Tag Archives: The Boy

2024 Christmas Post

My Life, Thought, , , , , , , , ,

There was a time when we would send out a long long list of Christmas cards. Lucenda and I worked together each year to get them out. We gradually shortened the list over time. Then, we only gave out a few.
Since she passed, it has not been high priority for me to send out Christmas cards. And, now that Russ and I have “joined forces” .. and Brian is (um) an “adult” …. (cough) … I see things a bit differently.

This year, first time I remember in my life, I have a REAL Tree in the house. I am NOT having ANY allergic reactions to it!!! Many of my “I have to have them out” Christmas decorations are packed away somewhere as we are still trying to get things set up in our new house (over a year new).
I have lights and decorations in the front yard.

I have LOTS of lights and decorations in the living room.
We have been blessed in many ways.

It has been a slow process … a few moves have been involved … all that to say … I am not the same person I was 10 years ago … or even 5 years go … I am still me, but different … just like a tree growing in the backyard, it changes, it looks different each year … but, it is still the same tree … but yet … it is a different tree.

The ONE constant has been my Lord.

Along the way, there have been a few amazingly wonderful and faithful friends and others have come into my life as well.

My family has grown in many ways.

We celebrate the Birth of Jesus this time of year.
We should be living His example ALL year, every year.

For those who feel distant, GOD is always with you. HE will NEVER leave you nor forget you.

For each and every person on my list .. and beyond .. know that you are loved, you are valued, you are special, you are important.

Merry Christmas to you all.

Captain’s Log …. DUDE YOU ARE WAAAAY BEHIND!

My Life, , ,

I have been a tad busy since my last post … (cough)

I was focused on a huge project this past spring. You see, my son was about to graduate from high school. I had taken on the task of preparing the Senior Slideshow. If you know me, you know, nothing is JUST what it was asked to be. I proceeded to create a Senior video, highlighting each student. Oh, and for those to do not know, my son has been homeschooled. Our “Umbrella School” is based just outside Knoxville, TN. Yeah, talk about “remote” working. We moved to Michigan last November.

ANNNNYWAY, being that the school is SailAway Learning & Academy, and much of the curriculum they have is “nautically themed”, I naturally thought of “Sailing” by Christopher Cross as the background music for the video. Well, again, nothing about me is simple. It took time to find the RIGHT instrumental version of the song. THEN, oh yeah, THEN, since the song was NOT long enough, I had to “creatively” edit/extend the music to fit. It was a painstaking task, that I accomplished!

Again, it is me. SO, this project was NOT the ONLY thing I did. In addition to the video, I created a slide set to be used as the students received their diplomas. As each student walked across the stage, their picture and a “quote” from them was displayed.

I will NOT elaborate on the challenges of the day. The fact that the computer system at the location of the graduation did not have the software to run either of the projects, nor did the CD version I had created work. PRAISE GOD, the young man helping setup found a way to get it to work … with some last-minute tweaks by me.

ALL THAT … to help celebrate the accomplishments of the students that day. My son was part of a group of incredible students who graduated from high school that day!

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My partner in crime/life started working for a wonderful company this past January. He shared often of the environment in which he was thriving. Early June, I filled out an application and had an interview. Within a few days, I received a call from a manager interested in my potential. This turned out to be a second interview.  A couple days later, I was offered a job. Yes, I accepted the offer!

October 18th was the 8-year mark of when my wife died. My son had the “brilliant” idea to “persuade me” to go out to our favorite burger place for supper. (For those who don’t know, she loved hamburgers.) He and I had a blast that night.

Moving on, it has been almost 5 months since started my job. As “wordy” as I can be, I struggle to find the right words to describe how I feel about my job. October 21, I posted this on Facebook, “Have you ever felt out of place because you actually fit in place?”

The next day, I heard a special song on the radio. Just hearing Whitney singing “One Moment In Time” I realized something. After Lucenda died, I faced many challenges.

I had Many “Moments In Time“. Not just after she died either.

There are countless naysayers in this world. Far too many have swarmed me numerous times in my life.

The .. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING is that GOD’S Opinion of me is ALL that matters!!

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Fast forward two weeks … this was my Facebook post:

Nineteen years ago, a force of nature entered this world. This force of nature has encountered far more proverbial “curve balls” in 19 years than most experience in a lifetime. There are not enough words to describe how this force of nature makes my heart swell. I love this force of nature beyond words. I am so very proud of this force of nature. This ginger-haired force of nature is 19 years old today.

We had a family gathering for dinner … at THAT place with the GREAT burgers!

OH, and he VOTED for the FIRST TIME this month!

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