Joy

So, I go to pick up the boy child from someplace or other he hops in the car and the conversation commences.

"I love driving in the car in the rain."


"Really, what do you love about it?"


"I don't know really, it just brings me....joy."


He says this with a smile on his face as he watches the clouds as they let loose thier drops to slip down the window he looks through.

Ahhhh....if only I had the capacity for such easy joy. If only we all did.

Abandon

Happy New Year :-)

Sitting on the couch last night, I glance over towards the hall and what do I find.

The boy child discoing down the hall towards his sisters room, arm shooting skyward, hips gyrating, a smile on his lips.

In this brief pass he was the embodiment of abandon.

He had no preconceived notions or worries of how he was being perceived.

He had no issues with looking goofy.

He was totally and completely in the moment.

He was completing the simple task of walking the 15 feet from his room to his sisters with utter...abandon.

And enjoying every moment of the journey.

Would that I could say I could find such moments of abandon....so easily.

The Quarter

Dad?

Yes Boy Child

I need a New Mexico Quarter

Hmmm....ok, Doesn't Girl Child already have New Mexico, I thought the only one she was missing is Hawaii

Well yes, but this kid at school has a Hawaii, if I get him a New Mexico he will give it to me and I can give the Hawaii Quarter to Girl Child for christmas.

{Insert Long Pause, Deep Breath, Misty eyes Here}

I'm sure we can track down a New Mexico quarter for you.

(Come Hell or High Water !!!!! :-) )

P.O.T.U.S.

Election day arrives.

It has been and interesting election cycle, full of hope and fear.

This year has been full of energy, candidates that have both emboldened people who have never voted and galvanized people towards long held beliefs.

I will vote after I pick up the girl child. She has accompanied me to vote several times in the last 12 years. She is interested and enlivened by the process.

I find a great deal of hope in this fact.

Now, stop reading this and go vote.

40

I turn 40 today.

Many people have asked what that means to me. It is interesting, as I don't see much change. I have never been one to make a big deal out of birthdays.

More than marking the passage of time for me, they have always seemed as a reminder. A reminder of the day this incarnation began, that moment when the beginning of this road was found.

I have enjoyed the road so far, I don't know how long this one is, my intention is to greet each new day and be present for whatever it may bring.

My hope and desire is to have many sunrises and sunsets, many energetic moments that, at the end of the road, come together to form a whole that I can look back on with happiness, knowing that I got the most out of every single day.

The Facts Of Life

Life is not fair.

No one is exempt from death.

Physics rules the universe and biology rules life.

The universe does not care.

The only constant in life is change.

There is always a choice.

Wishing never makes it so.

A person can't exceed their limits.

A person is responsible for their own happiness.

It is impossible to change the character of another.

Jury Duty

I had jury duty for the first time yesterday. It was an interesting experience. On one side you have what I think is the standard reaction, the desire to get out of it, the hope that you will not be called, the shuffling of a life for a day or two.

On the other hand I was intrigued. In 21 years of being available to do this small service this was the first time and I was intrigued.

There were two things that I found surprising. First, the number who turned out. From 100 people called on the day I was, 52 showed up. I found that surprising, as not showing up for jury duty never entered my conciousness, partly from fear of large uniformed gentleman with guns showing up at my door who took offense at my not following the summons.

The second thing that surprised me was just how grateful everyone was. From the clerks who kept the coffee pot full, the attorneys who thanked us after initial jury selection in a DUI case was settled once the defendant was faced with the fact of a jury and the two judges, who took time out of thier overtly busy days to come down and thank us for serving.

It was an interesting day, if you get the call, serve, our government asks very little of us, perhaps too little, if to live, work and strive for freedom and happiness, in this great country we are asked once in awhile to give up a few days to participate in one of the fundemental foundations of our country....do it, you will not be sorry.