Where's Waldo?

After complimenting my wife last night on her recent “Scheduling” blog, she called me Waldo. I told her that the other day I thought I had something to Blog about. I was going to wax poetic about her dry sense of humor and how it’s like Babe Ruth. She either hits a homerun or strikes out. Lately though there’s been a lot of homeruns. I mean seriously, try to picture my wife licking her computer screen at the sight of Mrs. Johnson’s pumpkin pie. Good humor there… and although I think she would really do it – she was just being funny. Like calling me Waldo… she said I “was the Waldo of Blogging” - apparently blogging every once in a while and then becoming hard to spot.

I’ve kind of had some writer’s block going lately. Not that there haven’t been random ideas. It’s just that “The Kirby Krew” is not a place for me to vent my work frustrations and tell the world about multiple teacher/parent confrontations that involve the word “bullshit” and it not coming from my mouth. (Thanks for the parental support - by the way!) Nor is the Kirby Krew a place for me to seek an outlet for the Rush City Tiger football prowess this year. I’ve thought about taking a stab at a story about Logan’s trip to the MetroDome but my bride beat me to the punch while I was sucked into a Facebook cyclone. So Waldo just sat on the outside looking in. Enjoying the view.

Though something has been weighing on my mind a bit lately. After dropping a couple of bucks in the Veteran’s Hospital can at Wal-Mart in return for a Poppy a month ago, I felt a patriotic lump in my throat. That same queasy feeling came over me weeks earlier at the post office when I sent a few RC Football t-shirts to foreign lands on other side of the world. The National Anthem rings a little louder in my head lately knowing that I have close friends in harms way. Emma’s prayers at night routinely leave me with tears in my eyes as my daughter asks God to protect the soldiers that her little heart couldn’t possibly know anything about.

Kevin Jensen has a wife in Baxter with so many kids under the age of 8 that I’ve lost count. Yet, his hind parts hold down Army Supply Officer chairs in Iraq. His kids feel the change of the Minnesota weather at the same time as he empties enemy sand from his boots. This is self-sacrifice.

Ray Grabau is on his 3rd tour fighting the good fight. After two hops in Iraq, Uncle Sam saw it fitting to send this warrior to Afghanistan. He’s a Marine Corps grunt that continues to patrol foreign soil because that’s what his country has asked of him. He doesn’t complain in the letters he writes me. Instead he asks advice on college and life after the Marine Corps. This is self-sacrifice.

Timmy Morris just blew through Rush City a couple of weeks ago. Before visiting a cousin, Sgt. Morris stopped by to chat with an Old Marine that used to coach him in football. As the 2 Marines swapped stories about ‘the suck’, the older one thought his chest was going to explode because he was so proud. With 7 months in Afghanistan building flight decks they say couldn’t be built, Sgt. Morris came home to meet Tim the Third, his young son that was born in July while he was away. With his young family now under his watchful eye, they left last Sunday for his next duty station in Arizona. This is self-sacrifice.

Chris Makela will be throwing down some adult beverages and wild wings in Savage next Thursday with some friends. Then Friday he will leave his wife and friends and go Active Duty overseas, a deployment that has long been on the horizon for this lifer in the Guard. Mak won’t be there this year for any more October grouse hunts and he’ll miss our drunken debauchery we call Trout Weekend. But it’s his turn. He knows it. This is self-sacrifice.

The list is multiplied exponentially in ever family in every small town across this great country. Yes, I served 4 years in Uncle Sam’s Motorcycle Club (USMC) but this isn’t about me anymore. Thousands came before me and thousands continue to walk their post to this day. Our military is not filled through conscription – compulsory enrollment of persons for military service. Quite the contrary. It is a Military made up of the finest men and women on the face of this planet - those that voluntarily take their turn at the tip of the spear so that you and I can get fat and happy while we watch the Twins battle for a pennant.
I will never forget that.
THAT folks, is why I stand a little taller when Old Glory is raised.

Waldo Out.

Those darn appointment books.....

I don't quite remember where I found this photo but it hits home..... If you can't quite figure it out, it's a benchlocated at a cemetery at a gravesite. So simple but yet it kind of smacks yak in the face doesn't it?

My entire work days are filled with appointments and meetings. My life at home can be found on a magnetic calendar on the fridge marking who is doing what where and at what time.

Sometimes I hate calendars.

Life goes by too fast and someone-somewhere thought it was a good idea to organize your life by marking down important tasks each day and filling your days, weeks, months up with meetings and activities and all that 'important' stuff. I curse you Franklin Covey!

Life is busy, I get it-I understand that. BUT..... what about the really important stuff like:

7pm: Play with children until they giggle and giggle and giggle and ignore the laundry.

8pm: Continue to ignore laundry and dishes and read book on your shelf that you've been meaning to read for the past year.

9pm: Snuggle with dog or husband........your choice. And continue to ignore dirty house and dirty clothes.

My point? My point is to let life happen and stop scheduling out every minute of your day. Let life happen, be free, be open.......

Easier said than done right?

If anyone has figured out life, let me in on the secret please........

He's a teenager.......

Friday was my baby's birthday. He's now 13. (Yikes!)   I picked him up from school and as I'm watching other people's kids run out suddenly, I see Tyler wearing this T-shirt, carrying some balloons and a spiderman gift bag.......with a big grin on his face.

Apparently a few girls bought him this shirt and another girl on the bus baked him brownies and then throughout the day, all his friends signed his cool shirt. 

It's nice to know that Tyler is well liked at school.  Even with his cheesy smile.

I asked Tyler if he wanted to stop and pick out a birthday cake or if he just wanted to wait until tomorrow when we celebrated with my family.  He stated he could wait but, it's just not your birthday unless you get to blow out candels so.........I made his favorite mashed potatoes and stuck 13 candels in them for him to blow out.  Emma, Logan and I (Kirby was at his Friday night football game) sang Happy Birthday to him and he laughed and smiled his cheesy smile.

Happy Birthday Tyler!  We love you lots and it's so much fun watching you grow up into a caring, smart, athletic, compassionate teenager.  You are the apple of my eye!  Love ya!

Little boy in a BIG town........

Kirby and I are lucky enough to both have access to emails throughout our work day. This form of communication allows us to 'speak' to each other and share how our day is and any other thoughts on our minds.  I guess you could say that technology saves our marriage as we don't have a lot of time at home to talk to each other without being interupted by the kids.  

So, Kirby had causually mentioned that he would like to take Logan at some point/time to a Twins game or other major sporting events.  Logan is our little jock and loves to play sports and Kirby thought that he would love the adventure to the big city for a game.

As luck would have it, that day my Dad calls to tell me that he got 4 Twins tickets for the weekend. 

Ask and you shall receive right? 

I immediatly emailed Kirby and told him to ask for a million dollars.

Off to the Twins game it was!  A very excited almost three year old boy in the car waiting to go...

Papa Ray and Logan walking to the Metrodome hand in hand.

It was a boys trip (Emma and I were forced to go shopping.)  Here are the boys waiting to enter the Dome.

Big Brother and Little Brother.

Logan loving every minute!

What's a baseball game without ice cream?

What's a baseball game without nachos?

Logan, worn out from all the excitment in the 5th inning.  He drooled for 4 innings and the Twins lost.

Another fun day full of memories for the Kirby Krew.

Kung Foo Papa!

This is my Dad.

In January, he will be 70 years old (or 70 years young for those optimistics.) 

I play volleyball on Wednesday nights and on my way there or on the way home, I will usually call my Mom and/or Dad to check in to see how life is treating them.  One night last year, I called him and he told me that he played volleyball that night with a bunch of 30 year olds. They only had 5 players and he was down watching the games and the team asked him to play. Now, my Dad has watched a lot of volleyball, but I have never seen him play before.

Another time this summer I call him and he starts telling me about how he went inner tubing out on the lake with a bunch of his co-workers and how much fun it was, etc, etc.

Now, he has joined Karate and is going 2-3 nights a week.  Just last week he earned his yellow belt.  He and a five year old girl both earned this color belt that night.  (For those non math folks-that a 65 year difference in age)

And this is what I love most about my Dad.  He tries things, dares to be different and doesn't care what other people might think or say.  If it sounds like fun-count him in! 

My Dad has a sense of adventure in him, he always has and always will. Even at the ripe ol' age of 70-he signs up because he reads an ad in the paper for a free class and now he's going to class 2-3 times a week, right along side those 5 years olds.

Good for you Dad-stay young.

High-Low for Friday

10 points for the person that can tell me what movie I stole this from...(the whole high-low thing)  It's one of my all time favorite movies, there are lines and scenes in this movie that say it just perfect-in fact-it says it better than just perfect. 

Low-wanting to stay in bed this morning for an extra hour of sleep. (not a horrible low today-I can live with that)

High-putting Emma and Logan to bed and letting them sleep on the air mattress together for a 'sleepover.' Then going upstairs to check on them only to find them holding hands.  I guess my low could have been that by the time I went downstairs to get the camera  and take a picture, they had moved.

TGIF!

High and Low.

Low for the day: Waking up at 12am to Logan puking in the bathroom and then continuing to help him puke for the next three hours.   Listening to him wimper, "hold me Mommy."

High for the day:  A rebounded ill child in the back of the car lightly singing to Taylor Swift, "she wears short skirts I wear tee-shirts..."

It's amazing what can happen in the span of one day......