Saturday, January 21, 2012

In Search of a Hero

    
    Today, I thought I would write about my inspiration....my Hero....my Dad.
I am surprised that I didn't think of this before, but It would not be right if I never wrote about the person who had such an impact on my life and has made me the good man that I am today. (And I am good...just saying) We all should have a hero in life...but finding one with all the qualities that you are looking for can be a never ending search these days. It didn't dawn on me who my hero was until I sat down and thought about those qualities I was looking for in my hero. My dad had all of them.

    My dad is a silent man who loves his kids. I cant tell you how much that means for me to say that I know how much my father loves me. Not everyone in life has that and I know that I was blessed when it comes to having a father who Loves. He not only loves me but also my five other siblings. That's a whole lot of needing and time spent out of your day tending to all the kids. (Sometimes you don't realize these things until you have a couple kids of your own and its only then you wonder how your parents did it...right?) Now try and think of it when your a single parent. My mom and dad were divorced when I was 12 yrs old so my dad took on full responsibilities of raising 6 children. Could you imagine? Six kids in all different stages of adolescence wanting and needing your time. And still find time for yourself?  I am nothing short of amazed when I think about what sacrifices my father took for us children. It would not have been the same had he not. My life may have turned out so much different had he not made those sacrifices. And to be honest...I am forever grateful because I love who I am and I know that without him ...I would more than likely not have those same loving qualities that he shared.

    He wasn't your typical dad who had to control what you did..how you did it...or who you did it with. He used the "I will tell you the right way...but if you choose to do it the wrong way...you're on your own." technique. You don't appreciate that method until you reflect back on it and understand that you did alot of stuff that most teenagers don't get to experience.So we had a lot of freedom growing up but we never abused that privilege. (very much)   He would always welcome us home after we would fail doing things "our way" vs. his. He would always have a look on his face of "I tried to tell you" but would never say anything of the sort...that's usually because we knew he was right...at that point anyway. He was a "thinker" and still is to this day. He is retired now and lives a life of waking up wondering .... "what do I want to do today?" (we should get to be so lucky)  He finds the simplest things and makes projects out of them. His latest is making a honey extractor for his bees hives that he has. For the last few years he also has been filming a wood ducks and capturing the ducklings first plummet to with water. We can sit at the TV and watch it all take place. To me...I just think that is awesome. I'm not talking about watching the ducklings first jump...I'm talking about the fact that my dad finds joy in the simple things in life. His work that he puts in his garden every year also proves this. But one of the best qualities about my dad is his Humor. he has this dry, sarcastic humor that if you are not paying attention sometimes...then you will miss the funniest things.

    I am very fortunate to have so many of his qualities. I know my other siblings have them too. I am so thankful that he never preached to me about who I was supposed to be...he just showed me who I was supposed to be by setting the example. So that is why I choose my dad as my Hero. He has all the qualities that I want in a Hero.
Honesty,Humor, Integrity, Hard worker, Humbleness and Loving.

Can you tell I Love my Dad a lot?

Monday, January 16, 2012

The Wedding

Dearly Beloved...we are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in Holy matrimony.

Yep...I got to say those words.

 I forgot to post about the wedding Kim and I did on December 30th. So here goes.

The rehearsal went well...we ran through it without having to say a word other than just describe to everyone what was going on and when. By the time it was over I seen a whole bunch of totally confused faces so I knew I was finished. :) Sometimes its just best to give them a idea of what is going to happen and that way I can always say "You don't remember going over that in rehearsal?" when things go bad. The rehearsal dinner was really good and I can always tell when the food is going to be good because I cant pronounce it. (and it was) The main course took forever to arrive but I really didn't mind...I'm not sure if it was because of the good company I was in or the Brandy Alexanders I was sipping on. But after three of them it was welcomed with great enthusiasm. I am not sure what was in those drinks...but I do know there was ice creme....I know this by the first brain freeze I got. (Man those hurt)
Kim and I rehearsed our sermons together and in our minds it was funny and full of good advice. So we were ready. I started with the opening statement and the giving away of the bride by her father. After I said..."who "gives this bride to be this mans wife?" He started to just hand her off to the groom until the bride said...You could at least hug me first" ...everyone laughed. and then we were underway.
I spoke first and it went quite well I thought...I am used to getting up in front of people and speaking but for some reason...I was a bit more nervous then usual. I don't think anyone knew except the groom who saw my notebook shaking a bit. Looking back I think I know why....have you ever told a joke and no one laughed? Yeah...that's what I was nervous about. I had a few funny lines and I was afraid that no one would laugh at them. Why didn't I think about that before the wedding?

 After my first semi-funny line came out I only heard a few people chuckle so I thought the really funny lines would have them rolling in the isles. I said a few more funny things and I heard a few more chuckles and one person actually laughed out loud. (hey one isn't bad out of a hundred.) So I was just praying that the Joke about Kim not being a good cook would really get them...and it did. Kim came back with a few ad-lib jokes of her own so it was all good. Kim did really well in her delivery of her sermon...she actually got laughs where I didn't think she would. Considering she changed her sermon just the night before...she did awesome.

I had walked over to the side and grabbed my guitar to sing my song. Where I even got more laughs...no not because I sang bad. It was because of what I sang. I chose to sing Adam Sandlers "I Wanna Grow Old with You" It was a big hit and I think everyone really enjoyed the non traditional theme. (Yes...I ran it across the Bride and groom first) So I sang while they lit the unity candle.

We both shared the ring ceremony and vows.. I said something about what the rings symbolize then Kim gave the ring to the Bride and I gave to the Groom. They both wrote their own vows so all we had to do was do the "repeat after me" thing. The Vows were funny as well in some parts so it kept in theme with the whole ceremony. And the Groom was the only one where I had to repeat what I had said once....(that always happens doesn't it?)
After they exchanged the rings I had the honor of saying those beloved words of "I now pronounce you man and wife....You may Kiss the Bride". Kim and I both introduced the new couple and walked out at the end of the procession.

We signed the Licences and they were officially married.

Not to Brag....okay maybe a just a little... but we had multiple people that we did not know tell us how much they enjoyed the sermon...and I believed them.I felt they were heartfelt and sincere.       We have all been to the traditional wedding where you just sit there and enjoy being part of the celebration but not really enjoyed the celebration itself. So Kim and I just wanted to make sure they remembered it and show that you can mix humor with Gods word and have still have a meaningful message. And I think we managed that quite well.

At the reception...I said the prayer before the meal and the food was Fantastic. But the reception was a bit weird (to me anyways) . The bride and Groom were young and the crowd was all my age or older. So the music didn't really fit the crowd. It didn't bother my young at heart wife who would dance to just about anything. Me however...I am white...therefore I don't dance...I am always afraid of being "That Guy"...yeah...you know the one.  The old man who dances not that well and looks absolutely ridiculous as he moves about the dance floor to the beat of Jay Z. (I know...I can picture myself as that guy too) But I wasn't...I have learned from my past :) And just so you don't think I'm a total fuddy dud....I did dance with the bride during the dollar dance and my wife during the anniversary dance. (We were fourth from the last to have to leave the dance floor.) We knew we weren't going to win that battle. The brides Grandparents were on the floor and they have been married 51 years. Ahhhh....we should all be so lucky.



To many more Happy Days for the newlyweds.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Road Trip


Well...I'm back!!  The trip to Texas was pretty awesome. Taylor and I left about 10:30pm on Jan.1st and drove all the way to Nashville TN. There was NO ONE on the road so the driving was very nice. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express that night. We also went to the Grand Ole Oprey Hotel. What a place that is. I was surprised at how large it was and all the beautiful decorations they had up...it was very cool. (I would post pictures...but Taylor has them all on her camera.) We ate at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville and strolled the very chilly downtown strip back to the Hotel.  We had a good night sleep and left for Texas the next morning....ok afternoon (were not morning people).
We made it Texas right before dusk and ate at the restaurant that was next to the Tex Inn that we  stayed in for the night. I didn't sleep that well because of the numerous shows of Storage Wars on cable TV that just had to watch. But we left in the morning...ok afternoon...on our way down to Austin where we found a scenic route that promised a beautiful drive. Well...they lied...it wasn't that scenic and to be quite honest...a real bore!!!  We spent the night at the nearest Hotel we could find and had Dairy Queen for supper. (Good thing I didn't make any silly new years resolution about eating right) I ask for a large twist when we drove up on the drive thru speaker....and the worker told me that they didn't have that and she had no idea what it was.Huh? You've never heard of a vanilla and chocolate ice cream cone? I thought all D Q's had the same menus. Anyway...we had alot of fun with that one and had a great night with loads of laughs and fun. The next...morning  afternoon we left for San Angelo. I took Taylor to the mall so she could by something that she has 7 crates full of...SHOES.  I did it because she promised that I could pick the restaurant that we would eat at that night. Which again was right next to the hotel. A beautiful Italian restaurant that had the most delicious food imaginable. It was a great last night I got to spend with my daughter. We actually woke up early (In the morning this time) as my flight left at 7am. I hugged my daughter and got a little choked up as I said my goodbye and walked in the airport. 
I know she will be fine and has a good enough head on her shoulders to do well where ever she is in this world. But there is something that pulls at my heart to know that I am no longer needed (in the physical sense)  for her. She will now have to face her fear of driving her car over the "death trap" (as she calls it) to get her oil changed. I guess this is all part of growing up and discovering yourself. Its part of making your claim in this world. As a father, its part of letting go and watching it all take place.And I know in my heart....just like all good movies....it all works out in the end.