It's Not Prejudice

Tragedy... it knows no boundaries. It doesn't care how old you are, how happy, how sad, how wealthy or poor you are. Tragedy isn't prejudice. Sometimes it is unrelenting. Right now I'm waiting for the next bomb to go off. Surely somebody is just about to call with another story of despair.

Hundreds of thousands of Haitians don't have a home. Their searching for their loved ones among rubble and the stench of rotting human flesh. They have nowhere to lay their head. I can't begin to relate to the horror that they are experiencing. Though my problems may seem minute compared to those wanderers of a wasteland called Haiti, I do suffer.

My heart crushes to pieces every time I consider the loss my wife's aunt and uncle have had to endure. To witness your own child wither away under the clutches of cancer can be nothing short of suffocating. I can't restrain the tears when I read my friend Zombie's blog about his best friend. I can't imagine losing a friend (one that's closer than a brother) the way that he did. My heart goes out to the children that have been left fatherless from this disaster.

Now my own mother is fighting cancer. Thankfully, all visible cancer was removed during her first surgery. Only, she still spent an entire month in the hospital because of a surgical complication and a second trip to the operating room. Now it is on to chemotherapy for her. I feel horrible for her. She is looking forward to chemo as much as one would look forward to the tenth round of a heavyweight title match. Through it all she has had some inglorious days, but she has nonetheless pressed on like a warrior. I am so proud of her.

It has become clearer to me with each passing year that my number may be called at any given time. I don't say this to be morbid, but because I believe it to be beneficial to have that realization at the forefront of your mind. Let it be a reminder to live a life of sacrifice that blesses others and is fruitful. A life that has no regrets and will be welcomed into the Kingdom with a "well done my good and faithful servant."

Birthday Blues

Tomorrow I turn another year older. Tomorrow, I start my final year as a twenty-something-year-old! A lot of people get the blues I guess about getting older. That has never really been a problem for me. However, the part that really makes me sad is that soon I will no longer be in my "prime". Meaning that my chances of becoming a professional baseball player are pretty much shot now. To this day, I love thinking about how I could have went pro. Kind of like Napoleon's uncle Rico. I'm not stuck in the "glory days" like he was, but I definitely have delusions of grandeur when it comes to my baseball skills. I guess that is probably the saddest part of my birthday.

Mostly, I welcome getting older. I think maybe one of these birthdays will come to pass and I will be able to grow a beard, or stop getting zits, or maybe my voice will finally change. My hope is what really grows as the years go by.



P.S. - I haven't been able to write lately because my wife has been bogarting the computer watching the O.C. episodes online.

Love you babe!

Random

I'm nearly thirty years old! Why do I still get zits like crazy!? Why can't I grow anything other than three hairs on my chinny chin chin?! Yet, I continue to grow hair in random places that should never have hair.

Anyway, life is tiring. I used to be a night owl. Back in the day, I could stay up through all hours of the night. Now my body starts shutting down around nine o'clock whether I want it to or not. I try to tell myself that this is more due to my real life schedule and not my getting older. I didn't ever have to worry about getting up real early every day before. I could just sleep in until noon. Oh, those were the days. Even on a school night I could catch a nap in pre-calc, or geometry depending on the year. Math was always a good class to get some much needed shut-eye. I had the most dull monotone teachers for math. Being in the first row couldn't even keep me awake.

I am so physically beat right now I can't even think. Good night!

Zero

Just wondering if anybody has any ideas why a twenty-eight year old stud like me has zero energy. I feel exhausted approximately 99.9% of the time. I've always thought that twenty-eight was still young, but I feel like my energy level is more on par with that of a 150 year old first trimester pregnant woman.

The Boy

My little guy is an intelligent jock.

Good Day

Today was a good day at work. Our department has made a significant materials purchase that will increase productivity and enjoyment at work. This purchase was cheap no doubt, but I am sure my employer did not have any easier of a time parting with the money. I am so thankful they did, and I am sure that was not the only one walking with a little more pep in my step today. You are probably wondering what this incredible piece of equipment is. Well... gasp... are you ready? They bought us NEW toilet paper dispensers! Yeah! Whoo hoo!

I suppose this isn't normally what people get excited about, but I will explain and you will then understand. The old dispenser was extremely cumbersome to use. Every time you went to pull the paper, it would come apart in small pieces. It could take several minutes of pulling off these little pieces to make a suitable bum wipe. Sometimes the exposed roll would run out and the one above it wouldn't come down. Not without a considerable amount of coaxing anyway. In my estimation, this valuable device will save approximately five minutes for every deuce dropped. Time is money so lots of dollars will be saved as well. Good business move!

If I could just get them to put a man wipe dispenser in there now, I'd be all set.

My Baby Isn't a Baby Anymore

My oldest daughter is officially a kindergartner. Though this is nothing truly ground-breaking, it was very hard for me to see her off to school. After all the excitement about her first day was over, and the kids were in bed, I became an emotional wreck. Not in a manly sniffly way, but in a hormonal pregnant woman way (ha ha ha). I wailed in a fashion that was even embarrassing in front of my wife. Another milestone reached and not many more until she is moving out of my house. I couldn't help but think about how quickly she would be gone. Also, I still worry about the little heathens at school wrecking my daughters innocent, pure, and tender heart. Deep down, somewhere really deep down, I know that she will be alright. I know that, but I can't help but see the dramatic foreshadowing of a young woman going off to college, and out of the nest. I can't bare to think of it.