The Better Life: Roadside Assistance

I don't know much about cars. When something is going wrong with a car, that I happen to be in the same vicinity of, I will look under the hood, nod my head, agree with the closest male (who is also looking under the hood) and say something in agreement, "Yep, I agree. Definitely the alternator." The only time I am of any help to a stranded motorist is in the unfortunate situation that their battery is dead and they need a jump. In most situations I really don't feel like helping but feel obligated because, of course, no one else ever seems to have jumper cables in their car (I should really take those out). While I can change a tire, and once changed my own brakes (I made about 30 phone calls to my father-in-law that day), I use my expertise of having no expertise as an excuse to drive by people I see having car difficulty on the side of the road.

In all honesty, I don't want to be "that guy," the one that drives by a person in need. I don't want to have have my son or daughter sitting in the car with me while I blatantly ignore someone that I could help. I want to stop and offer to change a tire, give a ride, or jump a battery, with a smile on my face. I want to be better. Tuesday was a better day.

With the winter storm apocalypse covering most of the Eastern United States. Tuesday I found making a fifteen minutes to take my wife to work (half a mile away). After dropping her off at the entrance to the hospital I noticed two men standing outside of a Mazda CX-7 attempting to push it out of a parking space, while their friend manned the drivers seat. While it has already been established that I do not possess much knowledge about cars, I do posses a pair of Timberland boots, and the ability to push (an ability I have honed on many occasions after running out of gas, once while on a date) I quickly (but really it was slowly) found a place to park my car and offered my help. None of the men spoken English, they seemed to be of middle eastern descent, but I managed to give them enough guidance and muscle that they were quickly unstuck and on there way.

I got back in my car and started making my way back home when I came across another motorist in need of assistance. With stoic control, I edged my Mitsubishi Eclipse close to stranded Ford F-150 (no, the make and model irony was not lost on me). I put my car in park, turned on my hazard lights, got out, and told the man behind the driver's seat to ease on the gas and I would try to push him to a spot where he could get traction. Two other men soon showed up to help and after a few minutes the truck was free and I was on my way back to my house.

Over the past week, while taking up residence on Hoth, I have had the opportunity to push a few more cars (for those of you who do not get the Star Wars reference Hoth is a snow planet). It hasn't been a grand gesture of my abundant greatness, it has just been a nice thing to do, and I am better for it.

Dog Snow Day Afternoon

My alarm went off at 6:00 am. As I lay in bed listening to the clock radio I heard the news I had been listening for, "Abilene Independent School District will be closed." I flipped off the radio and turn roll over. At 10:00 I kissed my wife on the forehead and finally got out of bed. I spent the remainder of my morning in my bathrobe and house shoes lounging around watching Netflix.

At noon I inspected the pantry to try to determine what a good snow-day-lunch would be. I spotted a single potato (my wife used the others from the bag in pot roast she made the week before) and decided on potato soup. After looking up a recipe online I discovered I didn't have all of the ingredients called for so I made the choice to wing it. I sliced and boiled the potato in salt water then poured in a french onion soup mix, a can of cream of celery soup, and added a bit more water. After a few minutes my lunch was ready. I should have drained the potatoes but instead of used the salt water I boiled them in as the base for the french onion soup. The potato soup was a little salty but good.

Since Abilene only gets snow once a year I decided to take some pictures. I have been trying to learn photography and today seemed like the perfect day to practice. After spending some time searching for my ski pants with no luck, I settled with long-johns and a pair of old jeans. I put on the rest of my snow day gear: 2 thermal shirts, extra thick socks, boots, ski jacket, toboggan, fleece bandana to cover my face, and one glove (I could not find its pair) I grabbed my camera called for Sadie we headed out the back door.

Behind our house there is a half acre of land known as "The U." It is a small patch of land surrounded by the backyards of Hardin-Simmons owned houses. I let Sadie out ans she spent time running, jumping, eating snow, and playing with her soccer ball while I took pictures. After a few minutes I found a place to put my camera and chased Sadie around and then kicked the soccer ball for her to run after. After covering herself in snow Sadie let me know she was tired and trotted back to our yard and up the porch. We went inside and I dried her off before she settled in her favorite spot under the coffee table.

Leaving Sadie to sleep, I defrosted my car and slowing drove to the HSU campus. The campus was eerily deserted, a fact that made my picture taking easier. I walked from one end of campus to the other snapping away at anything I thought would take a good photo. With my feet numb and out of breath I made my way back to my car and drove home. When I walked in the door Sadie was still sound asleep under the coffee table. I took off my wet cloths, made myself a mocha latte and sat down on the couch to upload my pictures. After sitting down, Sadie realized I had returned and crawled onto the couch and settled down next to me. Check out some of the pictures from today on the photo blog. Click Here.

The Better Life: The Windy Mini

While I have previously stated that I am not the type of person who makes New Years resolutions, there are areas in my life that need to be improved. The inspiration for my self improvement comes from two places my sister Cassie's Project Seventh Day and the desire to be a better "me" for my baby when he/she arrives this summer. I don't have a grandiose plan of loosing 50 pounds and becoming wealthy in six months (although healthy living and financial stewardship are both areas I would like to improve). The idea isn't focused specifically on a set number of areas I want to improve. There are no lists or categories, I just want to be better. Some of the things I write about may seem silly and others serious but the goal for everything is improvement.

While I don't exercise in a gym or on a basketball court often (in large due to two reconstructed ankles and a bum knee) I do enjoy the sport of Disc Golf on a regular basis. Disc Golf has similar rules to golf but instead of hitting a ball one throws a disc. For the past year and a half I have played twice a week, on average. Abilene has a respectable number of individuals who play the game and form the Abilene Disc Golf Association (ADGA, of which I am a member). The group host on large professional tournament in the summer known as the Wild Hair but also hosts weekly mini tournaments (Known just as Minis). While over the past year and half I feel that I have gained some knowledge and skill level I am not as good as many of the locals who play in the weekly Minis. The fear of playing poorly and embarrassing myself in front of others has stopped me from participating in the events. I recently made the decision to try to play in at least one tournament a month to challenge myself to improve my game, as well as surround myself with and get to know people who are better than I am, in hopes that some of their skill or knowledge might rub off. My first tournament was Saturday.

Knowing I wanted to play in the Mini at Cal Young Park, (one of three and my least favorite DG course in the area) Geoffrey and I practiced in 17mph winds on Friday. FYI - when you are participating in a sport that involves throwing disc shaped projectiles into the air wind speed will make a difference. By the time we reached the back 9 we stopped counting our scores that were painfully high. On Saturday morning the 17mph winds had been replaced by 25mph winds, a condition that usually keeps me indoors and away from a DG course. But determined to play in my first tournament I drove to Cal Young and signed up.

On the fourth Saturday of the month the Mini is always doubles (two man scramble). Two pools are established consisting of A (good) and B (not so good) players; I am in the B pool. An A player and a B player are selected at random to establish teams. My teammate is a big guy named Brent. Brent is currently ranked #4 in the ADGA and his skill levels greatly exceed mine. His game was good, mine was awful, (due in part to the wind) and there were moments where I threw embarrassing shots, but the guys I was playing with were kind and had suggestions for improvement. Our game ended with our score one up (due in no part to my efforts) and we came in 6th (which isn't as impressive when your realize that there were only 12 teams playing). The day was fun, frustrating at times, but I feel like I am a little better at DG for it.

To Whom It Most Concerns:

To Whom It Most Concerns:

I cannot promise you that I will be the coolest dad in the world. I have never been a star athlete, very popular, or the best at anything. I am not a musician, artist, or talented at much. I am not that good of a cook, hate waking up early, and I’m a little messy. At times I can be OCD, ADD or just I.D.I.O.T. And to be perfectly honest I am not that good looking

I cannot promise you that I’ll never embarrass you. I am goofier than I should be, less serious at time than you’ll want me to be, but really not that funny. I make a fool of myself often and always speak my mind, even when it is not appropriate. I’ll probably end up in the ER because of something I have done, and be forced to use a walking apparatus that will draw gazes and whispers from strangers. I’m overly goofy and too clumsy.

I cannot promise you that I will be a perfect parent. I don’t know how to tell your temperature with my hand, chase the boogeyman away, or fix a bike. I will never be able to afford to buy you everything you want, send you to the best schools, or make you happy all of the time. I’ve never had to take care of a crying baby in the middle of the night, sooth an aching tooth, or tend to a scrapped knee. The truth is I don’t know how to be a parent.

I cannot promise to have all the answers. There will be times when I am annoyed. There will be times when I get angry. And there are times when I am wrong. I still get scared, worry more than I should, and make rash and impulsive decisions. I am overwhelmed by how much I feel I should know and by how much I don’t. When it comes down to it I don’t always know what to do and will make mistakes.

I cannot promise I’ll never disappoint you. I cannot promise never to fail. I cannot promise to live up to my own expectations of a father. I cannot promise that I will always say or do the right things. I cannot promise to be the daddy you deserve.

But I can promise that I will always love you.

Concerning everything else…I will try as hard as I can.

With All My Heart,

Daddy

Good Things Will Intentionally Happen

2010 was awful; a year filled with the pain and frustration, brimming with a continuous bombardment of bad. I was ready for 2011 in March. When midnight rolled around on New Years Eve I waved goodbye to 2010 with one finger waving more predominantly than the others (ok not really but you can garner my sentiment toward oh ten). 2010 was a rebuilding year. For those of you truly unaware what a rebuilding year is let me enlighten you, it is a polite way of say that the year sucked but had the potential to get better (only if for that fact that it couldn’t get any worse). Even before midnight, New Years Eve 2011 had a prophetic sense of excitement, hope, and joy.

The Turn Around

In actuality it was June when my 2010 began to change for the better but it wasn’t until late November that I began to take notice of the turn around. While driving back from a wonderful Thanksgiving with my in-laws I made a phone call that ended in,

Well if the paper work looks good, you are the person we would like to pursue for this position.

They were words I had been longing to hear but for a year and half had continually found myself looking down on we-appreciate-you-interest-in-the-position-but… letters. Three days later I found myself standing in the tiny bathroom in my house with my wife,

Is that a plus sign? That’s a plus sign! Oh my God, we’re going to have a baby!

I have longed to be a father since my own childhood.

The Sign

I don’t remember the exact day that I first saw the sign but I was driving North on Treadway Blvd. On the right side of the road I noticed a billboard that’s message made me turn my car around to drive by it again. The simple phrase read:

In 2011 good things will intentionally happen.

I am not sure if the billboards were a campaign for city enrichment, or simply a warm welcome of the new year but as I read and reread the billboard I found myself not only mesmerized by it but believing it wholeheartedly. Over the past several weeks I have driven the five extra miles on multiple occasions just to pass by and read the billboard and while I have never been one for New Years resolution but I am determined to remind myself of the billboard on Treadway Blvd.

At the beginning of this year I have started a new job and am growing more and more excited as my wife and begin discovering what it means to be parents. I do not write on here as much as I would like but as I begin this new chapter in my life and with so many extraordinary things waiting to happen I would like to share more of them with my friends and family.

Final Thoughts

**There are a few more posts, that are unfinished, that will be added under the “Bangkla Nights” category**

When we left for Thailand I never imagined how emotional of a trip it would be. I knew I would have fun and I knew it would be great to see where my mom grew up and where my grandfather worked, but it was more than that. I had an opportunity to fall in love with the country and the people that my grandfather and mother know so well. I had an opportunity to grow closer to my mother, who was half way around the world. I had an opportunity to learn about and get to know a cousin that I had grown apart from. I had and opportunity to see my grandfather with an excitement and purpose in his eye that I have never seen before. I had an opportunity to make new friends who provided me with more encouragement than they will ever know.

The things I was able to see and the people I was able to meet have me longing for more. As I sit in a well air-conditioned house in Texas I find myself missing Thailand. I miss mornings and reading with my grandfather, and the evenings spent with my cousin. I miss taking pictures of new things, and I miss having something exciting and new to write about. I miss the faces of friends who have become familiar, and I miss the time spent with those friends, even if we didn’t speak the same language. I have spent two weeks emerging myself in a culture and now I find that I have left a small part of myself behind and replaced it with a small part of something new. In the end, I have had more than a great time, more than words can express, more than photos can capture, and more than the stories I tell will reveal. In the end it was dee tee sut.