearly every Sunday there and many holidays.  I still treasure the recipes she gave us and the life lessons she shared.  She helped instill in us responsibility and an ingrained sense of honor.  She taught us to value others as ourselves.  She taught us the value of Family and that no matter what, she would be there for us.
           My grandmother brought so much to us.  When my mother was sick, she stayed with us and kept us going.  she went out of her way to care for us for no more reason than we needed her.  She didn't run to take vacations after she retired, instead she stayed by us to provide us with a place to go.  She listened when we wanted to talk.  Gave us a shoulder to cry on when we were hurt.  She knew instinctively that a cookie could solve many of life's problems when you are young and that a quiet nod was what it took when you were older.  Her advice was always careful and considered and she was never to experienced to hear the opinions and advice of those around her.
          When it comes right down to it, my grandmother was an anchor, not only for our family, but for the entire neighborhood.  She took the time to take care of those whose life she touched.  She was an active member of her church and yet she still had time to make Sunday lunch, not just for herself, but for anyone who stopped by.  Many days there were 10 or more around the dinner table that looked like it was set for a thanksgiving feast even though it was April.  No one lest Grandma's place hungry or in need of a hug and she always meant it when she told you to come back soon.
         Maybe I rambled a bit and maybe I repeated myself a few times, but that is what my Grandma was and how I remember her.  I think those that knew her would say the same.  Thank you Grandma for all you gave us.  I thank God for the time we had with her.
         Thanks for reading and, as always have a great day.

To my son on his birthday.

           Today is special.  It just happens to be my second son's birthday.  So this post is for him.  He is my rough and tumble boy.  The one that has determined that he is in charge.  He is the first to jump in when dad decides to wrestle with his boys and the last to leave.  He is outgoing and brave.  He has his quirks as well (He is my son after all).  He finds ways to push boundaries and will find new ways to make me ask the question, "what were you thinking?"  He is also intelligent (although he denies it).  He has a knack for figuring out loop holes and exploiting them.  He is eager to learn new things (although he gets bored with them once he figures them out).  He loves to use his hands to do stuff and tries to be interested in what his dad is interested in (although in his words dad's stuff is boring).
          David is one of those boys that can make you wonder what went wrong and then prove that nothing did.  He will surprise you even if you know what is coming.  He is proof that kids will do or say the darnedest things.  He has no volume control because he must be heard.  He can also be the most stubborn of kids (but that is what my family does best).
         David takes care of his brothers and teaches them what he can.  He takes interest in his younger brothers and tries to make them smile.  He is also willing to sacrifice them to dad on occasion (when tickling or other such things are involved). 
         In all, David is David.  I know that isn't very definitive, but then again how do you define the indefinable.  He is still young and has a lot of years ahead of him so I know he will change and grow, but I know that he will grow into a man I can be proud of because I am already proud of where he is now.  Happy Birthday, David and have a great day.

Vacation planning: changes are expected.

           This weekend was a pretty good one all things considered.  I finished sewing the knee pads around midnight Friday only to have only one kid wear them at the games.  Speaking of the games, despite the slow start (we came in fourth the first game) we ended up placing first.  Then my two oldest boys and their team also got first.  We ended up just relaxing the rest of the day.  Sunday went well as well.  We even remembered to shift our clocks Saturday night before we went to bed.
            Now for the fun side.  As some of you know, we are in the middle of planning our summer vacation.  For the past week or so, we had planned on going to Yosemite National Park.  Last night my wife turns to me and says, "I think Yosemite is a little close and is somewhere we can go after you retire."  In other words, she wants to go further away.  And now I am trying to plan a trip to the Grand Canyon.  There is nothing like scrapping every bit of planning you have done for a week on the whim of your wife.  That's OK, I only have 3 days to figure it out before the reservations open for the camp sites.  We'll see where we go from here. 
             Not much else is going on so I think I will do some research and restart my planning.
             Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.

Procrastination: Not motivated enough to be an art form.

           As I head into today, I do so with a bit of concern.  I have a ton of work I have to get done at home, but I have to work today first.  It all comes down to keeping promises.  I said I would make knee pads for the AWANA games and I have 2 sets complete.  Only 8 more to go.  Unfortunately, that means another 16 individual knee pads which are about a third of the way complete (I have the squares of material cut out).  I still need to pick up the stuffing, make the straps, and sew them all together.  Nothing big, just the basics.  Oh, and I have to go grocery shopping before I start this.  Hopefully I can get out of here early today, but I am not counting on it.  What it all comes down to is, I didn't plan well and put it off.  Procrastination attacks again.  I am working on getting better about it, but I slip a little to often.
         I have heard it said, "never do today what can be put off until tomorrow."  I don't know who said it, but whoever did was obviously trying to get someone else to do their work.  I say this from personally experience (which is why I am trying to get better at doing things right away).  A procrastinator puts things off, not because he doesn't care about them, but because he doesn't want to do them.  He puts it off in hopes that either someone else will do it or that the problem solves itself (it rarely does, by the way). 
          I finally realized this a few years ago when I became a home owner.  At first, I thought the house was OK (I never really loved it, but it was ours).  Then I started noticing things wrong with it.  At first they were small and I kept putting them off.  I would point them out to my wife and say things like, "I'll get to it," or "but that's for later."  There was always something more important or some other reason.  It wasn't until I stared at the same problem for a month that I realized no one else was going to do it and it most definitely was not going away.  At that point I realized that I had to start doing something on the growing Honey do list.
          After we completed a few of the projects I noticed a strange anomaly.  Every time I took something off of the list, two more items would replace it.  This would probably be a good time to point out that this wasn't a theoretical list, but a no kidding written list on the side of the fridge.  What started as a quarter page of things (some small one minute items, others massive undertakings), was now a full page with the top eighth scratched off.  The list "mysteriously" disappeared shortly after that.
         The lesson learned from all this is, don't make a list.  It only depresses you and makes you want to do it less.  Tackle each job as you come across it.  If you can wait to do it for a few days because of prior plans, then it must not be that important and didn't need to go on the list in the first place, so why bother.  And that is where you realize that procrastination has been replaced by apathy.
        Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.

People are not like cheese: We don't necessarily get better with age.

           After yesterday's rant, I feel the need to slow it down a bit.  I believe that the only thing that comes to mind to do today is to insert another of my answers for my sons.  Today, I think I will include the answer to the following question:

What is the worst part about getting older?

Simply put, the way the body starts to betray you.  First there is the pain.  It I’m not talking about pain from more frequent injuries.  No, I am talking about pain from the stuff you do every day.  You find that your body has decided that you no longer need full use of various parts and thus it should remind you of that by making them hurt at random.  It is true that as you age you tend to be able to do less and less.  Things that you could do easily yesterday (standing up quickly for instance) are harder to do today.  Your knees start to ache just from walking to the bathroom in the morning.  Your back hurts as you sit up to turn off that alarm.  Sometimes, just stretching can make you hurt.  And that’s not including hurting yourself by trying to do something you were able to do just a few years ago.  Take playing football for example.  I used to be able to throw the ball without pain (not very well, but at least it didn’t hurt), now, after two tosses, my shoulder hurts and I think hand offs are a better option.  Add to that that running for any distance is out of the question.  Knees, ankles, hips, and back all get in on that action.  Exercise for any extended period of time and your entire body reminds you that it is an unusual practice for days afterward.  I suppose if you exercise regularly and eat right the pain is less, but where is the fun in that. 

The secondly the body gives up on staying trim.  When I was younger I could eat anything I wanted all day and not gain a pound.  Then I hit 24 and my body decided I needed to start storing food for the winter.  Now I have to watch what I eat if I don’t want a waist size equivalent to my age.  Now I have a gut, a requirement to be under a certain weight, and a hankering for chocolate and fried foods (yes, a deep fried chocolate bar sounds great right about now).  The weirdest part of all this is that, when I was younger, I used to eat fairly healthy and moderately.  Now that I am older and have to watch what I eat, I mainly want to eat junk food and candy, and I want to do it all the time.  In other words, the body says, “if you eat this I’ll make you fat,” and then turns around and yells, “EAT IT, EAT IT ALL!!!” 

The final thing the body does to you is mess with your sleeping habits.  By this I mean it refuses to allow you to sleep properly.  You may be able to get up regularly at the same time every morning before your alarm clock goes off.  Then, the night the power goes out and your alarm clock fail to go off, your body decides you need to sleep for an extra four hours.  Never mind that on the weekend when you can sleep in your body wakes you up 5 minutes before your alarm normally goes off.  Then when you go to bed, you start reading and can’t seem to finish a sentence.  You turn of the light and stare at the ceiling for an hour until your body finally decides that you’re serious.  The body lies about how tired you are all the time too.  You could be falling asleep on the couch and unable to keep your eyes open, but the moment you lay down in bed, you are wide awake.  Then when you finally do fall asleep, you wake up 3 hours later for no reason, and then every hour on the hour you wake up again.  The next night, as soon as your head hits the pillow, you pass out and are barely able to wake up for your alarm clock. 

                Yup, the worst part about growing older is how your body begins to betray you.

                Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.

Gay marriage: Wrong by definition.

          I am back on days and so I will be posting more often.  Today I think I will address an issue that is coming up on the ballot here in the state of Washington.  It is a referendum on gay marriage.  I understand that this is a hot issue and that it will be hotly debated, so let me start with some facts.  First of all, here in Washington state, there is the civil union law.  This law gives any couple who apply for it (much like a marriage license) may enter a civil union.  Those in that union receive all the same privileges and benefits of a married couple.  In other words, no rights or privileges granted a married couple may be with held from a couple with a civil union.  It also adds that this union may be between couples of the same sex.
           Why did I mention that?  Simple, it means that any move for gay marriage ceases to be about civil rights as no rights are being denied.  It is about redefining marriage.  The argument that we are trying to deny people basic rights is ludicrous at best.  By law, if a same sex couple is denied something a married couple gets, then they have every right to bring charges and sue the person discriminating against them.  The law that enacts same sex marriage is about definitions, not rights.  I have yet to see any right or privilege that a married couple gets that a couple in a civil union is denied by law.
            The one thing that has always bugged me as well is the idea that marriage is a right.  The fact is, we can't call it a right.  If we do, then we have been denying this right for years and the gay marriage law will not change that.  I am referring to 2 consenting adults of legal age.  I agree that the idea that enacting gay marriage will lead to people marrying animals or that it will legalize pedophilia is asinine at best.  What I am talking about is relational marriage.  If it is a rights issue, no two consenting adults of legal age can be denied this right, yet we continually deny marriage between close relations (1st cousins, siblings, father daughter, mother son, etc.).  Don't get me wrong, I understand the implications of these marriages and don't agree with them either, but the fact remains that we discriminate against these marriages as well.
           Call me what you will and be as angry as you want.  The fact remains that this ceased to be a civil rights issue when the only thing being argued is a definition.  Why am I concerned?  Because it means that, in order for a religious entity to maintain its beliefs and convictions, it must, by definition, discriminate and go against the law.  By enacting a law that redefines marriage, you force churches into a situation where they are forced to either run afoul of the law and discriminate, or go against their convictions and beliefs.  There shall be no laws establishing religion or infringing the free practice thereof.  How can a church fee free to practice its religion is against the law to hold on to their beliefs.
            Now, to answer and argument that jumps up every time religion is brought in on this.  Slavery is not directed by the bible.  As I read the new testament, it is clear that it did not agree with slavery.  In fact, every instance of slavery in the new testament that I have read has mentioned paying proper wages and treating them fairly.  I am not a theologian, but it appears to me, the biblical definition of slavery can be paralleled with someone under contract today.  Yes, it was twisted and used wrong in early America and elsewhere and I could never condone that, but I am not talking about early America.  The fact is the bible is very clear on this issue.  Homosexuality is wrong according to the bible (new testament included) and since this is what my beliefs, and most Christian beliefs, are based on I cannot condone it nor agree with it. 
            That's about it for today.  Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.

Short and full of complaints.

            It has been a heck of a week.  Since my last post, I have barely had time to check my email let alone write a coherent post.  Overall it has been an interesting week.  My oldest son had his first science fair.  I think he did all right.  I was unable to attend due to work, but I heard he did OK.  I am looking forward to talking to him about it, but I haven't been able to see him since it happened due to other events.
             That being said, I find that things are happening that are driving me nuts right now.  I have to work overtime this weekend which means that I will be unable to attend church yet again this weekend.  i should be able to go to the afternoon practice for the AWANA games, but I am unsure.  I work the graveyard shift so hopefully I can wake up enough to go to the practice.  I will have Monday off (mainly because I will be sleeping during the day) because of it, but that really isn't saying much.  I have to set up a doctors appointment for my shoulder.  I think I re injured it doing push ups.  Hopefully this time the doctor will be able to figure out what is wrong.
            I guess I have complained enough.  I really don't know where else to go with tonight's post so I think I will just end it.  Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.