Great shot of Meg asleep on the couch in the Florida room of our old house. 

Meg and I at her first UT game. She fell asleep in the first quarter, but was awakened by 105,000 screaming fans reacting to a blocked field goal. Oh, and UT won BIG over South Carolina that day..... 

Meg and one of her favorite people in the world, Mr. Brandon Scott Thomas. This picture was taken the day of her baptism, and Brandon was kind enough to perform the baptism for us. 

Meg and Sara, June 2005 

was it really 15 years ago?

15 years ago today, it was just the bride and me. 15 years ago tomorrow, we became parents. We went from a couple to a family, just like that. We left for the hospital at about 5:40 AM, and Megan Lindsay Stapleton was born at 1:21 PM. The Billy Joel song "She's Got A Way" was playing when she came into this world. (In fact, there was a Billy Joel song playing on the radio with both girls; Sara's was "She's Always A Woman.")

That summer was very hot, but the day we brought Meg home was the hottest day of the year. It was July 4, 1990, and the temperature was 104. We lived in a house that didn't have central air conditioning, so the room temperature varied from room to room because not every room had a window air conditioner.

Looking back on old pictures, I realize that the reason we always felt so broke was because we actually were. We chose for Susie to stay home with the girls. And even though money was tight, we feel like we made the right decision. I was actually accused of being a male chauvinist because we made the decision for the bride to stay home with our girls rather than pursue a career outside the home. It was told to me that I was "forcing" her to stay home, but here's how it really happened:
When Meg was about 6 weeks old, we started looking around for daycare options. We "knew" we'd never be able to make it on one salary, and the bride was due for a substatial promotion and pay raise when she returned from maternity leave. We first ruled out the standard day care. Our pediatrician told us that if Meg were to be in daycare with several other kids, we would be visiting him between 8-12 times over the next year; if she stayed home, he'd see us 4 times over the next 12 months. So we decided to look for someone who kept just a couple of kids in their home. After looking around, we found a lady at church who had an opening in her home. We set up an appointment and met with her during our lunch hours one day. Everything seemed to be great - great location, nice lady, good environment, etc. We got in the car and about half-way back the bride started crying. I asked her what was wrong, and she said, "I can't leave her. I just can't go back to work and leave Meg." I won't lie - I panicked at first. Insurance was going to cost me an additional $575 a month, and I knew I didn't have that. However, I had a great boss at the time. I came back and told him the situation. He said the company take care of the insurance cost for us. Just like that! That was a huge blessing that I never took for granted.

The bride later went on to work in a mother's day out at a local church. She never made huge money, but it was always just enough to help us make ends meet.

I think we took dozens and dozens of rolls of pictures of Meg her first year. Some of them I'll post later. Looking at them now, it's like we took them one after another. One picture she'd be in her crib laying down, the next one she would have moved 1/4 inch from 3 seconds before. Lots of duplicates. (This was before digital photography, so we had to get them all developed.)

Being a dad was new, but I loved it. The first time I ever babysat alone, Meg and I watched the MLB all star game. She was only a couple of weeks old, so she didn't pay too much attention to the game.

As I've mentioned before, Meg's been a compliant child. She didn't do things like write on the walls with crayons or anything similar. But there was one time that she did something a little out of character.

When she was about 5, Meg brought the phone to the bride. The bride was feeding a bottle to Sara when Meg said, "Here, Mom, this lady wants to talk to you." She couldn't remember hearing the phone ring, but she just figured she missed it. She picked up and the lady on the other end said that she just needed to verify some information. The lady proceeded to confirm our address and phone number, along with some other information. The bride said, "Uh, could you tell me what this is for?" The lady stated that Meg had just ordered bottled water delivery for our home. The bride said, "Do you realize you were talking to a 5-year-old?" The lady said, "Really? Well, she certainly doesn't sound it!" Either the bottled water lady was ignorant or she was hard up to sell some water. We later learned that Meg had seen a commercial about bottled water, copied the toll-free number down in crayon, then placed the call. We had to have a little talk about calling phone numbers from television.

I'm proud of Meg. Not only because she's my daughter, but also for who she is as a person. She loves people, and people love being around her. She has a tender heart, and she's brought the bride and me all kinds of joy over the past 15 years. And we can't wait to see what God has in store for her for the rest of her life! Meg will have alot of big events over the next few years - learners permit and drivers license, high school graduation, college, etc. I'm just glad I've got a front-row seat to see it all happen.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MEG! WE LOVE YOU!

startling discovery.....

I've been doing some covert research over the past six months and I've made an incredible discovery. There appears to be a direct correlation between the molecular structure of fabric and the combination of constant eating and lack of exercise. Now, I'm not a scientist by any means, but apparently when you don't exercise and when you eat whatever you want whenever you want something interesting happens - your pants shrink. That's the only conclusion I can come up with. It can't have anything to do with age and added girth.....

determine your season.....

I heard a lady say something about her "season of life" earlier today, and it made me wonder what season I was in. So I did a little figuring:

Assuming that I'll live to be 78 (just a guess, I have no real insight to this), I'm about 52.56% of the way through life. If you convert that to which month I'm in, it would be July. (Take 52.56% times 12 [the number of months in a year], and you get 6.3, which means I'm past June, and 30% of the way through July.) Roughly speaking, it's July 9 for me in life. So right now, I'm in the summer of my life.

In golf terms, I'm on the back 9, actually on number 10, probably getting ready to hit my approach shot. I just hope I don't chili-dip any shots here on the back 9.....

new level of maturity.....

On the way home from work yesterday, the girls and I stopped by the Brentwood library. The bride had to come by the office, so the girls stayed with me for the last couple of hours at work.

So we go in the library and we left with 8 or 9 books.....and TWO of them were MINE! That's correct, I checked out TWO library books at once. And these aren't picture books or comic books. No sir, these are all-word books, with chapters and everything! BIG books, HUGE books, GROWN-UP books, I tell ya'!

I'm thinking of buying a tweed jacket with suede arm patches, along with a pipe, so that I'll look scholarly when I read them.....

like being at the beach.....

Having Chris, Kathy, Landon and Katilyn down this past weekend was alot like one of our beach trips. Everyone was around, eating, laughing, just enjoying spending time with each other.

They got to our house around 3:00 Saturday afternoon, and were met by us and 3 shirtless men up on our roof. The roofers were supposed to be there last Monday or Tuesday, but "surprised" us Saturday afternoon at about 2:45. (Don't you just love dealing with people who think there's no big difference between Monday and Saturday? I know I do!)

We left for dinner at the Mellow Mushroom at around 5:30. Saturday night was apparently "Feel Like You're Standing in Front of One of Our Brick Ovens" night. Since it was an artic 91 outside, they decided to open the doors and let the hot air circulate. After a few minutes, we adjusted to the heat and had a good time in spite of the temperature. We walked around downtown for about an hour, then drove to see the big bridge on the Natchez Trace. That night we hung out talking and having fun.

Chris and I played golf at Forrest Crossing Sunday morning. I woke up and it was raining, but it didn't rain us out. It sprinkled a couple of times, but nothing major. And the clouds remained all morning long, so that gave us some relief from the heat. We came back, ate lunch, then went to the mall. After we got home, most of us went to the pool for a couple of hours. Then we came back for supper and another good evening at home.

We'll miss going to the beach with the Moffitts this year. But being able to spend some time with them the past few days was very nice.

stepford vs. glendower.....

The bride and I watched "The Stepford Wives" last night for the first time. Yes, I know, it came out a year or so ago, we're just late seeing it. But I checked it out at the Brentwood library last Friday and it had to be back today, so last night was our last chance to see it before I had to return it.

It was a little bizarre, but it had it's funny moments. Glad we didn't pay to see it in the theater or to rent it. Nicole Kidman was very good, and Christopher Walken is one of my favorites. Later in the evening I hugged and kissed the bride, and she complained about my garlic breath. I said, "A Stepford Wife would never criticize my breath." That was met with a sarcastic "ha-ha" on her part.

I started thinking of the differences between the Stepford neighborhood and our cul-de-sac on my way to work this morning. Allow me to compare and contrast:

In Stepford, the husbands are always right.
On Glendower, the husbands know left from right.

In Stepford, houses are kept in perfect order.
On Glendower, windows are washed once a year whether they need it or not.

In Stepford, the wives meet at the local spa for aerobic activity.
On Glendower, anything more strenuous than carrying a folding chair next door is akin to running a marathon.

In Stepford, cookies and cupcakes are baked from scratch.
On Glendower, cookies sliced from a cookie dough roll is considered homemade.

In Stepford, the family pet is a robotic dog.
On Glendower, neighors think you have a carpeted garage floor because of all the hair your dog sheds.

i can see clearly now.....

I believe I talked to the bride more yesterday than any other day since we met. I received (almost) half-hourly reports on the window installation during the day. Well, some weren't so much reports as they were panic alerts at times. All in all, the windows look great so far. The guy's going to be back today and tomorrow to finish up the job. He got about 20 of the 27 windows done yesterday. Oh, and the bride is pleased and a little less stressed.

I picked up Meg from Taco Bell last night at about 9:30. She and some friends had decided to hang out there after church. Hard to believe that child will be 15 next week. Seems that not too long ago I was taking pictures of the bride on the front porch of our first house (in profile view) the morning we went to the hospital. Less than 8 hours after those pictures were taken, we were no longer a couple but rather a family.

top 10 things you'll never hear me say.....

1. Honey, we need to have another baby
   
2. Man, I'm too skinny
   
3. Give me a sappy love story over a comedy any day of the week
   
4. They need to fire Phillip Fulmer *
   
5. Halle Berry is just so homely
   
6. I'll take the most expensive one
   
7. I can't WAIT for the NBA season to start
   
8. The movie starts in 15 minutes, but I don't mind being a few minutes late
   
9. No, I'm not in the mood for fried chicken
10. Can you pass the fried okra, please?

*ok, I might say this after a bad loss…..

here's the two reasons why i like beling a daddy.....

megsarafireplace
Originally uploaded by wstaple.

This picture is probably about 8 years old now. One of my favorites.....

i like the name daddy.....

I've got alot of different titles - husband, son, grandson, president, neighbor, friend, brother, just to name a few. But of all the different names I go by, one of my favorites is "daddy."

I got to celebrate my 14th Father's Day on Sunday. I'm blessed in so many ways, but one of the biggest blessings the bride and I have is that of healthy and (most of the time) happy children.

During both pregnancies, we would pray for a healthy baby; and both times we were blessed with a healthy baby. I still pray for their good health, but I also pray that they would be given wisdom and make good decisions. And I pray for wisdom as their father, that I would do things that would help them grow into the young ladies they need to be.

I love the movie Parenthood. Keanu Reeve's character, Tod, was a teenage husband/soon-to-be-father. In one scene He and his mother-in-law, Helen (Dianne Wiest), were talking about a problem Helen's youngest son, Gary, had with his father. Tod had one of the best movie lines ever about fatherhood: "You know, you need a license to buy a dog, you need a license to drive a car, you even need a license to catch a fish, but they'll let any ***** be a father."

Yep, being a "daddy" is a big responsibility, but it's one that I absolutely cherish.....

charlie babbitt was right.....

I set foot in the Franklin K-Mart for the last time Saturday morning. I've said this before, but this time I mean it. The ONLY way I'll go back in there is if the bride or one of the girls are in dire need of medicine. That's it.

I had decided to wash our cars Saturday morning. I knew I needed a few things for the wash bucket, so I went to K-Mart at around 9:00. It didn't look to crowded when I went in, but as I got back to the automotive section I saw 30-40 people congregated around a couple of tables. I went around the back aisle to get the Armour All and the wheel cleaner. At the end of the aisles sat the two tables. I looked closer and saw stacks and stacks of Hot Wheels cars. And the huddled masses didn't include any kids. They were mostly men over 40. Yeah.

I grabbed my items and went to the checkout lines, or should I say line. One register was open. One. There were 8 people in line, and another 5 people wandering around with their carts with that "surely there's another cashier" look on their faces. The bride says she always goes to the customer service area and checks out there when it's crowded, so I did just that. There was only one guy in line, but I looked at his cart and knew it wasn't going to be a quick transaction.

This guy looked to be in his early 50's, and he reminded me alot of the character "Comic Book Guy" on The Simpsons. He had a determined yet satisfied look on his face, and when I saw his cart I realized why he was so thrilled. Comic Book Guy was buying somewhere between 300 and 400 Hot Wheels. And to top it off, the cashier was scanning them one.at.a.time. Upon seeing this, I sat my purchases down on the nearest shelf and left.

I've always complained that our local K-Mart never had enough lines open. As much as I despise Wal Mart, at least they have alot of lines open (even if they're always full). Looks like the new Target will get my business from now on.

Oh, gotta' go. Ten minutes to Wapner.....

songs about lawnmowers and i-ee, i-ee, i-ee's......

Last night was the big wrap-up service for VBS at church. They actually finish up VBS classes this morning, but they always do a program for the parents and grandparents of the kids. It was amazing and exciting to see almost 800 kids up on stage singing and doing hand motions all at once.

I remember VBS when I was growing up. We didn't have all the elaborate themes and musical productions that they have now. (I'm starting to sound like Dana Carvey's old man character that he used to do on SNL. "We didn't have all those big, fancy video screens! All we had was the youth pastor singing off key! AND WE LIKED IT!") I'm a little envious of the kids now.

VBS is our church's biggest outreach of the year. Almost 1/3 of the kids there this week don't go to our church, and some of them don't go to church at all. It's incredible how many families start coming to our church just because their child came to VBS.

Well, looks like our windows will be installed next week. Hopefully the roof work will get done then, too. Then next Saturday the Moffitts will be in town for the weekend! We're all really looking forward to that!

yep, they're right on this one.....

Texans are a confident lot for the most part. Most Texans will talk about how great this or that is Texas. How much better something is in Texas than wherever it is they live. And honestly, that can get pretty annoying. But I'll have to give it to them on one thing for sure - Blue Bell ice cream is the best ice cream out there.

For years I had heard about how much better Blue Bell ice cream was than Purity or Pet or whatever brand you wanted to name. I kept thinking, "Oh great, here we go again. Another Texan bragging about something else from Texas." Last year I had meetings in San Antonio and I stayed at the Marriott Riverwalk. In the shopping center connected to the hotel, there was an ice cream place that sold Blue Bell. I was hooked from the first spoonful. I had it every night I was there. My favorite was the banana pudding ice cream that I had to celebrate UT's win over Florida after the game.

Blue Bell now has a distribution center in Nolensville and it's now available in middle Tennessee. It's been in the Memphis area for a few years, and I know a man who travels to Memphis on business once a month. He takes a cooler with him, and on the way out of town he buys (at least) four 1/2 gallons of Blue Bell and a bag of ice.

I got the chance to play the front 9 at Forrest Crossing after work yesterday. (First time I'd played my own ball this year, and I shot a 41. I'll take it!) I got home and both girls were gone. The bride was out watering flowers and I said, "I'm going to Publix to get some Blue Bell. Wanna' come with me?" We bought a 1/2 gallon of banana split ice cream. As she was eating her ice cream, eyes half shut and glazed over, she said, "You know, we can't eat this every night." I reluctantly agreed. But I reasoned that since I had walked instead of ridden 9 holes that I could justify a huge bowl of Blue Bell.

If you've never had Blue Bell, get the vanilla first then work your way up to the other flavors. Pacing yourself is important.....

new watch.....

I'd like to have someone invent a watch that would work on God's time, not my time. Can you imagine the demand for such a thing?

I have a good friend who's been going through an interview process for the CEO position of a non-profit organization for the past 2 months. He made it as one of the final 3 candidates for the job. 2 weeks ago, the headhunter told him that the he was their guy. In these past 2 weeks, the board has back-peddled somewhat, and while he's still the only candidate they're considering, they're drawing the process out.

I know what's he's going through. The interview process for my current job took almost 3 1/2 months, and it was pretty frustrating. I'd call, they'd say they still hadn't made a decision. In the end, my persistence was one of the things that got me the job. The recruiter said that it was obvious that I wanted the job.

In the first chapter of Acts, Christ appears to his apostles and they ask Him when Isreal was going to be restored. He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority."

To me, the hardest part of the Christian walk is waiting. I had a hard time with waiting for something I wanted, and my friend's having a hard time waiting for this thing to happen for him. And that's where faith comes in. Complete trust that regardless of the outcome, God has a plan for you.....in His own time.

OK, so I'm off to research this God's-time-watch thing. Maybe I'll check on e-Bay.....

sponge-bob (or mary, or joe, or jill) .....

Sponges are things that soak up moisture, and they rarely release what they've absorbed unless they're squeezed. When they do release the liquid, what comes out of them is what they've soaked up.

People are like sponges - they become what they absorb. Ever spend any time around someone who's contantly negative and try to inject their life with some positive stuff? It's not easy because a sponge can only soak up so much, and until it realeases what it's holding on to there's nothing else getting in.

Most people don't want to release what they've captured, even if it's terrible and negative. It may be awful, but doggone it - it's their negative stuff! They become so attached to it that they don't know how they'd live without it.

I try to avoid negative people but it's not always possible. The trick is dealing with them in a manner that allows you to exist in their presence without wanting to physically harm the person. And that's easier said than done. So if I ever learn that trick, I'll be sure to pass it along.....

rain and friends.....

The rain from the tropical depression made its way into middle Tennessee this weekend. We spent the day inside finishing up Sara's room. I cleaned the aquarium and fixed the leaky commode in the upstairs bathroom. Such fun!

Sunday was a busy, but fun, day. After church, Meg went to lunch with some friends and the rest of us went home for lunch. We took a few things to church for this week's VBS, then came back home for a going-away party across the street. Two families are moving, one to Montgomery, AL and the other to Michigan. The Montgomery friends left a few weeks ago, and the Michigan neighbors leave this week. The misty rain continued on during the party, but we just set up shop in the neighbor's garage. We stayed about an hour-and-a-half, then headed home to get ready for Sara's end-of-the-year softball party.

The team's sponsor had offered to have the party at his house. We'd never been to this part of Franklin (although it's only about 3 miles from our house), and we would have never known anything like that was back there. It was just behind the new Target shopping center on Columbia Pike. Unbelieveable. They own about 25 acres and it was beautiful. The house was very nice but unpretentious. We had the party out in what he called "the barn." It looked like a barn, but the bottom level was a garage that was about 40 x 25, and the upper lever was half horse stalls and half screened porch. The kids ran from the zip line to the tire swing to the trampoline for two solid hours. The adults stood around talking and eating. Most of these girls have played together for 3-4 years, so they know each other well and the parents have all gotten to know each other pretty well, also. Everyone had a great time.

Now we're back to Monday. The bride's parents are set to arrive in Nashville at around 7:30 tonight. VBS will keep the bride and the girls busy all week long. And my week should be pretty normal.....busy.....

the end must be near.....

I watched the show Hit Me Baby One More Time last night. The five music acts were: The Knack, Tommy Tutone, Haddaway, The Motels and Vanilla Ice. The show's premise is that the five bands perform their #1 song from years ago, then they cover a more current song from another artist. At the end of the show the audience votes for their favorite performer.

And the winner was.....Vanilla Ice. Uh, yeah. Rob Van Winkle. My choice would have been The Knack, but then again I'm a little older. I guess the audience's choice just confirmed that very fact.

are you a cat lover? don't go here.....

This is one of those things that gets funnier every time you watch it. If you are a cat lover, you might not want to view this. Don't worry, it's nothing gross or inhumane, just funny. However, if you're a cat lover and decide to watch this, just ignore the guilt you feel when you laugh.

And what did the cat learn today?

boldly going where no man likes to go.....

Every husband has heard it from his wife. "Oh, since you're stopping by Target, can you pick up....."

Here's the thing, wives - if the next thing out of your mouth is "peanut butter", "furniture polish" or "shampoo", we husbands are cool with that. But when you mention "one of those" products, we're either going to start laughing, freeze up, or possibly do a little (or alot) of both.

I got this kind of call from the bride yesterday. Actually I called her to say that I needed to stop by the library on the way home. So she asked me to stop by Target and pick up something for me that she had meant to pick up earlier that day but couldn't because it was storming at the time. I agreed, and she then said "Oh, and could you pick me up some *****?" Silence. "Uh, what? You're serious, aren't you?" She said, "You're a big boy, you can handle it!"

The first time I saw this topic lampooned was in the movie Mr. Mom. Michael Keaton had an item on his list that he was nervous about buying. When he got to the register, the cashier had to do a price-check for the very item he tried to downplay. Bill Engval also does a similar routine about having to do the same kind of thing, except his 10-year-old son accompanies him to the store.

I pull up and park at Target, check my list again and head toward the front door in the rain. I grab a small basket and decide to get "those things" first. I start searching for "the aisle" and find it soon enough.....only there's a lady with her young daughter already there, so I go down a few aisles, pretend to be looking for something else, and come back about 90 seconds later. She's still there! I'm thinking, "Hey, you shop for this kind of thing all the time, what's the holdup here?" I make another trip down a few aisles and come back....."the aisle" is empty.

So I'm on the aisle, and all I know is the brand, the color of the box, and a descriptive word. I find the brand, I find the box color, but I can't find the descriptive word. I start to panic. I feel a bead of sweat start to form on my brow. Then, for some unknown reason, I start to laugh. But it's a muted laugh, the kind that you try to keep from coming out of you mouth but it makes its way through your nose. I don't know if it's because I've suddenly become a 12-year-old boy or if I'm thinking just how funny I look trying to find these things, but I can't stop laughing. This goes on for about 45 seconds, but it seems more like 2 hours and 1 minute (the actual length of the worst movie ever, The Accidental Tourist). Then finally, I find the word I'm looking for. It's in the lower right-hand corner of the box with white lettering and a subdued mint green background. Very hard to read, particularly for husbands who want to make a fast getaway. I may have to write the manufacturer about fixing this problem.

As I start to leave the aisle, the laughter comes back. This time the laughter is brought on from relief, knowing that I've conquered the beast. Then I realize I've still got two more hurdles to clear. First, I have to walk around with "these things" in my basket, then I'll have to have them scanned by a cashier who will more than likely be a female. The first thing I did was get something else on my list and cover up my first purchase. As I go back to get tea bags, I run into the indecisive lady from "the aisle". I realize she probably didn't even see me there, but I saw her and I'm automatically embarrassed.

As I walk towards the registers, I stopped to look at some DVDs near the front of the store. As I put the movie down and resumed my walk I hear, "Sir, I can get you down here!" Yep, it was a female cashier. So I head to register 10 and proceed to pay for my four items. At first I was determined not to make eye contact. But then I figured she'd have to know that (a) they weren't for me, and (b) I must be a great husband for doing something like this for my wife. I paid for the items and headed for my car. Once in my car, another round of chuckling ensued - first from relief, then from the absurdity of my apprehension.

When I got home, the bride commented on how proud she was of me. I told her the story, and she laid on the bed and laughed.

Later that night, I actually carried the bride's purse from the kitchen to our bedroom. That's TWO major hurdles I cleared in one day. I'd better slow down and pace myself.....

the cubs have a saying.....

The Chicago Cubs have a saying - wait 'til next year. That's what Meg and Sara will be doing when it comes to softball. The tournaments officially ended for us Saturday evening at about 6:00. We started the day off Saturday thinking that we'd have games at 9:00, 12:00, 4:30 and (possibly) 6:00. We ended up with just 2 games at 9:00 and 4:40.

Meg's game ended in a tie, and we went to the tie-breaker rule. We lost 9-8, mainly due to some questionable "hustle" in the outfield. However, we didn't hit all that well, either. Meg's team went undefeated last year, but she said she had more fun this year.

For some reason, Sara's team just went dead for the tournament. We were in both games for only the first innings, and that was it. The head coach was out, so I assumed his duties. (Nothing like losing on a interim basis, huh?) It's hard to win a game when your team strikes out looking FIVE TIMES. In all fairness, it was miserably hot Saturday, and the girls were feeling it in a big way.

I told a couple of the dads on the way to the car Saturday that all the softball equipment will be taken out of my car and replaced with my golf clubs. I hope to be able to play a little more over the next couple of months.

We came home after the first service yesterday morning. The girls were practically zombies, so we figured they could use the rest. Of course, the bride and I set a good example by showing them how to properly rest. We spent a couple of hours at the pool late in the afternoon. Then after supper, we started prepping Sara's room to be painted this week.

Here's to the rest of the summer......

man, we need the rain.....just not the rain-out.....

Another night of softball, another rain-out. Wednesday night's game was called after 1+ inning, and last night's game never got started. (Although we could have/should have played last night, because it cleared up for a couple of hours.)

Looks like the tournament games will be played on Saturday and Sunday now. Actually they'll start tonight, assuming that the fields are dry enough to play. We'll be doing the split-family thing again tonight with Susie and Meg at one park, and Sara and me at another. But the bride and I will be giving each other updates on our cell phones between innings, so that will help.

NEW WENDY'S MOMENT

Seems that something amusing always happens when I visit the Wendy's near 100 Oaks. As I stood in line, I noticed that they had a new item on the value menu - strawberry yogurt with granola. So I ordered my chicken nuggets and the yogurt, and I get this blank look from the cashier, followed by, "What yogurt?" I said, "The one on the value menu, about half-way down." She turned, looked for about 10 seconds, then turned back to her right and said, and I quote, "Charnice! What yogurt he talking about? I don't see no yogurt!" I realized that I probably should have just taken the chicken and told her to forget about the yogurt, because this was now backing up the already-long line behind me.

Just when I thought things had calmed down, I made another grave error. The total was something like $3.57, so I gave her a 20 and 57 cents. Again with the blank stare, but this time she was staring at the money. Thankfully, she didn't have to have Charnice come over the do the change thing for her. I think she was just expecting me to give her the 20 and let it go from there.

If that Wendy's wasn't so entertaining, I'd definitely have to find another cheap place to eat.....

for those who take life too seriously.....*

Save the whales. Collect the whole set.

A day without sunshine is like...night.

On the other hand, you have different fingers.

42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.

99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.

Remember, half the people you know are below average.

He who laughs last thinks slowest.

The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap.

Support bacteria. They're the only culture some people have.

A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.

If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.

How many of you believe in psycho-kinesis? Raise my hand.

OK, so what's the speed of dark?

When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.

Everyone has a photographic memory. Some just don't have film.

How much deeper would the ocean be without sponges?

What happens if you get scared half to death twice?

Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what happened.

Light travels faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

Life isn't like a box of chocolates... it's more like a jar of jalapenos. What you do today might burn your butt tomorrow.

* thanks to Ms. Pickle for the list

honeysuckle alley.....

I love to drive with the windows down in my car. I guess the big draw of that is the fact that I'm in an office all day long, and I love the feeling of doing 75 and feeling the fresh air circulate through my car as I'm going down the interstate.

There's one special stretch of road that I look forward to every day during the summer. I've nicknamed it honeysuckle alley. It's about a quarter-mile from the entrance to our neighborhood, and the fragrance of honeysuckle almost instantly overwhelms me. It's sweet, but not too sweet, the kind of scent that brings a smile to one's face.

Whenever I smell honeysuckle, it makes me think of my summers growing up in Kingsport. Most days were spent on my bike, riding around the neighborhood, going from yard to yard and playing with friends. We would spend most of our time in what we called the "clayfield", which was pretty much several acres of undeveloped red clay. We'd ride our bikes on trails. We even had some "sweet jumps" set up in one area. And we'd play baseball in heat that most kids today would call intolerable. Near the clayfield, there were some grapevines we'd swing on that went over a creek. That was where the scent of honeysuckle was the strongest.

That was 25-30 years ago. It's amazing to me that a simple smell can take me back that far.....

too much time on my hands.....not.....

I've found the answer to a question that I'm sure plagues many people from time to time.

The question?

What do I do when I find that I have too much time on my hands?

The answer (apparently)?

Buy new golf clubs.

Evidently when you buy new golf clubs, your calendar immediately becomes more full than ever before, thereby relieving you of any free time that you might have had to try them out.

early father's day present.....

Yesterday, we did the late service at church. The bride was scheduled to help out in the infant nursery, so it was just me and the girls in the worship service together. And it was special.

Don't get me wrong, I love to worship with the bride by my side. But it's very rare that I get to worship along side our daughters. Meg's usually sitting with her friends, and Sara is usually in class during the early worship time. The two things that stood out for me yesterday morning were:

• As we were going into the auditorium, Meg asked if we were having communion during the service. Sara said, "Communion? Oh, boy!" Some people may read this and think that she's going into it with the wrong attitude, but I would have to disagree. I think God would be a whole lot more pleased with us if we'd get excited about remembering Him.
• About midway through the service, we were standing and singing a praise song. I happened to catch a glimpse of Meg from the corner of my eye, and she had this peaceful, sincere, glad look on her face as she was singing. It wasn't just words she was singing, she actually felt and meant the words she was singing.

I stopped and bowed my head, thanking God for the gift of our daughters. No, they aren't perfect, but I see in them the makings of two wonderful young ladies. It was a very nice early father's day present.....

finally friday.....

All day yesterday, I kept thinking it was Friday instead of Thursday. Even as I was leaving the office, I was thinking, "Yes, 3-day weekend!" However, the alarm went off at the same time this morning as usual, and I was in the shower before 5:30 once again. Good to know that the start of a 3-day weekend is only a few hours away.

It is a little different in the mornings when school is out. Everyone is still asleep, so I try to be as quiet as possible while I'm getting ready and eating breakfast. As I got out of bed, the bride mustered up her best "I love you" and then went back to sleep. I had to come back in the bedroom after breakfast, and she was sleeping like a log. Guess I was quiet enough today!

We've got dinner at Mike and Paula's tonight since Ellen and Jeff are in town for a couple of days. Sara has a big 4th grade party at the art teacher's house at the same time. No softball tomorrow! First Saturday in almost 3 months that we've not had a game. Mom and Dad will be down tomorrow afternoon and will spend the night with us before going to Julie and Dale's house Sunday night. I plan to do a few things around the house over the long weekend, but not too much (hopefully).

One last thing - If you know someone who's ever lost a loved one on the field of battle while defending our country, give them a call this weekend and let them know you appreciate the sacrifice that was made. I found the following on VA site, along with the official declaration document for Memorial Day, or Decoration Day:

Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of an organization of Union veterans — the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) — established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30. It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country.

General Order # 11
HEADQUARTERS GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC
Washington D.C. May 5, 1868
General Orders No. 11
I. The 30th day of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or other decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but Posts and comrades will, in their own way, arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.

We are organized, Comrades, as our regulations tell us, for the purpose among other things, “of preserving and strengthening those kind and fraternal feelings which have bound together the soldiers, sailors and marines who united to suppress the late rebellion.” What can aid more to assure this result than by cherishing tenderly the memory of our heroic dead? We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. All that the consecrated wealth and taste of the nation can add to their adornment and security is but a fitting tribute to the memory of her slain defenders. Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.

If other eyes grow dull and other hands slack, and other hearts cold in the solemn trust, ours shall keep it well as long as the light and warmth of life remain in us.

Let us, then, at the time appointed, gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with choicest flowers of springtime; let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved; let us in this solemn presence renew our pledge to aid and to assist those whom they have left among us as a sacred charge upon the Nation’s gratitude – the soldier’s and sailor’s widow and orphan.

II. It is the purpose of the Commander-in-Chief to inaugurate this observance with the hope that it will be kept up from year to year, while a survivor of the war remains to honor the memory of his departed comrades. He earnestly desires the public press to call attention to this Order, and lend its friendly aid in bringing it to the notice of comrades in all parts of the country in time for simultaneous compliance therewith.

Department Commanders will use every effort to make this Order effective. By Command of:

N.P. Chipman, Adjutant General John A. Logan, Commander-in-Chief

a mom's tears, a daughter's nonchalance.....

With each camera flash, another memory was captured. Camcorders secured today's events so that dads and grandparents could later review the occasion. Teachers had created slideshows and videos, showing various events from this past year.

As I looked around the gym at Moore Elementary during this morning's "graduation" ceremony, the tears were flowing from most moms. And most kids were either laughing or whispering to one another. They could have cared less that this was their last full day of fourth grade.

What is it about graduations that make us so emotional? Is it the fact that our "babies" are growing up? Is it because we're entering into a new phase of life with them? Or is it perhaps the pride that we have for our children is showing through? Maybe it's a combination of all of those things and even more.

By 9:30 tomorrow morning, Meg will be a sophomore at Centennial, and by 10:30 Sara will be a 5th-grader at Freedom Intermediate. The bride and I couldn't be more proud of our daughters. I can remember the first day of kindergarten for both girls. I would venture to say that some of the same moms had a few tears on that day, too.

Now for the real tears from alot of moms - those three little words that they'll hear from their precious angels all summer long......"Mom, I'm bored......"

top 5 reasons to question the ages of girls on a 10-and-under softball team.....

#5 - Left fielder's boyfriend brought her to the game in his '86 Cutlass

#4 - Catcher seen bleaching her mustache in the bathroom before the game

#3 - Players quizzing each other in the dugout for big Calculus III exam on Tuesday

#2 - Third baseman overheard complaining about having to work the graveyard shift this week at the local mortar factory

And the #1 reason to question the ages of girls on a 10-and-under softball team:

League commissioner assigned nurse to the team to perform random steroid testing

i didn't lose my mind.....

In between church and Sunday school yesterday, I saw one of the kids from the youth group with a shirt that read: "I didn't lose my mind, I sold it on e-bay." I told the bride about it, and she said I needed one. A t-shirt like that, not a brain. Just wanted to clear that up.

I'd been thinking about getting some different golf clubs. I bought some new ones last August off of e-bay. Brand new, great price, exactly what I wanted. I played three rounds with them and my game got worse with each round. I hated them, had no confidence in them at all.

When I got in from work Thursday afternoon, I started cleaning my clubs. The bride said, "Are you playing golf tomorrow?" I told her how much I disliked the clubs, and thought I'd try selling them on e-bay. After cleaning them up, I took some digital pictures of them and posted them on e-bay. In less than 17 hours, I had them sold to a guy in Roseville, California. Turns out he'd been looking at these clubs for several months, and my maximum asking price was what he was willing to pay. It's a win-win.

So I've started shopping for new clubs. The irony of it all is that I'm looking to buy the same clubs that I had before last August. There are two reasons for this: first, I'm comfortable and confident with them, and second, I can't afford to get what I'd really like to have. But that's OK. I don't get to play that often anyway, so I can't justify putting more into the clubs right now.

I used to think that e-bay was pretty much for nerds that sat around looking for Star Wars and Dungeons and Dragons stuff. But these days, I don't buy anything without checking there first. I wonder if I can get college tuition on e-bay......

date night and other stuff.....

Yes, it's another one of those rare but good Friday nights. Sara's got a birthday party to attend, Meg's going to see the new Star Wars movie, so the bride and I get to go out to eat. I think we're going to Cozymel's because we got 2 $10 gift certificates in the mail from there last week.

Tomorrow will be consumed by softball. Sara's got a make-up game from last week that starts at 9:30, then we'll go about 12 miles south for Meg's game at 11:30, then eat some lunch and drive 12 miles north (back where we started the day) for Sara's 3:00 game. The make-up game should have never been called last week. It was 6-5 in the top of the second, bases loaded, and Sara was either going up to bat or on deck. It started raining, we saw some lightning, they called the game. 15-20 minutes later the sun was out, but it was too late by then. Umpires..... Also, Meg Meg*

Oh, yeah, one more thing: Lindy's Southeastern Football magazine has Tennessee ranked #6 in their preseason poll. Some things that I've read say that UT is loaded this year. Man, I can't wait until the college football season starts.....

*this was done to even out the number of times each daughter's name was mentioned

from side-splitting to eye-rolling.....

I can remember that when the girls were younger it was much easier for me to be funny around the house. What would have been funny years ago now embarrasses them. Ray Ramano used to talk about jingling car keys in front of his children and getting rave reviews from them.

I started thinking about things that I've done around the house over the years and decided to compare the reactions of the girls now and then.

Raspberry on the stomach

Then - Hysterical. Always a crowd pleaser. I had the ability to make them laugh until they cried.
Now - Even though they'd probably have urine-inducing laughter from this, it just wouldn't be cool.

Playing "hot potato" while reading the newspaper

Then - Funny at first, then even funnier the fifth, sixth and seventh time.
Now - I'm sure I'd get that "we need to put him in a home" kind of look.

Kidding them about a "boyfriend"

Then - Red face at first, then hilarity would ensue .
Now - I make the comment and run. I don't even wait for the reaction.

Dueling remotes (changing channels with one remote while they hold the other remote)

Then - Very entertaining, especially when done from another room.
Now - I don't dare try. Why, Meg might miss 3 seconds of "Dawson's Creek" and Sara could possibly be interrupted from seeing a "That's So Raven" for the 9th time.

However, there's one gag that works every time. It doesn't matter how old they get, it still kills every time: anything having to do with gas, even remotely. But I have to be careful in how I use it. Comics can be buried from repeating the same material over and over. Dads run the same risk with their shtick. Thank goodness there are so many ways to go with gas. As the bride and the girls would probably tell you, I've got enough material on that to keep going and going.....

unbiased dad.....

Dads (actually parents) who have more than one child are at some time in their lives accused of loving one child more than the other. Growing up I knew that I was loved by my parents, and both of my sisters knew they were loved by Mom and Dad. Each of us had different personalities and different needs (both sisters were/are EXTREMELY high maintenance*), so we might have been treated differently but we were loved the same amount. For example, my punishments never involved taking books away from me. That would have been like punishing a fat kid by making him eat more. To Julie, take a book away and she'd be upset. Devonna? Take her crayons/art stuff away, same result. As long as siblings are treated fairly, problems in this area are minimized.

So we're on our way back home from a softball game last night, and one of our daughters said something like "I can't believe you wrote that thing about me in your blog!" This was followed by the other daughter saying "You never write about me!" And the accusations ensued.

From now on, I will be counting the references to each daughter every day. For every "Meg", there will be a "Sara". I don't know of any other way to do this. If I could put a counter up on the page to count this for me, that would make it easier for me. If anyone knows of such a counter, please let me know.

The bride and I have been blessed with two wonderful daughters, and we love them both very much. I don't ever want either daughter to think that I love one more than the other. Do we treat them differently? Yes, sometimes, but only because they have different personalities. For example, Meg likes to shop, Sara doesn't. A treat for Meg would be to take her shopping, but it would be torture to offer to do the same for Sara.

For those of you keeping score at home, that's 3 "Megs" and 3 "Saras" in today's post......


*editor's note to both sisters - this is called satire

good news, could've been worse.....

So the bride went to the doctor yesterday and had her foot x-rayed. No broken bones, but she did mess it up pretty bad. She's got a torn arterial ligament, and it will take about 4 weeks to heal. She's sporting a lovely lace-up thing on her foot for support.

I noticed something on last week's walk that is universal to everyone, no matter how old you are. Any time someone tells you to be quiet, it's almost impossible not to talk or think about something that you shouldn't think about that makes you laugh. On a couple of occasions, Mr. Parks designated certain portions of the walk as "silent walks." There was to be no talking so that the students could not only take in all of the natural beauty but also conserve their energy a bit. Within the first 2 minutes, one of the boys up front started laughing and had to sit out the first game of pin-dodgeball that night. I was back about 50 yards from this kid, and I noticed that the three goofball sisters (Amanda, Sara and Chloe) were walking together. For their own protection, I decided to get in between them to hopefully keep the same thing from happening to them. It was a good thing I did, because they were doing all they could to make each other laugh. One would act like they were tripping or sliding, the other would "accidentally" drop their water bottle. Thankfully, they made it through the silent part of the hike without getting in trouble.

I remember being in church once when I was about 13 and I couldn't stop laughing at someone sitting near me. It wasn't really all that funny, but I couldn't quit laughing. I stopped quickly when I saw Dad come down out of the choir and sit beside me. Yep, that was a real mood-killer right there. There's nothing quite like having everyone in church see your dad come down out of the choir and sit by you during the middle of the service.

back home, safe and sound (sort of).....

So there we were, about 90 of us ready to embark upon a 28-mile walk over the next 2 days. The kids were buzzing with energy, and the parents were simply praying for energy.

After loading up the buses and vans with sleeping bags, food and coolers, we headed for the Natchez Trace. The bus let us off near Tim McGraw's and Faith Hill's house/mansion/farm/plantation, and we started our walk. The first 7-8 miles was pretty much all on/beside the parkway. It was warm, and the pavement reflected the heat right back at us. I don't mind the heat, but some of the parents were feeling it and not too fond of it.

We broke for lunch at around noon, not too far from the Judds' properties (Naomi, Wynona and Ashley), although an Ashley sighting was not to be. As we ate, I watched about a half-dozen 10-and-11-year-old boys do things that boys that age will tend to do: fight, wrestle and throw food on one another. They spent about 20 minutes hurling grapes (one at a time) at each other. One of the moms had to step in when an apple came close to it's intended mark (someone's head), so they had to find other ways to amuse themselves.

After lunch, we got a light rain shower which cooled the temperatures quite a bit. We hit the wooded trails for the next 10 miles. Every child seemed to have a disposable camera, and I'd love to see the prints when they are developed. Most of the shots were either of roadkill or horse manure (suitable for framing, I'm sure). I hope to post a few of the pictures later in the week. I decided to get up at the front of the line about midway through the afternoon hike, right behind Mr. Parks, the teacher who was leading the expedition. About a mile or so into this portion of the walk, we started to cross a creek. As Mr. Parks started to take his second step onto a rock, he stopped suddenly. I thought he had slipped, but he actually came close to stepping on a copperhead in the water. He wisely decided to go up the creek a little ways and cross there.

The scenery in the woods was beautiful. There were several streams with small waterfalls, and the sound was very relaxing.

As the afternoon went on, it started to heat up again and the humidity rose. About a mile from our desitnation, my lovely bride stepped on a loose rock, twisted her ankle and scraped her knee. She bravely hobbled the last mile and said she was alright. As we rode back on the bus to the middle school where we were to spend the night, the bride's ankle tighted and swelled. But I have to give her credit, she's pretty tough when it comes to injuries. Fortunately, she was able to ride back home with another parent. When I talked to her that night, she had the ankle elevated and iced. (She'll be getting x-rays done sometime today. One of our friends on the trip is a nurse, and she said that it appeared to be just a sprain, but that she should have it x-rayed just to be safe.)

When we got to Hillsboro Middle, everyone's shoes were caked with mud so we had to remove them before going into the gym. This is where my "stupid/not-thinking" injury occurred.

After fueling up with pizza, salad and brownies with icing, we went back to the gym for about 2 hours of pin dodgeball. So there I was with no shoes on. I brought extras but couldn't get to them without completely unpacking my sleeping bag and other stuff, so I just went barefoot. I am not a barefoot kind of person - ever. Even at home, I don't go barefoot. So I spent the next 5 hours barefoot. The gym floor was made of a hard rubber, which was great on bare feet. At the end of the night, it felt like I had taken course sandpaper to the bottoms of my feet. Nice feeling!

As for pin dodgeball, I'm a fan. After the first two games, I finally got the hang of it. As I said last week, there are a bunch of good kids there at Moore. And there's nothing like beaning a good kid with a ball during the game. Hey, they got me a few times, I got them a few times, so it all evened out. I think I sweated more during the game than I did all day on the trails. Which lead to a problem, because.....

There were no shower facilities there at the school. So a few of the teachers and I took turns and used this giant sprayer-type sink to wash off in. The water was cold, but we didn't care. Even though I wasn't completely clean, it was good to wash off part of the days' sweat.

The next morning, Mr. Parks woke everyone up ala Ty Pennington with his powered megaphone. Actually, he didn't really wake the parents up. To wake someone up, they have to have been asleep. And sleeping is almost impossible on a gym floor, even with a sleeping bag underneath you. We had breakfast (one of the moms, who will definitely get a special reward in heaven for this, brought sausage balls) and waited for the rest of the parents to arrive. The bride, now injured, would ride in the support vehicle for the day.

Friday's walking was a little less inspired. Walking 18 miles the day before, along with getting very little sleep, tends to do that to you. Even though it was noticably quieter on Day 2, we still had alot of fun. There were fewer horse manure pictures taken on the second day. About half-way through the morning hike, I noticed that 3-4 boys just ahead of me were picking flowers. I started kidding them and said, "Aw, that's so sweet that you guys are picking flowers for each other!" One of the boys turned around and said, "They're for your daughter!" Sure enough, when we stopped for a break, Sara brought this bouquet of wild flowers in a water container to the bride to hold. (The bride could more easily hold them in the van.)

After lunch on Friday, the last 3 miles of the trek was on the Trace beside the road. The last mile, Heartbreak Hill, is about a 35-degree incline. A couple of kids and parents ran that last mile. Since I had nothing to prove, and since I didn't want to die, I decided to walk it with the majority of the parents.

On the bus ride back to the neighborhood across from school, several kids fell asleep. Several talked and sang songs. We arrived in Dallas Downs at around 2:35 and waited for everyone to assemble there to walk the last 1/2 mile. As we crossed the street to go back to school, all the kids and teachers from school were on the sidewalks cheering and welcoming us home. Pretty cool. One of the parents made slushies for everyone, and there were cookies and cupcakes waiting for us. We gathered our things and headed home.

The best thing about getting home for me was the shower. For Sara, it was being able to play with Amanda, even though they spent the whole trip together. They were running and playing, and I was getting more tired just watching them. After my shower, I got on the couch to watch TV and to wait for the bride and Sara to shower before going to Cracker Barrel. (Meg already had plans; her social calendar is much more full than mine.) I fell asleep while watching Seinfeld. Nice little nap. Just enough rest to get my energy level back so that I could eat.

I can't say enough good things about the teachers who organized the 4th grade walk - Mr. Parks, Mrs. Clark, Mr. Alvey and Mrs. Selfe. They spent alot of time and effort on this adventure, and they're to be commended. Also, along with the parents who went on the trip, the moms who got the pizza for us on Thursday night and who prepared breakfast for us on Friday morning did a great job. That was no easy feat!

Would I do the walk again, now that I know what it's like? Absolutely! However, since it's only open to 4th graders at Moore, and since Sara's our youngest, I don't think it will happen. And that's a shame.....

walk this way.....

In about 24 hours, the bride and I will be part of a group of around 100 who will begin the annual 4th-grade walk at Moore Elementary. Tomorrow's course will take us 18 miles, and Friday's will finish out the other 10. For those of you keeping score at home, that's 28 miles in 2 days.

Right now, the bride's not sure about her availability. She's got a sinus infection, and could go on the DL. She was able to get a doctor's appointment for today, so hopefully he'll give her some drugs to get rid of the infection. I think I've got a sinus infection warming up in the bullpen, but with my luck mine probably won't kick in until 4 AM Friday morning. But I've got to stay positive, and do the "mind over matter" thing.

I'm actually looking forward to the walk. There are a bunch of good kids at Moore, and I've gotten to know alot of them over the past 5 years. The kids will play outside once we reach Hillsboro Middle School in Lieper's Fork, and the parents will collapse. Sometime before lights out tomorrow night, there's supposed to be this big pin-dodgeball game between the parents and the kids in the gym. I think we've got a settle-down period between 9:00 and 10:00, then sleep is to begin at 10:00. We are to wake up at 6:00 and leave by 7:30. I think we should reach Moore by around 2:30 on Friday. That night may be a Ci Ci's (pizza) night, followed by an early bedtime.

Keep us all in your prayers.....

straw, meet camel's back.....

I won't get into details here, but I'm not the happiest person today. Yes, I have a beautiful family, my health, etc. But there are many components that make up our lives. When one of those elements goes bad, it can cause all kinds of unpleasant emotions.

Ever had one of those times where you and those around you have worked so hard to get things to a certain level, only to be knocked back down by one inane mistake? Yeah, that kind of mad.

Honestly, as mad as I am, it's been a controlled kind of anger. I didn't deal with the employee yesterday for two reasons: first, as mad as I was about the situation yesterday, I might have said or done things that would have been controlled more by my anger; second, I want to have all the facts laid out in front of me before addressing the problem, and that wasn't possible yesterday. As the day progresses, I should have everything spelled out, with all the ramifications that will come forth from the error. I like to make sure I have all my bases covered before going into a disciplinary meeting. And these days, with litigation being so prevalent, you have to have all your ducks in a row concerning employees. OK, I think I've used enough cliches for this paragraph.

People make mistakes. Shoot, I've made mine over the years. The art of good management is knowing how to properly separate the person from the act. I have to admit, I have a hard time doing that with anyone who isn't a relative or a close friend. However, there is a limit to that in business, and this careless mistake made the bell ring at the top of the pole.....

in the background.....

I'm the type of person who doesn't mind being out in front. I've been in several business settings over the years, both real life and simulation, where our "team" was supposed to come up with a solution to a problem. For some reason, I'm almost always the person who takes the lead and gets things going. I'm almost never the smartest or most knowledgeable person in the group. It just comes naturally to me. I don't do it to be seen, I just do it out of instinct.

Moms come from a different lot. They're more "behind the scenes" than others. They take care of the jobs that most of us either don't want to do or don't think to do. My mom was, and still is, alot like that. The kids and Dad always came first, then Mom.

My beautiful bride falls into that category, too. And it's the little things that she does that makes our daughters lucky to have her as a Mom. Like the back rubs - every night before they go to sleep. And the fact that she's there at home for them - every day when they get home from school. Plus, she's fought to keep the dog around, despite how I have felt about him, mainly because the girls love Wally.

Numbers were released last week from Salary.com stating that "today's 5.4 million stay-at-home moms would earn $131,471 in annual salary, including overtime pay, if paid in cash in addition to the steady flow of rewarding hugs and kisses from their children." Thankfully, the bride doesn't ask for a salary, because she knows I ain't got 'dat. But if I know her like I think I do, she isn't looking for pay or any special recognition. I think she would just as soon have some hugs and kisses from her girls, with maybe an occasional "I love you, Mom" thrown in for good measure.

It doesn't have to be Mother's Day for you to tell your mom how much she means to you.....

PS - the picture above was taken last July in North Myrtle Beach, just before coming back home. I have hundreds of family-related pictures on my PC, but very few of the bride. She won't stand still whenever there's a camera out.....

having trouble moving.....

I played golf today a tournament. Not well, mind you, but I played.

So after 18 holes, I came home and had the bright idea to go walking with the 4th graders (and other parents, including the bride) at Sara's school. They've been training for their big 28-mile walk/hike that's scheduled for next Thursday and Friday for the past couple of months. I agreed to go on the trip last year, and the bride decided a couple of months ago that she would go, too. The bride has practiced with them almost every day; because of when they practice, I had only been able to go once before today. They walk for 45 minutes Mondays through Wednesdays, then each Friday they add 15 minutes to their walking time. Today was the longest walk, starting at 3:45 and ending at 6:15. Other than the 20-minute break, we walked the whole time. And we logged 8.5 miles.

I've got a detailed schedule for the trip, but here's the gist of it: a bus drives us to the Natchez Trace, and we do a variety of trails and road walking. The first day we'll cover 18 miles. We'll spend the night at Hillsboro Middle School. Now, when I say "we'll spend the night", I mean the dads and the kids. The bride and several other moms will come back home to sleep in their own beds and take long baths and stuff like that. We're scheduled to get up at 6:00 AM the next morning. I'm sure we'll be completely refreshed after sleeping on the gym floor the night before. We'll cover 10 miles on the second day. That night I plan to get in bed by 6:30......

finally.....

The tremble you felt last night at around 8:28 CST was the celebration coming from 374 Glendower Place. The bride, Sara and I were EXTREMELY glad that Scott had been voted off of American Idol. We all said, "They finally got it right!"

Did his performance Tuesday night merit his dismissal? I'd have to say that he sounded much better than Anthony, and everyone assumed Scott was safe for another week. Other than Tuesday night, Scott's act over the previous 3 weeks had been abysmal. That was reason enough to let him go. Plus, he took the spot of other contestants who deserved to stay, particularly Nadia and Constantine.

The top 3 vote-getters should be the top 3 next week at this time. From that point, I really don't care who wins because they're all deserving. I'm just relieved that Scott won't have the chance to be in that top 3, because he didn't deserve to get as far as he did......

old friends.....

After Meg's game last night, we gathered up all our chairs, jackets and blankets. (I know it's just a week or so away, but I'm ready for warm weather. The bride is wearing wool sweaters and polar fleece to the softball games, covering up with down blankets, and still complaining that it's cold.) We piled into the car and headed out towards the exit.

As we were driving out, I noticed this grey pickup coming towards us. He got closer and the driver was pointing at me. I said to the bride, "Who is this redneck?" From the back seat, Meg said "That's Mark McKay!" So we did an illegal u-turn and followed him back to the parking lot.

Mark and Laney McKay, and their 4 kids, are some of our all-time best friends. We've known them for almost 15 years, but we've not kept up with each other much over the past couple of years. After going to church together (off and on) for almost 10 years and seeing each other 2-3 times a week, it's hard to find time to do things together with everyone's schedules. We've celebrated things together, and we've cried about things together over the years. Our friendship is the kind that would be there for the other at a moment's notice. Almost like family.

You know what it's like when you see an old friend and you have to search for something to say? It's nothing like that with them. Mark and I started talking immediately about everyday things, and Laney bear-hugged the bride when she saw her. Again, we picked up right where we left off.

We got home a little later than normal last night, but it was well worth it. We all talked about how much we missed being around them, and how that we should make it a point to get together with them soon. It's a great idea, and one that I'd love to follow through with. I hope it happens.....

yes sir, bench seat for one.....

I'm starting the Atkin's-like diet again that helped me lose 28 pounds three years ago. For the first four days, it's pretty much all the meat and eggs you want to eat, and no bread, sweets or other things that you might like to eat that's not meat or egg-related. I love both meat and eggs, but after four days I'll be ready for something else.

For lunch yesterday I went to Arby's for a salad. I brought it back to the car as usual, and proceeded to listen to sports talk radio as I ate.

After a few minutes, this guy pulls up in a red Ford pickup and goes into the restaurant. He comes back with his food, and I'm thinking that he's probably going to do the same thing as me - listen to the radio while he eats. I glance over after a few minutes and notice that he's laid out a folded hand towel long-ways on the dash over the instrument panel. He then pulls both a salt and pepper shaker and puts them on the towel. Then, and I had to look twice at this, he pulls from behind the seat a BOTTLE OF KETCHUP and puts it on the towel. Every now and then he would reach over, salt and pepper a few things, then squirt ketchup onto his fries.

He ate rather quickly for someone who carries around a full set of mobile condiments. When he finished, he put the salt and pepper shakers back into some sort of box, possibly a piece of Tupperware. Then he placed the ketchup bottle back behind his truck seat, opened the truck door and shook out the towel onto the parking lot. He closed his door, started the engine and drove off.

Next time I go to Arby's, I'll be looking for Mr. Mobile Condiment Man. Entertainment like that is rare.....

grace in action.....

How do we react when someone messes up something in their life? Initial responses could range anywhere from "I can't believe he did that!" to "Whew, glad that's not me....." Reactions can tend to make the offender left feeling judged by all those around him. I saw just the opposite of that yesterday.

I have a friend who's been through some tough times lately. He and his wife learned about 6 months ago that their 17-year-old son is an alcoholic. For the past 4 months, this young man has been in a treatment center for kids with addictions. It's a boot camp environment, one to teach resposibility and new habits. Early last week, my friend found out that his son had "earned" a 48-hour pass and could come home for a couple of days. Things were tense at first, neither parents nor son knew exactly how to act. But in time, they realized that just being together and knowing there was plenty of love to go around was enough.

The three of them came into church yesterday morning. One person after another approached the teenager, but not in a judgmental way. The contact ranged from handshakes to hugs. The mom/wife would later say that she couldn't keep it together during church because of all the acts of love shown her son's way. People didn't see them and turn away to talk about their situation, but instead came to them in a spirit of love.

That's probably how we'd all like to be treated after messing something up in our lives.