Gratitude

today, i seem to have waken up on the wrong side of the bed. things that don’t normally bother me, have bothered me today, things that don’t generally annoy me, have been annoying me. that seems like a great time for me to update here, let everyone know what’s happening, and remember all the things i should be grateful for and right now, there’s plenty.

first and foremost, on june 20th of this year, i left my employment at lawlor events center. it’s so amazing how much can change in two years! i will never, ever be sorry for the experience that i had there, but long term, it wasn’t the right place for me. when i was out on leave with my knee surgery last october, it was during that time that i decided i needed to be some place else. it was a really hard process for me to go through, and i learned a lot. i did a lot of self-examination, because i’ve never really quit anything in my life and i kept thinking that leaving lawlor would be an admission of some sort of failure. what i realized is that isn’t the case. being ABLE to do something isn’t the same as CHOOSING to do it. in the end, it wasn’t the right fit for me.

that’s such a very small piece of what’s happened in the last few months though…. also as a result of that injury, surgery, and resultant stuff that goes along with it, around march or april, i was ordered by the state to go and see a state-sanctioned doctor.

i went because they told me they had to. as a result of that, i got a settlement for a fair amount of money. not a huge amount, but enough that in thinking about what to do with it, this had been the year i was supposed to go and visit my son, chris.

after talking it over with dan, he wanted to do some yard and hottub work with his portion, but he said i should still go to germany… i talked to the kids, and they seemed pretty excited too.

i told them that it didn’t matter to me all that much what we did, as long as we were together, i was sure we’d have fun. then came the task of asking for the time off…always a stressful and interesting experience, but in the end, it was granted, which is all that matters.

i ended up going to germany for about 12 days all told, and we managed a lot of miles, four countries, and seven castles! IT. WAS. AMAZING.

i am going to end this post here, start the germany posts, and then continue. not sure how long it might take me to catch-up, but i will try to get ‘er done now that stress doesn’t rule my life. today, i am grateful for EVERYTHING!

Remembering what matters...

Now, it's been another four months since I've updated. Those are somewhat hard months for me. During football and basketball season, there are some long hours and lots and lots of games. Now, basketball season has ended with no post-season play for our teams, and we are heading into a more mellow time. That's the job.

I've been trying over these last months to remember and make time for all the good in my life and remember the things that are important to me. Friends. Family. Being a part of a community besides where I go to earn my living each day. I've so missed my Fire Family and Burning Man community. I am not involved to the extent I was before, but I am trying to make time and be involved where I can be. I think it's important.

 

The above picture is from December when some friends came to visit. We ate at this amazing local place that sources as much local food as they can, called Greatful Gardens. Good times! That's what matters.

Things with the kids are okay. B is going through some tough times, and Chris is still in Germany. With any luck, I will be going to visit him soon.

With the birdies, our little Pinkie bird died in a tragic accident, she was drowned in the toilet when she flew there on accident and couldn't get back out. Least said about that the better. Sad, and I still miss that little birdie.

In an interesting twist, my nephew (I think of him as my son), David, his wife and their kids (consider them my grand kids) are staying with us. With Bri gone, it's been amazing for me, helped assuage the loneliness. Having kids around has been interesting, but they are good kids. Getting to know Annette, David's wife, better has been pretty darn cool.

Just a quick update, cataloging things, life. I hope to write again soon. I am involved in Compression again, as the vendor coordinator this year. I am excited about it. I've missed my fire family a lot and have managed to get on the board again, managing IT again, and attending a few meetings. I've missed them crazy folks!

There's an amazing project happening, called the Morris Burner Hotel. Friends of mine are doing it, my sister is living there and helping, I've done a little painting and been a part of the first event, and hopefully, there's more to come. Another friend who works with local media recently made a very cool video about the Morris that can be found here: http://www.rgj.com/article/20140320/EVENTS04/140320005/Watch-video-Morris-Burner-Hotel-brings-new-life-Fourth-Street. I feel blessed to know these folks and be a part of this in Reno at this time.

Relevant to nothing, there are certain movies, that when they come on, I can't help but watch them. One of them is "A League of Their Own", which is just finishing now. Another is "Shawshank Redemption". I hope....

Soon.

For now, peace.