Joy of New Life

Well, my wife, son, and I just got home from a weekend where we went to go see my new niece. She is an amazingly beautiful little girl, and I am just incredibly thankful that I get to be her uncle. I wasn't too sure how I was going to react when I actually got to hold her. I wasn't too sure I wouldn't burst into tears when I actually held her, but fortunately for me (and everyone else there too), I was able to enjoy getting to meet my wonderful little niece. Jordyn is a great little girl, with really good parents, and has a wonderful life ahead of her. It got me to thinking about life, and all the endless possibilities that we have as humans when we are born. We're born, and can't do anything for ourselves, we're completely at the mercy of our parents, whether that's for good or bad. As we grow, we become increasingly able to take control of our own lives, and our lives became increasingly complicated. Sometimes, like at the birth of a new child, it's nice to take a step back, and think about what's really important in life. Our families, and our faith are the most important things in shaping who we are to become. A new life is certainly something to celebrate!

Fascination With Pictures

I wanted to share a website that I've been simply fascinated with for the past couple of days. Those of you who use blogger.com to host your blog may be familiar with this, but I'm sharing this for those who haven't seen it. Blogger now has a site where they simply scroll pictures that people are uploading to their blog sites. It's just random picture after random picture. They screen them, so there are few, if any, offensive pictures. It's just picture of cute kid, after weird vacation picture, after scenery picture. It's fascinating to me to see what others are taking pictures of, and think are important enough to post on their blogs.

It's play.blogger.com

Top Five List

Top 5 movies that are always on TV, but I'll still stop and watch when I come across them.

1. Shawshank Redemption
2. Tombstone
3. Caddy Shack
4. Back to the Future
5. The Fugitive

Headlines You Don't See Everyday

This headline definitely goes under the category of Headlines You Don't See Very Often!

"Jack Hanna and Flamingo Get Stuck In Airport Turnstile."

Apparently, Jack had the flamingo in a square crate, and tried to take it through a round security turnstile. The crate, and Jack, got stuck. Jack eventually squirmed free, but he had to get the fire department to get the flamingo free. Tee hee! Boy, if I had a dollar for every time that has happened to me, I'd be independently wealthy! =)

Feeling Yucky

I'm home early today because Eli is feeling sick. I have more sick days to take, so I have stay at home duties this afternoon. I don't know if it's just me, but it's hard to see your child sick. You really wish you could do something to make it all better, but you know that you can't, and all you can do is try to ease the discomfort, and let them get better as quick as possible.
It brings back memories of being home sick when I was little. Mom or Dad was always there, but it was always Mom who had the comforting cool touch that just somehow made everything seem better. When Dad was home, he did a good job of making sure I had enough to eat and drink, but Mom was the one who seemed to make things better. No matter how bad I felt, Mom was the one who could make it feel better. Now that I'm older and have a son of my own, it's easy to flash back, and put myself in his shoes, at least a little bit. For some reason, it seems worse from this end! I think when you're young and sick, it's just the way it is, but when you're the adult, it's almost worse, because you want to help, but there isn't anything you can do.

A Conversation

I had the following conversation with my 4 year old son this afternoon.

Eli: Daddy, you and Mommy are married, right?
Me: Yup, we sure are.
Eli: I'm going to get married too.
Me: You are?
Eli: Yup, Zoe says she's going to marry me.
Me: She does, does she?
Eli: Yup, she says we're going to get married someday.
Me: What do you think about that?
Eli: (pauses, then grins) Sounds good to me!

Aren't kids wonderful? Their perspective on life can be so innocent, and yet, so refreshingly honest! There's something to be said for the innocence of childhood.

Speaking of Songs...

I should come up with my very own Top Ten list of Most Overplayed Songs...

"Live Like You Were Dying" would have to be near the top!

Thoughts On A Song

I was working this morning, when a song came on the radio. It's a song that, normally, when it comes on, I roll my eyes and change the station. I don't normally listen to country, so it was by chance that I even heard it. Today however, I was busy and didn't have time to change the station, so the song played all the way through. The song was "Live Like You Were Dying" by Tim McGraw. When the song first came out, I thought the song was OK, and had a neat message. But years have gone by, and what I call "playlist overkill" made the song almost intolerable. Today was different however. I listened and sang along with the song, and it really made me do some thinking about my life.
Maybe because I'm over 30 now, or maybe because I feel a great responsibility to my wife and son, or maybe because my parents are getting to the point of retirement, but I've never been more cognizant of the fact that there is really only one heartbeat between me and eternity. I'm never been more confident of the fact that I know where I'll be for eternity, but I also know that there is so much that I want to accomplish before I get there. "Live Like You Were Dying" sounds pretty cheesy, but there is a great truth in the fact that this life isn't guaranteed to us for more than the next heartbeat. I fully intend to take advantage of the fact that I am alive, and not put off till later what I can do now. I challenge you to do the same.

Who Knew

Who knew a blog would be so hard to keep up with? When I decided that writing a blog would allow me to sit down and verbalize some of the ideas and thoughts I have, I had no idea that it would be so hard to come up with anything to write about. I think about stuff all day, I have lots of time in my job to be thinking, and it didn't seem hard at all to come up with things to write about. But... now that I have a blog, it seems like there isn't as much as I thought to write about. Things that seemed funny when they happened to me at 3:00 simply don't seem as funny when I'm tired, and trying to write at 11:00 that night. So, here and now, I'm committing to writing about things that may not seem to be all that funny, or all that important. Even if I don't think they're all that interesting, maybe you will.

Where Do We Lose It?

Somewhere along the line, we all seem to lose it. We have it when we are little, but somewhere along the line, it seems to disappear, never to return. I'm talking about the way babies and little kids seem to have the ability to wake up bright and early with a huge smile on their face, ready to greet the day. It doesn't matter that they were up late the night before, or someone stole their toy yesterday. Every day is a new day, and they seem to more than ready to get going, to see what this new day brings. Try and think back to the last baby you've seen that woke up in bad mood. They just don't seem to do it. Now try and think back to the last time you've been in a bad mood when you got up. If you're anything like me, you don't have to think back very far at all.
Of course, as adults, we have far more responsibilities and problems than children do, but perhaps we could all take lessons from babies and little children. Take each day as it comes, and try and leave the past in the past. It's not that easy, and probably isn't very realistic, but every time you see a baby wake up with a big grin on her face, try to remember to do the same.

I Must Be Getting Old

As I sit here, sprawled on my couch, and watching the Braves playing the Colorado Rockies, it has dawned on me that I must getting old. Seven or eight years ago, Friday nights were reserved for dates with my wife, going out to eat, watching a movie, or playing games. It was a time when nothing sounded more boring to me than sitting at home doing nothing on a perfectly good Friday night. Now that I'm a couple years older, with a son, and more responsibilities, sitting on the couch and watching a baseball game sounds like the perfect ending to a long week. I've worked more than 50 hours this week, and the idea that I can sit here, and do absolutely nothing for a few hours sounds like heaven.
My wife has had a long week as well, and she's curled up here beside me enjoying some reading, and taking it easy as well. It's just one more sign that I must be getting old. Sitting at home on the couch used to be what my parents did on a Friday night. Now, I kind of like the idea.