Posts made in August, 2006

I thought this was nice…

Posted by Dad on Aug 11, 2006 in Parenting | 3 comments

From an email Mom sent me:

When You Thought I Wasn’t Looking
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When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw you hang my first painting on the fridge, and I immediately wanted to paint another one!

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw you feed a stray cat and I learned that it was good to be kind to animals!

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw you make my favorite cake for me, and I learned that the little things can be the special things in life!

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I heard you say a prayer, and I knew there was a GOD I could always talk to and I learned to trust in GOD

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw you make a meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I learned that we all have to help take care of each other

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw you give of your time and money to help people who had nothing, and I learned that those who had something should give to those who don’t!

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw you take care of our house and everyone in it, and I learned we have to take care of what we are given!

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw how you handle your responsibilities even though you didn’t feel good, and I learned that I would have to be responsible when I grew up!

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw tears come from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things hurt, and it’s ok to cry!

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw that you cared, and I wanted to be everything that I could be!

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I learned most of life’s lessons that I needed to know to be a good and protective person when I grew up!

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I looked at you and wanted to say, “Thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn’t looking!”

~Author Unknown~

I’m back…

Posted by Dad on Aug 9, 2006 in Family | 0 comments

A 13 hour drive from Sky Valley, Georgia was my wakeup call telling me the family vacation had come to an end.  It was a wonderful experience and I highly recommend it to anyone. Go on a road trip! 

The thing that concerns me now is to not fall into the same old rut that we had before.   I don’t want the day-to-day to cause us to lose sight of who we are as a family.  I’m constantly reminding myself to try to live in the present and not focus so much on the future.

Of course, that’s not easy to do with school starting next week.  As things would have it, I need to travel for business on Sunday so I won’t be here for the first day back in school.  I’m not happy about that and neither is my wife.  I miss out and she needs to handle everything herself.  The things we do to earn a living!  (I did bet the lottery while on vacation but obviously didn’t win. The tone of this post would be very different if I had)

There I go again, focusing on the future too much!

The Biltmore Estate in North Carolina

Posted by Dad on Aug 3, 2006 in Travel | 0 comments

I’m writing this sitting in the lobby of the Inn located on the Biltmore Estate- George Vanderbilt’s amazing estate in Ashville, North Carolina.  I’m staring out at what I think is the Smoky Mountain range as the sun starts to peek over them.  What a glorious sight!

I highly recommend this place to anyone who may be interested in American history or beautiful architecture.  The 250 room main house is truly inspiring.  They also have the most visited winery in the US, a barn, restaurants, and the Inn we’re staying in. 

We are getting close to the end of our two week road trip and this is a wonderful way to cap it off.  As I’ve mentioned, these sorts of vacations give you the opportunity to reconnect with your family.  I’ve done just that and it feels great.  I am so glad we decided to do it.    When you’re caught up in the everyday, it’s easy to talk yourself out of doing it because it will cost so much, take up so much time, and you simply don’t have the energy. 

If you’re a pensive person like me, it gives you plenty of time to reflect.  Am I on the right life path? Do I need to change direction on what I’m doing for a living? How the heck did Vandebilt make SO much money?!  At the very least, a vacation recharges your batteries enough so that you have the energy to think about these larger issues.

Sometimes, the very worn out cliches like “Stop and smell the roses” seem like “just what the doctor ordered.” As I look out the huge lobby window into the morning dew covered meadow and watch a few black cows grazing on the cool grass, I wonder if I would have noticed this scene a mere two weeks ago?  Probably not.  It’s amazing what wonders you miss when your mind is stuck in fast forward rather than paying attention to the present.

I am determined to focus more on the present upon my return.