inspired by a true story……..
Being Me
Welcome Home Wubzzy!
Mar 12th
I would like to introduce you to the newest addition to our family. This is “Wubzzy”. He came home tonight to 3 very excited little ones (2 grown adults were pretty excited too). He is a Basset Hound/Chow mix and 3 months old. I swore I would never do this again, but the older I get the more I am learning to never say never. Ever since our youngest was born she has been drawn to animals and especially dogs. She loves soft and cuddly things and Wubzzy is all of that and more.
We got off to a little bumpy start because he is a puppy and puppies “nip”. The youngest is afraid of him, but that will pass. He is currently crashed right beside me on the floor. I’m sure he has never seen as much activity as he experienced this evening. We adopted him from the Capital Area Humane Society and I recommend their services highly. He’s been well taken care of and we feel blessed that we found him. It’s funny how these things happen, but it reminds me of one of my favorite lyrics:
Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end –Semisonic
So we begin a new beginning tonight and we’re excited to have him. He is sure to add some stories to this blog and our lives. Welcome home “Wubzzy”, welcome home.
Where Do We Go From Here?
Mar 9th
WARNING!! This post will probably be all over the place. It more or less represents my thoughts the past few days. I told my wife the other day that I just could not seem to get focused. I would walk in a room to get something and totally forget what I went in there for. I typed words that were totally not what I meant to type. The funny thing is that I have complete peace. I really do. Thanks to many, many prayers and friends, I have traveled the waters of the past week really, really well.
So as I sat down to the blinking cursor tonight, I could only come up with one phrase…”Where do we go from here”. To anyone that reads these words and has been in my shoes, you have probably said the same. I keep saying it, but it has just been surreal. I spoke to a friend today that lost his Dad several years ago and he said he still feels that way. As I flew to Houston I kept thinking that I was soon going to become one of those people that says “I lost my Mom back in 2010″. Strange. It still feels weird to even type that.
So where do we go from here? For me, I have chosen to emerse myself in the wonderful memories. I am drenching myself in the great stories of a woman committed to people, to breaking the cycle, to restoring lives and extending grace. One place I will go from here is to challenge myself each day to do the same. I have the road map. I was given a first hand lesson. I have camped out on some of my favorite mom “ism’s” growing up. Things like:
“Do us proud”
“Better your best” (when competing in anything we did)
“Sugar!!” (the closest my mom ever came to a cuss word)
“The thing you fear most NEVER happens”
“Psalm 139″
“Somewhere in the World” (in reference to this song by Wayne Watson. My mom prayed it for years)
One other memory I had the other day involved the old Atari. This will shock your socks off, but when I was growing up, I wasn’t much of a real talker. Believe or not, there are times when I still enjoy silence. However, my mom was determined to get me communicating. She found her answer in playing Atari with me. I’m here to tell you that we had some fierce battles. Pacman and Pinball were the games of choice and before you know it, I was telling her about my day, my fears, my hopes and dreams. We went through many Atari joysticks playing those games. I’m not sure who broke them more trying to get that pacman home, but it worked.
I still think she practiced while I was at school so she could beat me at pinball when I got home. This also became a regular instance of hearing her say the word “Sugar!!!”.
I warned you this would be all over the place. I think my point was that it was weird to blog about anything right now. I’m sure there will be a time and a place for that. Hang with me awhile. We’ll get back to blogging soon enough. I’m going to go find that Atari….
My Front Porch Lookin' In
Mar 8th
I have said it repeatedly, but I continue to be overwhelmed by the flood of support we have received in my Mom’s passing. Between facebook, twitter, text, emails, phone calls and voice mails, the response has just been amazing. It is a testimony to my Mom. One thing that has been an anchor for us are the stories of her legacy. Things like:
“I can honestly say that my husband and I wouldn’t be together today without the loving example and time that your mom took with us.”
“Your mom took me under her wing when I moved to Cleveland for grad school – I always appreciated her having me over to your house.”
“When Bryan and I moved to Cleveland she just welcomed us as part of your family. We were so far from home and had no real family but she made us apart of yours and I am very grateful.”
“Your mom was an inspiration to me during my years of being in Bible study with her. She was so encouraging and Godly. Those were treasured times those Thursday morning Bible Studies with the ladies. They shaped me.”
“Your mom is a truly inspiring woman with a heart full of Christ’s love to share with others. She is a treasure.”
“I can’t stop thinking of all the angles she has made over the years, thinking that she will be rejoicing when she has lived her life to be…with Jesus”
“So thankful that we will all get to enjoy her smile (and maybe some lemonade on the porch) again one day”
“She holds a special place in my heart and in my family’s as well. So many chats on the front porch come to mind with lemonade and Penny as well!”
Friends I could go on and on with the notes we have received. This is just a small sample of the memories and legacy my Mom leaves. There is so much there for each one of us. If you knew her or not, you can see the impact we can have when we care about and for others. I included the last two comments because there was something so special about the front porch of the home I grew up in. It was my Moms “office” and where she healed broken hearts (including mine more than once), mended relationships, listened to hurts, extended grace, taught faith and shared some lemonade. Even the mailman got his fill of homemade lemonade on a hot day. That’s just who she was. She knew no stranger and always had an ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on.
I’m obviously working through the healing process in one of the ways I know how and that is to write. If you can bear with me, I guess my point is that we all have an “office”. They don’t make houses like they used to – with front porches, but most of us have a deck on the back of the house. Coffee shops are places where we can meet. Ballgames, picnic’s and even the church foyer are places where we can mean it when we say “I’ll be praying for you”. My Mom had no formal degree in counseling, she just had a heart full of Jesus and a passion to share it.
We all can too.
Last Chance Half Marathon Recap
Feb 28th
I am sitting here tonight reflecting on what turned out to be a pretty good race this morning. To be honest I have been dreading this one for a few weeks now. Originally I put this on the schedule knowing that my good friend Jeff was running in it too. Initially I forgot that he was running the 10K version so I signed up for the half marathon. What made this one unique is that it is a 1 mile course. Depending on your race, you ran the appropriate amount of laps to complete your goal. In Jeff’s case, that meant 6 laps. In my case…it was 13!
Who knew that it would turn out to be such a blessing. I can’t talk about this race without mentioning the fact that Jeff finished the race and stood in 30 degree temperatures, sweaty, waiting while I pounded out another 7 laps. I didn’t realize until we were standing around afterwards how much of a sacrifice that was. It was cold and the wet clothes did nothing to make it warmer. That’s a friend. Not only did he stand there, he encouraged and energized me each lap. When I saw him standing there with 1/4 mile left to go, I got the energy I needed to finish as strong as I could. Can’t say enough about the friendship and the encouragement. I won’t soon forget that.
I also would be remiss if I did not thank another friend, Darren Carter for the shirt which I wore for the race. Darren and I went to high school together back in Cleveland and connected through facebook and twitter. He was kind enough to send me a shirt a few months ago and I wanted to wear it to support him today. I wasn’t sure the temperatures were going to make it possible, but it actually worked out well. Thanks Darren. I appreciate you my friend.
Now the race. As I said, I have not been looking forward to this one. With the massive amounts of snow that have been pounding Columbus, training has been pretty much limited to the “dreadmill” with an occasional run outside. I had no idea how I would do today. I didn’t set any expectations, but was hoping to post something in the upper 1:40’s. I finished with a 1:51. I was feeling good until around mile 9. At that point it was like someone took the battery out of my energy source. My iPod, Jeff and some great music got me through to the end. I missed not having my running partner (my wife) next to me as well.
It was also great to briefly catch up with an old fried at the start and finish, Chris Bean. His prayer with some other friends to start the race set the tone for the first several miles. Music memories were “Tonight” by TobyMac and “How He Loves” by David Crowder Band. I had some great worship time around mile 13 with the Crowder song. It was a great way to finish the race. Best signs I read were “Trust Your Trianing” and “You Guys Are Like Toyota – UNstoppable”!
Next Up:
Country Music Half Marathon – Nashville, Tennessee (can’t WAIT ) – April 24th, 2010
Capital City Half Marathon – Columbus, Ohio (possibly) – May 1st, 2010
Mini-Marathon – Indianapolis, Indiana – May 8th, 2010
