2009!! 9 Resolutions…
It’s that time of year again, where we promise to make changes in our lives for the new year.
1. Endeavor to be more patient.
2. Finish up those nagging little projects around the house that never seem to get done.
3. Two words - Financial Health
4. Take more pictures, take better pictures.
5. Capture those Dylan moments on video that I always say I should have that on video
6. Eat better, wipe out trans fats
7. Be a little more organized and whenever I get something out, take those extra few minutes to put it away
8. Get in shape
9. Read more (although I say that every year).
Hope that 2009 brings all of you health, happiness and whatever else you desire.
Ummm
This dude is NOT Michael Jackson….
A Different Kind of Christmas Poem
The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn’t loud, and it wasn’t too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn’t quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
‘What are you doing?’ I asked without fear,
‘Come in this moment, it’s freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!’
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts.
To the window that danced with a warm fire’s light
Then he sighed and he said ‘Its really all right,
I’m out here by choice. I’m here every night.’
‘It’s my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I’m proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ‘ Pearl on a day in December,’
Then he sighed, ‘That’s a Christmas ‘Gram always remembers.’
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ‘ Nam ‘,
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I’ve not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he’s sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue… an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.’
‘So go back inside,’ he said, ‘harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I’ll be all right.’
‘But isn’t there something I can do, at the least,
‘Give you money,’ I asked, ‘or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you’ve done,
For being away from your wife and your son.’
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
‘Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we’re gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.’
Weekend Things: Snow, Lunatics and a Mouse with Big Ears
What a cold and Snowy weekend that was. It didn’t start on a good note but it sure ended on one. Maybe you remember my post about my lunatic neighbor back in September? Well, we had another run in this past weekend. This one was a little bit more so than the last time.
It was 5pm on Friday, the snow stopped and I didn’t want it to sit over night and freeze up so I decided it was time to go clean up the driveway. There was about 8 inches so I opted to use the snow blower instead of the shovel. I was out there for a couple of minutes and I saw our neighbor quickly fly out the front door and slam the door going back into his house. I thought to myself, of geez here we go. After I finished up with the snow blower I got the shovel out to clean up what I couldn’t get with the snow blower. After a few minutes his dad (who’s in his 80’s) came out to smoke, didn’t say anything. Few minutes later he came out and started talking to his dad, loudly enough for me to hear.
It started with “Such a lovely night, snow, wind and now quiet since there’s no more f’in snow blower going.” I ignored it at first but he repeated himself 2 more times, louder each time so I knew he was looking for a confrontation. Eventually I opened my mouth and said “if you have an issue, call the cops, let them sort it out” to which he responded “Why don’t you come over here and settle it like a man without them.” More F words came out of his mouth as he continued to yell at me and threaten me for the next 5 mins, so I eventually finished up and went inside.
I don’t usually involve the police but this time I felt like I had no choice. The guy is a lunatic, that much is obvious but I just wanted to get this on record with the cops because I don’t think it will stop and I’m not sure if he’ll escalate it to another level at some point. I talked to a friend that I grew up with after the first incident and he told me to ignore it until it got to a level where I wasn’t comfortable with. We’ve reached that level on Friday and thankfully I didn’t see him at all the rest of the weekend.
In happier news, Dylan got to see his first movie in the movie theaters on Sunday Afternoon. We went to see the Tales of Despereaux or as he called it, the “Mouse Movie.” He was VERY good. He sat in his seat for a very long time and then watched the rest while sitting on Mommy. We think he was a little scared as it had some scary parts in the movie. At the end we asked him if he liked it and he told us that he did. When we got home he told us he wanted to watch the Wiggles and Thomas on the BIG BIG screen so we had to explain to him that we can only see the movies they offer, that it doesn’t work like our tv. In the end he had a great time and I am sure we’ll go again, just have to find the right movie for him.
I will say, the theaters by me are awesome. Not the same old ghetto theaters that I grew up with.
Role Models
WHO IS YOUR ROLE MODEL???
(this fast & easy)
Try it without looking at answers
***************************************
1) Pick your Favorite number between 1-9
2) Multiply by 3 then
3) Add 3, then again Multiply by 3
4) You’ll get a 2 or 3 digit number….
5) Add the digits together
Now Scroll down …………..
Now with that number……..See who your ROLE MODEL is from the list below :
1. Einstein
2. Nelson Mandela
3. Jacob Zuma
4. Tom Cruise
5. Bill Gates
6. Gandhi
7. Brad Pitt
8. Hitler
9. Darren S.
10. Barack Obama
I know….I just have that effect on people….one day you too can be like me…. Believe it!
PS: Stop picking different numbers.
“I AM YOUR IDOL”…. just deal with it!!!! Does it say something about me that when I did this, my answer was Hitler???
Weekend Gone Already?
Weekend went by so quickly and I don’t feel I got a lot accomplished. I did fix the door bell that I broke so people can once again ring the doorbell. Of course when I tested it out yesterday morning I scared Dylan because he hasn’t heard it in a couple of weeks but upon returning from a trip to the grocery store, he was happy to press and hear the doorbell again.
We took Dylan to a Christmas Party at Terri’s work on Saturday morning and Dylan actually went up to talk to Santa and even gave him a high five. So know Santa knows that Dylan wants the Wiggles and a Spider-man movie for Christmas…We shall see what Santa leaves under the tree in a week and a half.
We decided to ditch our cell contract and opt for prepaid cell phones. The thing is that Terri and I don’t use them much. We pay $100 a month for all these minutes we don’t use (together we probably average 50 mins a month) and just thought the pre-paid was a much better route to go for us.
It’s amazing to me how talkative Dylan is and how create Dylan is. He likes to scare people and he likes it when we hide and try to scare him. Terri was upstairs last night putting wash away and Dylan got the bright idea that he could really scare mommy. So he called under a table that happens to have a table cloth draped over it for the holidays and hid under there until Mommy came downstairs. Then, when she was standing in front of it, we played the “Where’s Dylan Game” and he scared her like he’s never scared her before.
