When Did I Become My Dad?

At what point in my life did I become my Dad? Hmm, somewhere after the time I got my first full time job and bought a house.

I guess responsibilities do that to you. All of a sudden you are the one making the decisions, big ones and small.

Instead of deciding where to take the next "road trip" with your buddies, when you jump in the car and take off for the weekend, and maybe find a hotel somewhere to stay in. Now, it is a vacation to visit family, where to go?...who to see?...reservations?

Oh, and that's the easy stuff. How about funerals, weddings and hospitals? That is the hard stuff.

Losing a loved one is never easy. Seeing it happen gradually is heart wrenching. You want to comfort them and hold them close and at the same time let them know it is OK to move on. Most of all you want to be strong for them, even when you feel you are your most vulnerable.

When I was a kid and a relative died I always looked to my dad for guidance and clues on how to handle death. We never talked about it, he didn't handle death very well. I'm starting to figure it out on my own, partly by watching time slowly take it's toll on him.

His approach, to just hold it in and not let the pain show, doesn't work for me. I feel that the pain from losing someone is just the love you feel getting all stirred up inside you. There is absolutely no better way to make a person's day than to tell them how much you care. Don't hold it in. Let them know!

"I love you"...just three little words that can change the world...and they do everyday.

Funny thing is, love isn't finite. The more you spread it around the more it grows and the better it makes you feel as well as all those around you. What can be better than that?

Today is my Dad's 66th birthday. We're having a party at my house, hopefully he'll make it. He says he hasn't been feeling too well lately. I wish he realized that we are what he needs to feel better, at least a little bit anyways.

The party will go on without him though, it is mostly for me! Since my 40th birthday is on Wednesday, May 4th, we are having a party on Saturday, April 30th. Who has a party on Wednesday?

So, you see why I am waxing poetic about my Dad...don't you? Well, I'm not sure either. I thought by the time I got to be this age I would have all the answers, but it seems I just keep finding more questions...I'll ask my Dad, maybe he knows?

Take In the View

This is an excerpt from a newsletter I subscribe to. I couldn't have said it better myself:

"In this journey we call living there are beautiful things to see and there are places along the way to pull quietly over. I don’t want to be the kind of person who is obsessed with gathering things that I cannot keep, when there are beauties and wonders all around me.

When I am long gone and my children and grandchildren think of me I want them to remember me as the kind of guy that pulled over and took in the scenery whenever possible.

I want them to know that I saw beauty in each of them. I want them to learn from watching me how to see the hand of God in all the world around them."

Ken Pierpont is the Director of the Riverfront Character Inn and
International Conference Center in Flint, Michgian. He and his wife Lois have four sons and four daughters. Ken sends the Stonebridge Newsletter, a free weekly electronic newsletter, to almost 5,000 subscribers every Monday morning. You can visit his site http://www.kenpierpont.com.

Having my first baby!

So, as if turning forty in 8 days isn't enough, hopefully in the next year I will be having my first baby.

Well, of course it will be Lisa, my wife, actually having the baby. But I am at least as excited as she is...and nervous, OK...terrified.

Heck, it took me almost 40 years to figure out how to take care of myself! What am I going to do with a baby?

Actually I have this plan that goes like this...I am going to turn the tables on the kid and instead of teaching him/her everything I know, I am going to let them teach me about life.

The way I figure, kids are the ones that seem to have it all figured out. I know I did. Kids eat what they want, get full and quit, unless some grownup starts telling them to clean their plate!

Kids play until they get tired, then play some more, it is all about having fun. We could learn a lot from this lesson.

Kids are always trying to learn about something new..."where does (fill in the blank) come from?", "why does (___) happen this way?". Kids are full of questions.

If you stop asking questions, you stop learning!

So my plan is to keep asking questions and learn as much as I can...maybe the kid will learn something along the way too?

(copyright 2005, Learning from My Kid!)

Over 40?

Well, I'm not quite there but in nine days I will be starting a new chapter in my life!

It is rather exciting to be entering this new phase and there is so much I want to do I decided to start this blog to document everything that is happening with me.

I'm going to include as much as I can about everything that touches me and my life. And...since all the events I have lived through up to this point in my life have shaped where I am today, I'll be sharing lots of my past too.

So, stay tuned, the show is just beginning!