Monday, March 26, 2012

An Open Letter to Idiot

Dear Idiot:

Why won't you just leave me alone?  Everywhere I go, you seem to show up.  I go to work and you call me nonstop some days.  I go to Walmart and there you are.  You seem to always pull in front of me no mattter where I am going.  Then you miraculously show up behind me, riding my tailgate like it's lap 187 at Talladega.  I don't bother you.  I have tried to not allow you to take over my mind.  Granted, sometimes it seems that I have lost the battle against you and have my moments.  My wife will confirm that.  But for the most part, I try to avoid you like the plague.  Unfortunately, you seem to follow me everywhere I go.

Please do us all a favor and stay home the rest of this week.  Don't make any phone calls.  Don't go riding around just for fun.  Just sit in your living room and only be a nuisance to yourself.  Please.  I can't take many more days like today.

With kindest regards,

Me

Thursday, March 22, 2012

An Oldie but Goodie

Yeah, I changed the name back to the original.

Deal with it.

Heroes and Zeros

I think it was Charles Barkley, after getting caught doing who knows what, that said he wasn't trying to be a role model for kids.  Cade is Troy Polamalu fan and likes Will Ferrell.  Kenna absolutely loves her Henry County Patriots and Taylor Swift.  Case is in a Star Wars phase right now.  They all have different people that they look up to or want to be like when they grow up.  You know who I want their role model to be more than anyone?  Me.

I hope one of these days when they are adults they all look back and think that I was their best role model growing up.  I say when they are adults because I honestly believe that if your kids don't hate you when they are teenagers then you aren't doing a very good job as a parent.  Okay, maybe that's a bit much, but admit it, there is some truth to it.  Regardless, one of these days I hope they look back and realize that everything I did was because of or for them.  I hope at some point when they are sitting there holding their kids for the first time that a thought that goes through their mind is, "I hope I'm as good mom/dad as my mom and dad were." 

It's inevitable that my children are going to have athletes and celebrities that they look up to.  But those people will disappoint my children numerous times.  So will I though.  The difference is that I get the chance on a daily basis to redeem myself.  I'm not perfect.  But I ought to be the biggest role model that my kids have.  I should teach my sons how to be a good husband and father.  I should teach my daughter that she deserves a Godly man in her life and show her how her husband should treat her by being a Godly husband to my wife.  I should have time for them no matter how tired I am or how busy my day has been. 

If anyone ever ask them, "Who do you look up to?", I hope I'm one of the first people they think of.  If I'm not, then I have failed as a father.



Wednesday, March 21, 2012

The Electronic Babysitter

Case, Kenna and I all had dentist appointments yesterday.  All went well and there were no cavities which is always a good thing.  Kenna was in a different room and Case and I shared a room.  He went first and got a cleaning and then it was my turn.  When he was done, the hygenist told him that there were toys in the floor he could play with if he liked.   He didn't need any though because he had something better than any toy; he had Cade's iPad.

The hygenist was amazed at how proficient he was at using it and we started discussing how we would have never dreamed of something like that to "play" with, much less at 3 years old.  Case is always playing on either the iPad, the Wii, his PS3 or one of our iPhones when he is at the house.  We do make it a point to make him go outside and play when the weather is pretty though.  Which brings me to the point of this post:  Too many parents use electronic devises as babysitters these days and it's one of the main reasons that many kids don't know how to interact with others.

I'm not saying that we are the world's best parents or anything like that, but we try to make it a point for our kids to do stuff outside of our house.  We all go to church on Sundays and usually Wednesday.  Cade and Kenna have school for peer interaction and Granny takes Case to Story Hour every Thursday.  Kenna and Case both are in gymnastics and Cade plays football and basketball.  Then there are the neighborhood kids that they play with on a daily basis.

My point is this:  It'd be really easy for us to just let them all sit inside all day with a gadget of some kind in their hand but what good is that doing them?  Kids need to be around other kids.  If they're not, they never learn how to be kids.  Sure it would be a lot easier and we wouldn't have to worry about where they are what they're doing, but we would be creating a culture full of people who don't know how to have fun and just use their imagination and play.

To me, that's a scary thought.  Sure there were Nintendos and Segas on Peaceful Meadows Lane.  But there was also a Little League regulation size baseball field that doubled as a football field and a basketball goal at every house.  There were 4-wheeler trails and bike paths that were regularly ridden on.  There was an shed that we pretended was everything from a bicycle shop to our local hangout.  I bet your neighborhood was about the same way.  The only time we were every inside was when it was raining or when it was 100 degrees outside.  Electronics were a last resort for us (except for 1 time, but I won't mention that Quincy!  LOL). 

I've rambled more than I meant to....My point was this.  It would be really easy for Whit and I to just let our kids sit in front of a TV or an iPad or whatever.  But I want better than that for my kids.  I want for them everything and more than I had as a kid.  That includes imagination.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Tuesday Night Ramblings

So I've been gone for some time.  I decided with all the social media in this world, everyone who I wanted to know what was going on with me would know through that.  But part of me misses being able to sit down and just start typing whatever I wanted without character limits and whatnot so I started a new blog. 

What's been going on?  Lots here.  I finished law school FINALLY!  I was 11th in my class overall so I'll take that.  Although to be honest, I was a little disappointed when the top 8 in our class were recognized as being the top 10% and then I found out I only missed that by 3 people.  Oh well.  I took the bar on February 28-29 and now I am waiting on the results.  Not too long ago I had a dream that I had passed it and thought that was God's way of setting my mind at ease about the whole process and letting me know that all is well.  Then last week, I dreamt I failed it.  So much for that theory.  Regardless, I am at peace with it no matter what.  If I have to retake it, fine.  But I hope I don't.  Not so much for me, but for Whitney.

She has been working 2 jobs since we moved back to Paris to makes ends meet and keep a roof over our heads and food on our table.  She is extremely tired.  She hates working 2 jobs, but does it because she knows that at this time, that's what it takes.  But I hope more than anything that when the successful list is published on April 13 that my name is on there so she can quit her second job.  That will be the greatest thing that comes from all of this.

That's all for now.  Later.

Try Again

So did you miss me??  I didn't think so.  But regardless, I'm back.
Let me lay down some ground rules first.  This is my blog and I'll share my thoughts and ideas about anything that crosses my mind.  If you don't like it, fine.  Start your own blog and say what an idiot I am.  Or leave me a comment telling me what an idiot I am.  But there will be no profanity allowed on my blog.  Any comments that have profanity or vulgar language will be deleted immediately.  Repeating offenders will be blocked from viewing.  Okay??

It's good to be back.