Not Acting My Age?

I had a funny and slightly awkward moment yesterday at work.

My friend/workout partner Chris turned 26 today, and another co-worker joked that he's almost 30.  Chris said that he didn't even want to think about that (turning 30).  I then commented that "oddly enough, turning 30 was worse for me than turning 40".  Everyone, including my boss, chuckled for a second then paused and said "wait, what"?  They couldn't believe that I am past 40 (I'll be 42 in July).  Chris made me show him my license.

Part of me thinks this is great because I must look young.  And part of me wonders if it could just mean that I act and/or dress too immature for my age.

An Oddly Dreaded Question

Amanda and I have started participating in a small group from our church. It meets on Sunday evenings, but today's meeting consisted of dinner and fellowship (hanging out), instead of the normal Bible study/worship/prayer time.

After dinner, the men were out on the back porch, when one of them asked what has become a dreaded question for me - "What do you like to do in your spare time?"

The only answers I could come up with was exercising (3-5 times per week), Christian pursuits (reading the Bible, going to church, etc), and practicing drums once in a while. That seems pretty lame though, so after that I had to pause and continue the answer with what I would like to do in my spare time, but don't have enough resources (time and/or money) to pursue. This includes:

• Practicing martial arts (not enough $$)
• Fixing up/improving my car (again, $$)
• Playing video games ($$)
• Inventions and/or Electronics projects (time and dedication)
• Practicing piano (time, and $$ for a piano/keyboard)

In hindsight, I currently also like to spend time reading, writing (journal, blog, website) and spending time with my kids.

But all of the additional above activities require time, and (more importantly) money, and we still haven't fully recovered financially from me being unemployed and us relocating to Ohio. Also, the rent we're paying at this house is higher than a normal mortgage would be, but we're still in mortgage purgatory since short selling our house in California, and will be for at least another year and a half. 

Life is good, and I don't intend to sound like a whiner.  But I would definitely like to be able to spend more resources on myself and pursuing my numerous personal interests, and I don't intend to give up the idea of being able to one day either.  But for now, I guess that's the sacrifice of having a full time job and a family.

It's A Sad World After All

In case you haven't seen or heard about this news article, a man recently sued Disney World for being stuck on the "It's a Small World" ride for, get this, 30 minutes.

Granted, he is handicapped (in a wheel chair), so life is harder as a whole for him.  And also, he only won $8,000, which doesn't seem like too obscene of an amount.  And additionaly, the ride didn't have any way for him to get off of it when it was stuck, but everyone else (not in a wheelchair) did have a way off.  So maybe it wasn't really too bad of a judgement.  I've certainly heard of worse.

But then again, I was stuck on that ride before too, for at least 30 minutes, if not longer.  And the amount of time that people have to wait just to get on that ride on a normal Disney day can be more than an hour.  Did I mention that that stupid freaking song plays over and over the whole time when you're waiting AND when on the ride?  Over and over.  And over.  Again.  *It's a small world after all...*  AAAAAaaaaggggghhhhh!!  I never thought of suing them though, I was just annoyed and thought that I have no desire to ever get on that ride again - EVER.  I'm sure I'll swallow those words for my kids some day though, if we finally decide to waste thousands of dollars to take them there, and if they want to experience the unjustified hype.

As a final thought though, if a lawsuit and negative press is what it takes to get them to get their act together with that pathetic excuse for a ride, then maybe it's for the best in the long run.  Maybe the experience won't be as bad if/when one day I'm persuaded to *take my kids there after all * (singing the song).

Grandma L. is Gone

I got a call last Sunday (3/3/13) from my family in Florida saying that my dad's mom had been transferred to a hospice and was not expected to last very long.  Then on Tuesday I received messages that her health was declining rapidly.  So I made arrangements to take the earliest flight I could to go back home, to Orlando.

The trip to get there had several challenges and setbacks though.  After missing my first flight (I-71 and I-75 traffic was stop and go), then missing the connecting flight after I was rerouted (the plane was stuck on the CVG tarmac due to weather conditions), I finally made it to Sarasota on Wednesday morning.  I was then able to borrow my sister-in-law's car to get to the hospice in Orlando.

The next 5-6 days were a weird and emotional roller coaster of an experience.  Aside from spending time with my family (siblings, cousin, aunt and uncle), and wonderful one-on-one time with my mom (who I stayed with), I mostly just sat next to a hospice bed that held a shell of the woman who was my grandmother.

Grandma Nettie (short for Antoinette) was always spunky and lively.  The above picture was taken in November 2011, when my family was in Florida for Thanksgiving.  Whenever we visited her, she would delight in serving food and bustling about between the kitchen and dining room.  She wasn't much of a listener, but she had fascinating stories about herself and of our family's history.

Now she couldn't speak at all though.  She did periodically make groaning noises, but I had no idea if she was trying to talk, if she was expressing a high level of pain, or if it was all just involuntary.  She opened her eyes once or twice, primarily after the attendants (I guess they were nurses?) turned her over to make her comfortable.  But her eyes were completely glossed over, like her conscience was enveloped in a thick grey fog.

Several people told me that she (and others in her state) can still hear and process everything around her.  I don't disbelieve them, but I couldn't observe anything to indicate that this was true.  I'm not someone who is often at a loss for words, but I had a difficult time figuring out what to say to someone in her state, especially when there's no response or indication of her hearing me.  There's no encouragement to give her about getting better, and the normal topics of everyday life (weather, food, politics, etc) seem completely pointless.  I finally determined that the only topics that really mattered is (a) telling her I love her, (b) thanking her for who she was to me and my family, (c) thanking her for how she influenced my life (directly and indirectly), (d) talking about the life that I think is to come for her, including a request to give my dad a big hug for me, and (e) Jesus.  Through the duration of my time there I talked to her numerous times, including reading her the Bible for a bit.

She finally passed away on Saturday afternoon (3/9).  Although several other family members were there at the hospice (my mom, my aunt, myself), somehow at that moment my brother Steven was the only person in the room with her.  Her memorial is scheduled for this Tuesday (due to scheduling complications at the church she requested), but at this point I don't think I can afford either the travel costs or the additional time off of work.

She will be missed by us all though.

Is Development of Determination Detrimental?

Amanda and I watched Zero Dark Thirty a couple weeks ago (2/15), which was a great movie.  I was struck by one particular characteristic of both the main character and the NAVY SEALs.  All of these people have the type of personalities that completely refuse to quit, who are ruthless in their pursuit of a goal, who absolutely do not allow anything short of death to discourage them or dissuade them from conquering their foes or accomplishing their mission.

I've had moments in my life where I felt some small semblance of this, but the tenacity and ruthless persistence that it takes to be a SEAL is a whole nutha level (or 3).  I can't help but wonder though if people are just born with that quality and/or if it's a result of experiences they encountered in their lives.

Recently, I was watching the preview video for UFC157, which featured Ronda Rousey vs. Liz Carmouche as the main event.  Ronda told a story about breaking her toe in Judo class when she was young.  She walked over to her mom crying about it, but her mom (who was a Judo Olympian) didn't want to hear it, saying "You still have nine more.  Come to me when you break nine and only have one left."  Then she made her run laps around the gym with her broken toe.

I don't know if Ronda would have naturally been a good fighter on her own, but there is no doubt that her mom had a significant impact on her mental and physical development as a fighter.  And while her parenting style may be a bit extreme, it left me to ponder further not only whether determination and perseverance are innate or inspired, but also what effect I could have in the development of my kids' character.

I want to figure out what the best way to pursue this is though - to be a dad who is loving and encouraging, while also doing what I think should be a better job of instilling strength, toughness, courage, and determination in my children.

Valentine's Day 2013

While not perfect, this was a pretty successful Valentine's Day.  

I can't help but tilt my head sideways a bit when reading my own words though.  Why "successful", instead of "romantic" or something like that?  To me, the idea of this holiday is to do my best to make Amanda happy - to be romantic and "woo" her.  Ideally, every day would be like that (or perhaps once a month)?  But heck, with life and kids, and work, and stress, and busy-ness, I'll use Valentine's day as motivation to make it at least one day a year.  So this year:

We solidified babysitters for a dinner date to a Thai restaurant called The Banana Leaf (although Amanda picked the restaurant and made the reservation).  

Then I surprised her by putting a dozen red heart balloons (seen in the picture below) in her minivan the night before.  So they were there when she went to take Clara to pre-school.

Next, I bought a dozen red roses to bring home after work (also seen in the picture).

I also bought her an anklet, which I gave to her at dinner.

And finally, I wrote her a poem (below).  The only problem was that I didn't have time to purchase a card to write the poem in.  So I had to improvise and let her read it on my smart phone.

To have this time together now

Is really quite divine

A rare night out with you my love

My only Valentine

To gaze into your moonlit eyes

Upon a midnight clear

Is on the list of things that I

Hold wonderful and dear

Across a table candelit

A rare treat to behold

Touching feet discreetly now

Aware of what's foretold

Finally we are all alone

Away from normalcy

Drag each other further down

Beneath the blanket sea

Then up above sensory heights

Until we reach the shore

Hold you in my arms so tight

Beyond forever more.

Then back to life we go again

Pursuing happiness

Running hand in hand through this

Suburban wilderness

I love you wife.

Happy Valentine’s Day

Unsolicited Marriage Advice

I originally started compiling these ideas/suggestions for my brother, who is newly married.  I was going to include some or all of them in the "best man toast/speech" at his wedding, but it was just too long and probably too preachy.  But what are big brothers for, if not to give unsolicited advice?  So for Steve or whoever else cares, here are my observations and suggestions from my 12 years (so far) of marriage experience.

The first year of marriage in all likelihood will have more challenges than you anticipated. In fact, it very well may suck. With any big change in your life, there's a recalibrating process to go through. An adjustment to the changes of what is now considered “normal”.  Amanda and I dated for 5 ½ years before we tied the knot. I was plenty mature at 29 years old too.  We were (and still are), more compatible than most other couples I know.  We grew up only about a mile away from each other, had similar senses of humor, moral values, on and on.  Needless to say, we get along great!  But even with all of these factors being in our favor, that first year of marriage was really difficult!  Many other couples I've talked to (although not all) have echoed this same experience too.

When you encounter disputes, be the first to step up and reconcile. Even though it stings your pride (sometimes a lot), think of it like a game, and the first one to apologize and/or humbly start communicating wins. Because really you do.

Give each other grace. Remember that nobody is perfect except for Jesus, and your spouse isn't Him.

When there are ongoing issues or deficiencies that I think exist in the relationship with my spouse, I have found that the problems I am experiencing often directly mirror my relationship with God.  I'll use the most common challenges I've heard from other married people as examples:

• Problem: My wife is lazy. She doesn't exercise or take care of her body enough.
  Spiritual Parallell:  Well, how much time do you spend on your relationship with God? On taking care of your spirit?  Work on fixing that first.  Combine that with praying for your spouse and see what happens.
• Problem: My wife isn't interested enough in intimacy.  In fact, most of the time she could care less about it.
  Spiritual Parallell:  How intimate/available are you to God?  Do you pursue Him?  Do you let Him into your heart/spirit/mind?  Think about what this looks like spiritually and try to correct it.  Then combine that with prayer for your spouse and see if it helps your marriage.
  
• Problem:  My husband doesn't give me the attention or affection I want, I NEED.
  Spiritual Parallel:  But how much affection or attention are you giving to God?  Are you "dating" Him by spending time alone with Him?  Are you pursuing, praising, and appreciating Him like you want your husband to do with/to yourself?  Start there and also pray for your husband, then see what God does in your marriage.

To summarize this idea, when I focus on improving my relationship with God (based on the issues I have with my spouse), I'm amazed at how God helps to solve the problems in my marriage for me.  So first fix this (point to yourself) and this (point between yourself and to the sky), before you try to fix each other (which will never work anyway).

Periodically ask your spouse, or at least yourself this question – are you everything your spouse desires?  On another level, are you everything your spouse fantasizes about?  This might not be terribly relevant at first, but the longer you're married the more you'll have to fight against complacency (especially with the addition of kids and life's stresses), and the more important these questions become.

And finally, be resolved that divorce is not an option.  Our culture tells us that it is, but I disagree.  Unless there is abuse involved, don't dare even mention "the d word", ever.  If the thought even crosses your mind, rebuke it and instead focus your thoughts on creative ways to reconcile and rebuild.  If necessary, seek counseling from someone you can both agree on (it may take many tries to find the "right" counselor).  You can also try asking for mediation, prayer, or whatever else you have to do to make it work.