I have been doing well on my diet and exercise plan. Today, I am sore from my first day out of my support boot on the foot that’s still healing. So I don’t feel like exercising. I also felt like eating a few more lumpia than I should. (Actually, I don’t know if diet and lumpia EVER go together.)
I wanted to write a bit on two story ideas, but the words aren’t flowing quite right and the ideas aren’t communicating the way I want. So I wrote two pages and stopped there.
My wife and I were going to go out and celebrate Mother’s Day early, on a rare dinner date. We both realized neither of us feel like getting out the door today.
There’s also that level of Candy Crush that has me stumped.
So I think today has become a useless “relax and play Warcraft” day. And I’m ok with that. It’s Saturday. It’s been a long week, and next week is going to be even busier than this one.
I went over the music for tomorrow’s church service.
I learned all about my wife’s FarmVille farms.
I hugged two of my boys close as we watched Despicable Me.
And I let the teenage daughter and almost-teenage son escape to go play with friends.
This A to Z blog challenge is really kicking my butt. Still, there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Two more days and… several entries until it’s over!
On top of that, I had a splendid distraction this weekend. My brother, my sister-in-law, and their two sons came out from Chicago to visit my family for a couple days. It’s a roughly eight-hour drive with two small children under 3, so… kudos to them for their bravery!
Friday night, we went to eat Chinese food at a nearby restaurant. We turned around for one moment, and their older child prepared himself for battle using the ancient technique of “crab rangoon war paint.”
But they can never take… our CRAB RANGOON!
We survived the dinner (although our youngest scattered enough fried rice to feed an army), and then we had a nice trip to the park at sunset.
The kids played some basketball with their uncle, and then everyone meandered over to the swings. My youngest and my brother’s oldest both made a beeline for swinging children, as if they wanted to get kicked. Disaster was averted. At some point, my brother commented on how parenting at this age is pretty much 24-hour suicide watch. He has a dry sense of humor that gets me every time.
I like how this one turned out.
Saturday involved a pleasant visit catching up and sharing terrifying parent stories (many of which involved poop), followed by ice cream at Dairy Queen.
Prior to the visit, we discussed plans or lack thereof. My brother mentioned our visit in 2007, and how he and my parents had a variety of plans to make the most of the time. I don’t remember it, but we must have shot down a good many of those plans based on a desire for “nothing complicated.” My brother was single at the time, and admitted over the phone, “I had no idea why you guys were so set on simple plans.”
Now, with two small children, he laughed and said, “I completely understand. I had to learn the hard way, I guess.”
So we had simple plans, and it was enough. We enjoyed a lovely dinner with a friend from the Wordsowers writers’ group here in Omaha, and then they visited our church service on Sunday morning before heading back to Chicago.
The Bee and the wee cousinHeap of childrenSuprised girl
Boys being insane
My brother asked, “Do you agree with this statement? ‘Having children is both the most rewarding and most difficult experience in my life.'”
Of course I agreed. So has every other parent he’s asked.
We had a great time, and enjoyed sharing in each other’s joys and difficulties as parents. Challenging, yes… but one we gladly accept.
I recently started following her blog because of the A to Z challenge, and also because she made the flu virus sound interesting. Then I saw she has kids roughly the same ages as mine (though her family has one more child than us). Science fun plus parenting fun… fantastic. She checked out some of my entries as well.
I had heard of the Liebster thing, but I didn’t really know how it worked. We use the term “nomination” as though there are authorities out there on the Interwebz who are going to come look and make a solemn gesture of approval, thereby formally blessing us with the award.
Nah, it’s just one blogger to another, saying, “hey, I like what you’re doing over there, and I wanted to call attention to your blog. How about you do the same, but for other people? Pay it forward, and all that.”
Ah, yes, there is the matter of some Q&A first. The way this particular Liebster goes is that I must post random facts about me, answer the Mad Scientist’s questions, and then post blogs that I deem worthy:
First, the facts about me.
I play piano really well, but I can barely read music. I can pick out the notes, but not the tempo. I have to hear a song to know how it is meant to be played, and I’m secretly jealous of those virtuosos who can take a piece of sheet music and start playing it with ease.
My wife is one of those virtuosos, and she plays the violin.
Before joining the military and going to Air Force basic training a “few” years ago, I had mostly gone no further than about 3 hours drive time from my home in Chicago, Illinois.
I once was almost two hours late to a date with my then-girlfriend-now-wife because of a video game.
My wife once held my video games for ransom.
When we knew we were having a son, I immediately thought about the name Jonathan, because my parents had named me after David in the Bible. I thought the name might symbolize a desire for a close-knit relationship with my son like David and Jonathan had in Scripture.
I am ridiculously picky. I hate trying new things. I’m probably the kid who said, “I’ve never tasted that, but I know I hate it, because I looked at it and it’s gross.”
Though I am still a coffee fiend, I was once so addicted that I would fall asleep if I did not make a pot of coffee after work.
My gravatar picture was taken at a hotel balcony at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, when I was arranging surgery while stationed on Okinawa.
Other than Illinois and Indiana, I’ve never been in any states east of the Mississippi River. On the other hand, I’m 99% sure I’ve driven through or lived in every state west of the Mississippi.
I used to memorize Garfield jokes and tell them every day to my 5th grade teacher.
Now, to answer Mad Scientist’s questions:
What is your favorite book/genre? Right now, I’m set on Brandon Sanderson’s The Way of Kings. I picked up his Mistborn trilogy and found it accessible and intriguing – especially the very logical, almost scientific magic system. Then I checked out his work completing the Wheel of Time, and was again very pleased. The Way of Kings is all his own, and kept me turning pages until the mind-blowing finish.
What is your happiest childhood memory? The happiest is hard to pin down. I am blessed in that I had a wonderful childhood. We weren’t rich, but we weren’t broke. Hours spent playing the piano with my Mom listening and relaxing, long walks with my Dad along the nearby train tracks and throughout the neighborhood, time spent with my older brother at the various arcades… Yeah, you get three for the price of one because I can’t choose.
Cat or dog? Fish, several of them, of various sorts.
If you could have a super power, what would it be? I would love to bend time (and perhaps space) because I am so often running late. I think traveling back and forth in time would be prohibitively problematic, so I would just like to be able to slow or suspend time.
What has surprised you the most about how your life has turned out? My family. I never pictured the joys and struggles of raising children, so they have each been special surprises in their own way.
If you could change one thing in your life, what would it be? For lack of a better answer late at night, I would have fixed my sleep habits long ago.
Why do you blog? I joined a Writers’ Group when we first arrived in Nebraska. They started talking about blogging, and I realized I could work on my writing by practicing on blog articles.
What do you like best about where you live? I have a spectacular view of the base flight-line.
If you could bring only 1 thing with you on a trip, what would it be? Without a doubt, my iPad with Bluetooth keyboard case… and the charging cord. I need my tech toys and ability to type.
What is your ultimate vacation? I’m not big on vacations. If I have money to travel, I use it to go home to visit family, since I and my wife and kids have been geographically separated from our parents on both sides.
If I were to meet you in person, what is the first thing I would notice? Lately, it would be the walking boot. It draws attention.
And now, my Liebster Award Nominees:
Here’s how it works. You can accept and pay it forward, but of course there’s no obligation. Or you can ignore the award (and make me cry).
If you do accept:
post the award on your blog
credit me and/or others for nominating you
write 11 random facts about yourself
Answer my 11 questions
Post links to 11 nominees you choose, blogs with 200 followers or less*
Ask them 11 questions (and probably provide some of this information)
*if you have more than 200, my apologies. I may have misunderstood what was visible on your site. But you’re still worthy of awards!
My nominees, with a brief description of why:
Stuff BQ Knows – politics, history, and a generally unique point of view from a co-worker of mine.
Things to Adore – A mom’s experience maturing and raising her lovely young children
Jemtree – a military mom and home educator, sharing her experiences and life lessons
The Encouraging Scribe – because who doesn’t need some encouragement and fiction now and then?
A Writer Inspired – I’ve found this blog to be joyful and passionate about the craft of writing.
Livin’ Out Loud 4 Jesus – A friend of mine from WordSowers, currently blogging about the joys of moving.
Angela D. Meyer – Another published WordSowers friend who is about to publish a novel
Irreverenture – probably BQ’s polar opposite, a blog with some politics, culture, and the start of a new post-apocalyptic tale
Joe Seeber – Warm and moving material that makes me want to live as the best “me” I can be
Faith Laces – awesome fitness blog that challenges me to do better with my own exercise routine
Secretly I nominated all of them because I enjoy what they have to share and I want to encourage them to keep on sharing. I also like the idea of finding out more about the people behind the posts.
If you nominees are willing to play along, then here are the questions I have for you:
(Full disclosure, they’re exactly the same on both of my Liebster posts, so you only need to answer once.)
What’s your favorite meal?
Have you ever broken a bone, and if so, how?
What is the most interesting place (preferably a foreign country) you’ve visited?
Who do you look up to as a writer?
What other hobbies are you passionate about?
What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?
Traveling by yourself – no rush – do you take a road trip or air flight, and why?
What’s the last good book you read?
Do you play a musical instrument or sing?
What “clique” did you fit into in high school? (i.e. jocks, nerds, cheerleaders, gearheads, rockers, school band)
What’s your favorite motivational quote or thought?
There you have it. I “lieb” it all up to you, fellow bloggers. Go forth, and pass on the pat-on-the-back to those blogs that inspire you!
Today was an exciting day for me. I finally got the cast off my right foot.
Here are my top ten reasons to celebrate:
10. The foot is healing well. The screws are in place, and the bones seem to be growing together into one mega-bone of awesome invincibility.
9. I get a sweet inflat-o-boot that has a pump like the 80s Reebok shoes. I’ll be slam dunking basketballs in no time.
8. Just took a bath and got my foot wet, and I didn’t even care. (Actually, I did care, because if you aren’t familiar, after wearing a cast for a while, you get all this dry, dead skin that you’re very eager to remove. Sorry, it’s super gross.)
7. I can show off my Frankenfoot. I had a huge scar on the right side, but now I have a a train track across the heel and a white-picket-fence of scar tissue on the left side. Super creepy! I’m ready for Halloween.
6. No more crutches.
5. I don’t feel guilty for putting weight on my foot. Over the last week or so, the foot has felt so good that I have occasionally set it gently on the ground in the cast, for added balance. Don’t tell the doctor!
4. My cane is stylish and makes me feel like House. Maybe I’ll develop his hypersarcasm too. Fingers crossed, here’s hoping!
3. I can start walking again to work towards actual exercise. That means Nike+ Kinect and Dance Central 3 are right around the corner!
2. One of my classmates needs ninjin’. Every morning, as I clomp clomp my way into the building on crutches, I hear him call out, “HERE COMES DAVE.” Now I will be silent, swift, and deadly, with my inflat-o-ninja-boot and assassin cane. Brace yourself, Erik, Monday is coming!
1. Driving. That’s all I’ll say, lest my wife assume I’m implying something. Which I’m totally not. At all. Promise.
Hope your weekend is starting as well as mine did.
So, I have some excitement ahead, and I am looking forward to it.
A to Z Blogging Challenge
It’s Blogging A to Z April. So it’s a time to exercise those writing skills and push out some additional entries on the blog in a fun challenge.
But I’m not doing A to Z for this blog.
I’m going to be attempting an A to Z for the fitness blog I co-author, Fat Guys Vs. Gym.
I’m also going to be writing an A to Z for the worship blog I author: Chasing the Storm.
I am not doing it for this blog, nor am I doing it for my creative writing blog.
I’m excited about what this challenge has to offer, and I hope you can take some time to see the results.
On top of that, I’m going back to work on Monday (boo!) and I’m starting a 4 week Chinese-Mandarin refresher course. Then I’m going to be finishing up some professional education and maybe CLEPing a few college classes. Oh, and I’ll be trying to get into shape since I get my cast off in two weeks.
Ancient Greece had four cardinal virtues: temperance, prudence, courage, and justice.
The Church has three: faith, hope, and love. Alternatively, some look at “the fruit of the Spirit” Paul put down in his epistles: love, joy, peace, patience, kindess, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Buddhism has its Noble Eightfold Path, Hinduism its Dharma or moral duty, Islam has a long list derived from the Quran, and so on.
Even Ben Franklin, no particular bastion of religious devotion, had his own list of moral virtues.
The key to virtues is that, without fail, they are meant to be practiced regardless of how someone else behaves.
We treat others with love even if they are hateful. We respond with kindness when someone snaps at us. When others would be arrogant, we strive to be humble; when others prove unreliable, we demonstrate diligence and faithfulness. Self-control and temperance do not depend on how wild or disciplined someone else may be.
We practice these virtues because they help us be our best selves. They give us the tools to respond to life’s struggles and difficulties with grace, maintaining dignity in spite of opposition.
Now our society is dealing with the debate over same-sex marriage and whether to recognize it as a right in America. Pitting long-standing religious traditions against the ability to openly express love and fidelity – that’s not just a spark near the fireworks. That’s a nuclear meltdown in progress. The trouble is there’s also a lot of prejudice and ignorance on the religious side, and there’s a lot of defensive lashing out due to past hurt on the same-sex marriage side – understandably so. On top of all that, there seems to be enough hate on both sides to go around.
Which is especially sad since we’re all supposedly talking about expressions of love.
There will always be political disputes and debates, but there doesn’t have to be so much vitriol in our rhetoric.
That brings me to this popular virtue I keep hearing about, called Tolerance.
Tolerance has come to mean that we must not only accept differences in others but also approve of them. When we speak of tolerating a thing, we simply mean acknowledging it, accepting the fact of its existence. I have pain in my foot following surgery. I can tolerate the pain. That doesn’t mean I approve of it. Even the term “acceptance” gets used as if to say “endorsement.” I accept marijuana is used throughout the United States and is even legal in some states. I do not endorse its use.
Equality means treating everyone with respect.
Treating each other as equals means tolerance is not a one way street.
If tolerance is indeed a virtue to which we should aspire, then it cannot be limited to those with whom we agree. We cannot demonize the other side as if everyone is either Westboro Baptist Church or NAMBLA. We cannot jump to conclusions and rush to judgment about what motivates supporters or opponents of same-sex marriage.
No, I don’t believe the activists are out to destroy the families. Most of them are just trying to have a family of their own. And no, I don’t believe most of the opponents think anyone is less than human or not worthy of dignity and respect, contrary to popular belief. Yes, there are too many bad apples. We tolerate their right to speech, even ignorant speech. And we counter their ignorance with prudence, temperance, and respectful disagreement.
We cannot justify intolerance and hatred toward others because “they were intolerant first.”
That’s not how virtues work.
“Do to others as you would have them do to you. For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?”
Likewise, if we only tolerate the tolerant, then what sort of virtue is it?
We’re always going to have important discussions in America, on subjects where both sides are very passionate. We owe it to ourselves to focus our energy on the viewpoints, not the participants… on virtue, not venom.
To the great friends, family, and strangers who have followed my writing on this site:
One of the lessons I’ve taken from recent writing conferences and discussions with my fellow writers is the idea that a blog is usually meant to be focused on a few key topics. This allows the readers to easily discern what they’re going to get out of the site without slogging through a bunch of stuff that’s of no interest.
I’ve written about a lot of different subjects, and from the very start, I said I’ll just write about whatever I want here. Hey, it’s my blog. I can do that.
But what serves the readers is more important to me than getting “my” way.
With that in mind, I’m separating out some of the topics I normally write about here. What’s moving?
Spirituality
Most of the posts about spirituality and worship are going to move to a separate blog focused on the joys and challenges of pursuing God.
Creative Writing
The short stories and posts related to my long-term writing projects are going to move to a page specifically focused on prose, poetry, and inspiration for the craft of writing.
Fitness
I’ve always made it clear I’m no fitness expert. I do have some formal instruction (former certified spin instructor), but more importantly, I have the experience of being a pudgy guy trying to get and stay fit. With my upcoming process of recovery from foot surgery, that journey is going to provide lots of fun and food for thought. I’ve set up a blog for sharing motivation and mutual commitment to fitness with readers interested in that material.
So what’s left?
This blog will stay active, with any of my posts about life and leadership in the military (most of which are the popular tirades), cultural and political commentary, and the quirky stuff my kids are doing to give me more grey hairs.
I sincerely value every click on the “Follow” button, every “Like” and every comment on any posts. But I understand that not everyone came to this page for the same reason, so I wanted to be clear about where to find the topics that may most interest you. This change should work out so that I’ll be writing as much as usual, but readers will be able to find more of what they’re looking for at the new pages.
Time flies when you’re having fun… or raising kids.
I recall looking down at a crying pink mass of baby as a brand new dad, unable to fully grasp all the changes about to take place, wondering how much I didn’t know, unsure of how I would become the father my daughter deserved.
It’s a natural reflex… but it still hits right in the feels.
Then, in a hesitant and uncertain effort to help keep Deborah still while the nurses cleaned her up, I gingerly took hold of her hand. And she wrapped her tiny finger nubs around one of mine and held tight. And her cries started to quiet down.
That was over thirteen years ago. “Almost fourteen,” Deb would say.
She soon became a big sister to our first son, Jonathan. When we discussed baby names for boys, I thought of David and Jonathan in the Bible – the friendship and closeness they shared. While I know that a parent is not always able to be their child’s friend instead of disciplinarian, I still focused on the hope that my son and I will enjoy a healthy relationship as he grows into maturity.
A few years after Jonathan, Justin was born, his name meaning “Righteous” and “Justice.” And two years ago, we welcomed Judah into our family, whose name means “Praise.”
Life easily becomes a blur of day-by-day responsibilities. Exhaustion sets in, and by the end of a busy day, it’s too easy to get caught up getting the kids to bed and catching a breather before going to sleep to face the next day. Individual days often go by slowly, working at the office or in the home, taking care of dinner and the children’s needs, trying to carve out family time, finishing all the chores and responsibilities, and ushering kids to bed.
But the years flash by when we’re not paying attention.
About a week ago, Deborah was playing Rock Band 3 and some of the various Guitar Hero games. And I discovered she had switched over to Hard difficulty. The jump from Medium to Hard is significant as it incorporates more buttons to press, more notes to hit, and all at a faster pace. Yet she was performing songs smoothly, something of which she never used to be capable.
We played some songs together, challenging each other to see who could get the best performance. She kept up and beat me several times. Then we switched to Street Fighter, and once again I was surprised to find that she put up a fight. In fact, unless I was playing one of the two characters I’m best with, I was really working hard to win.
The bear is one of my favorites if I’m just messing around… because, come on. A BEAR.
If you’re not familiar with the old-school Street Fighter games at the arcade, whenever a second player puts in a quarter and starts a game against the current player, a message pops up with a shout saying, “Here comes a new challenger!”
That’s what I was hearing in my head as Deborah defeated me a few times.
I can’t wait to get out of my cast and take her on in basketball, which has rapidly become her other favorite game.
Jonathan is no slouch, either. But his strengths are more mechanical. He loves building things, whether with Legos or with various electronics he takes apart (with supervision). Yes, he loves destruction too. He regularly surprises us with new constructs, and briefs us on the multiple special features and components he builds in to each one.
His favorite video game is Plants Vs. Zombies, but he still has that problem-solving mechanical eye when he watches me play. I was working my way through the new Tomb Raider, and at several points where I would be stuck considering how exactly to solve a puzzle, he walked in, looked it over, and pointed out the solution as if it was the most natural and obvious answer. Humbling, for sure.
Justin’s biggest strength seems to be living up to his name, as the family “Fairness Police.” Maybe it’s middle-child-syndrome rearing its ugly head, but Justin definitely protests any imbalance in chores or in rewards. He balances that with giving the most hugs ever (like constantly), so I guess it all works out.
Even Justin has some mad skills with his favorite games. We recently loaded Sonic Dash onto the iPad, and Justin started playing it with glee. It took me several days to get to the point where I could even match his high score, and honestly, that’s probably because I used the coins you earn in-game to upgrade scoring abilities. Justin hasn’t played in a bit; I’m afraid to see what he’ll do with the new powers in game.
Judah is still pretty young, so I’m not sure what skills he’s going to demonstrate. He sure loves to dance and sing to music – fitting based on his name and based on his parents’ musical abilities. He absolutely loves to sit at the piano with me and play (read: pound) notes… but that’s probably true of any two-year-old.
I don’t yet know what to expect from him. However bittersweet it may be, I know that the years will go by in a flash, and in no time, he’ll be showing us where his strengths lie. I want to say I can’t wait to see it, but “almost fourteen” years have flown by already.
I can wait and take it slow, one challenge at a time.
It’s Spring now, officially. That calls for some getting outside and special activities!
Of course, I’m on crutches post-surgery, so that limits our options a bit. But there’s always an excuse to give up, stay home, and do nothing. As tempting as that might be, sometimes convalescing means getting out and enjoying fresh air.
We packed up the kids into the van and drove off for parts unknown – at least to us.
Yes, it’s “Spring,” but it was also a chilly 34 degrees yesterday afternoon when we went out. (I was planning on posting this all day today, but I spent quite a while with a two year old wrapped around my face, so I was further delayed – not such a bad thing!)
It was snowing in the morning yesterday, thankfully none of that stuck around long. Three more potential excuses shot down! “I don’t want to be out in the cold, I don’t want to be in snow in a cast, I don’t want to slip on ice while on crutches…”
We headed through the base after some errands, and I snapped a couple pics of the Offutt parade ground. Most of my co-workers won’t care, because they’ve been to Offutt at one point or another. But many of you will never have that chance. So here’s a pic:
The line of trees along the road next to the parade grounds. I need to get a picture in Autumn!
There are several houses on base that have stood for over a century, dating back to the early days of Fort Crook. At the parade ground pavilion, there are pictures of Army infantry and cavalry formations from the 1900s, with these houses in the background.
One of the houses near the parade grounds – over 100 years old!
My wife loves the architecture, so we snapped a couple pics.
More Offutt history – now converted to visiting officer quarters.
From there, we headed off base and got onto the highway, heading east into Iowa. Jami’s family had a tradition of stopping at the border of new states and taking a picture at the “Welcome to (fill-in-the-blank)” sign. Unfortunately, we crossed a bridge on Highway 80 over the Missouri River, so there was no chance to pull over and snap a picture. But here’s Judah enjoying the ride:
Judah smiles at his big sister as she entertains him on our trip.
Going fifteen minutes down the highway into a neighboring state might seem like no big deal, but for our family, it’s a new concept. We spent eight years on the small-ish tropical island of Okinawa. The freedom to drive around the States is almost overwhelming in comparison!
We took note of a few places to visit in the near future, enjoyed some Blizzards from DQ, and checked out songs from the new Passion and United albums. (I may have also taken advantage of technology to claim a bunch of gold from auctions in World of Warcraft.)
Once we got home, Jonathan went to his friend’s house, and the rest of us walked (crutched) down to the park in the bowl behind our house. It’s enough of a walk that our neighbor even sent out her daughter to tell me I’m crazy for crutching around that far.
Deborah has been excited about playing basketball with her friends, so we took the opportunity to check out her skills.
Deb practicing three-pointers.
Judah got out and ran around, and Justin rode his scooter around the court.
Justin on his Cars scooter
I even took a couple shots. Ok, I took several. It’s surprising how much you need your feet for support.
Our dachshund, Grasshopper, enjoying the outing
I chased Judah a bit – even on crutches, I can catch him on cement, but he beats me on the grass.
Off with a dash, Judah makes his escape.
Dinner time arrived, so we trudged back up the hill to end a very busy day. It may not have felt like warm spring and sunshine, but it was still a great excuse to get outside.
The hill as we headed back home… coming down was easier!
The home of David M. Williamson, writer of fantasy, sci-fi, short stories, and cultural rants.
