No, he’s not wearing the same gear today as he was in this picture, but this was one of the first real times in his short 19 years that I could see great physical and athletic potential.  Sure, he is wearing his own glove in this, as the catcher’s mitt was too new, but Scotty made the most of it and became a darn good catcher for a variety of teams.  Of course this ultimately led to lacrosse where after thinking he could be an offensive star, switched to goalie.  And a JV MVP in his junior year and a Varsity MVP in his senior year later, he proved that potential true.

But tonight as I write this at 9pm EST, Scotty is wearing much different gear, the gear of a US Marine. BUT, he is not yet a Marine…..he is in the final testing of bootcamp, The Crucible, and has been at it with his platoon nonstop already for over 40 hours.  They have 14 more to go too.  But when they finish, tomorrow they will all become Marines!  It is a big thing!

But as I looked over some of his pictures tonight I remembered how I saw that potential.  In truth, this was not on my radar then, but it now makes perfect sense.  He made me proud then, and he makes me proud now.

Keep them in your prayers, but don’t worry.  They are a first class group of guys….with just 14 hours to go!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Well today I felt like I almost had a handle on things, so something must clearly be wrong.  I know that men my age suddenly become prone to confusion, so perhaps that is it, but I am committed to enjoy my delusions as long as I possibly can.

My wife Amanda has approximately 6000 boxes of decorations for every holiday and my job is to carry the totes up and down the stairs, as instructed, with the appropriate ones per the season.  And it is really quite the job.  (not mine, hers)  Everything has it’s place and she loves to make it look “just right.”

And of course that is exactly why I am posting tonight’s picture, which is of Ben’s idea of “shoe stockings.”  I do not believe that this is a “real” Christmas tradition anywhere per se, but when you are a kid who has spent all day walking around the house with a car charger wrapped around your chest telling everyone it is some sort of “heart device” from when your sister took you to the hospital, well then just about anything is possible.  After all, I have not seen Steph all day and I am pretty sure she is still in Missouri for FINALS WEEK.  But what do I know?  I am just the dad.

So the shoe stockings will stay up this week, partially because they are cute but mainly because he will throw a fit if she takes them down.

And it is important not to upset him…….he is wearing that Walmart car charger that is keeping him alive.  We do not want to take any chances.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

I got the idea at Staples.  I do not normally buy paper there as it is too expensive, but they were also selling “Easy” buttons, so I thought I would try.  You see Ben is now 5 and when you fly it doesn’t matter is you are 5 or 55, you have to pay for a full fare ticket……so I was fitting him for a box to ship him to California.

Yeah, he’s not happy with me all the time, but then again, who is?  This was one of the pictures taken just before surprising Stephanie on her birthday.  I do not remember what I said to get this look, but it probably had something to do with following the rules.  Unfortunately for him, I do not respond to his looks with anything other than laughter.  My wife’s on the other hand are quite another story……..

My look however is legendary to both Steph and Scott.  As a guy who never gets to sit in church with his kids, the look was always an effective way to get them both to straighten up, and do so immediately.  Ben still seems a bit immune to it, Steph always behaves now in front of me, and Scotty has mentioned in his letters from boot camp that he now both gets it and appreciates it.  (I am sure his Drill Instructors have their looks too!)

My wife however will not respond to the look at all.  Of course I am NEVER upset with her anyway, she is just absolutely perfect, (and I am sorry to not say more honey, but your handwriting is hard to read without my glasses).  I am not complaining though, because I know all married guys feel exactly the same as I do!

Anyway, I just wanted to share this awesome picture.  And I wanted to make sure it was just Ben.  Amanda and Steph’s “looks” would be too scary to share.  And I want to continue to be family-friendly in the things that I post.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

No, he’s not dead, but he sure makes it hard to tell a lot of the time.  He still takes and picks Ben up from school with me everyday, so as long as the words “car” or “cookie” are mentioned, he is up and around.  But when he wants to call it a day, or an hour, or a minute, or anything, he just gives it up….regardless of where he is.  And tonight’s picture is of him in Ben’s room, where he has scooted his bed up right in front of the fan and where he and either his rabbit or his squirrel (here it is the rabbit) lounge their way through the night commandeering all the air.

But as I saw it, it reminded me of how every tired we all are from our “quick trip” to Missouri yesterday.  Amanda and Ben got to sleep in the car, Ben all the way, Amanda only part.  But then we were all up at 6am and starting the day……all of us, even me.  So getting through today was challenging at times, and getting to the end of the day couldn’t get here quick enough.

But now that we are here, I must cut this short because if I do not, tomorrow will be awful.  We however have no regrets.  Sometimes staying up a long time is well worth it.

That is, unless you are our dog.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Amanda and Ben and I SNUCK over to Missouri yesterday to surprise Stephanie at a gathering of about 30 of her friends at a restaurant to celebrate her 21st birthday.  It was Amanda’s idea and crafted by her and her partner in crime Mel Podry, one of Steph’s good friends in Missouri.  And the two of them couldn’t have done it any better.  It was a complete success and we all had a great time!

But there were just a few problems for me to deal with…..one, it was about 10 hours of driving (there and back so Ben would not miss school or Amanda work) and I would be doing most of it (in fact I drove all the way); two, I had tripped over a cooler in the dark int he kitchen the night before and wrenched my already injured back, and then of course three, I am the DAD, and I was just not interested in letting my little girl turn 21.

Now my wife has a lot of problems, and I certainly qualify as one of them and perhaps even the biggest one, but she is good at handling me in situations like these.  She just very patiently feeds me the truth.  So in truth I must confess that Stephanie has turned out pretty dang well.  She is beautiful she is smart, she is funny, and she really has exceeded my expectations of what a daughter could and should be.  Seeing her at any time is a blessing to me, and now she will be taking tests (she has one in the morning) and then will head home for break.  Her friends are all amazing, and we love seeing them.  It was a pretty great time.

So Happy Birthday Steph!  It was great to be with you at the Trailhead Brewing Company on your 21st birthday, and being a college student, to get to see you have what I am sure is the first beer you have ever had……..bwhahahahahaha!!!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Had my mom not passed away last year, today would have been her 73rd birthday.   Yet although she entered into her great reward then, we had lost who she really was to Alzheimer’s quite some time before that.  She was sometimes in (although never filly in) and often out, but through it all she was always able to read her books and still gave small glimpses to her sharp sense of humor.

And of course, much of mine came from her.  She was “quick witted” as they say, and when you combine that DNA with the demented Tirman line, it makes a pretty great mix.  I feel sorry for my kids, as all that has now fermented and is pretty refined…..but if they have any complaints, they can wait and tell her themselves when they get to heaven.  I am enjoying myself and am thankful for it.

But tonight I miss my mom.  We had an often rocky relationship, but then again, I did with just about everyone.  I will say she did dedicate her life to her children, and I am sure it was hard for her to not be able to enjoy all her grandchildren.  That was really all she aspired to do when she retired….the Alzheimer’s just accelerated all that up and she never really fulfilled what she wanted to.

But I am thankful for all she did for me.  And if heaven is a perfect place she is up there listening to my two snake-sisters who are already there talking trash about me and drinking top-shelf margaritas.  At least that’s what I hope.  (yes, I love my sisters too….we are all comedians)

But here’s to you mom!  Happy Birthday and I love you.  And I will save all the Inspector Clouseau references for when I arrive for my drinks….but hopefully not any time too soon.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+ 

Yep, I ran his bath for him tonight, and to him, everything is an opportunity for a joke.  And fortunately for him and for me, I needed a good joke.  I am still well under the weather, although not contagious at all (yes, I have seen the doctor) and I am probably going to be a bit low for the better part of the next few days.

But Ben did make me laugh.  He is sometimes a little beacon of comedy in a sea of seriousness.  And although I lean the to the comedic side more often than not, not feeling well had docked my ship in the port of pathetic-ness….I needed a guide out……and I saw it laughing from the tub.

Sure, he’s now heading to bed, so it was a short voyage from port (not quite a three hour tour…a three hour tour).  But it WAS helpful.  When you don’t feel well goofballs like Ben do you some good.  In fact, some say that laughter is the best medicine…..if that were true however, I am sure I would never feel poorly.  All our kids crack me up (which is great as my wife is NOT FUNNY at all….just ask her)

But a little dose was all  I needed to get me to bed, and tonight I am thankful for it.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yes, I am back to the land of the living, although I have spent the majority of the day in bed.  I got up to post this blog and write Scotty a letter, and in that short period of time I also became embroiled in a conflict between Ben and my wife.  Apparently Ben has developed a sudden allergy to baths, even though he takes one every day.

And what was odd was that he argued with her as if he believed it and that she would too, yet his argument had no basis in the truth….he was just being an obstinate 5 year old.  And this is good too, as he is still 5.

But I waited until I heard the familiar line, “you will not talk back to me” and “do you want your father to get involved in this?”  The second one is always my cue, as I have found that my “I appreciate you” quotient always seems to be higher when I interject myself into these times over the times that I do not…..so I did.

But I had JUST got back to the land of the living, and really an obstinate 5 year old can be quite a challenge to a tired, worn-out dad…..so I brought in the reinforcement (not reinforcements)……I grabbed my phone and hit the speaker so he could hear the dial tone and said “that’s okay, I will just call SANTA.”

Now had I not known that he was alone in the hallway with his mom I would have been certain someone was out there stabbing him.  Suddenly he was wailing and begging and apologizing, and apologizing for crimes he had not even committed.  He was a changed man….and one for the good.

So as I sit hear in my office next to the bathroom with the tub, I can here him all reconciled and happy.  Apparently his allergy is cured and his problems are solved….at least for now.  I am just happy I didn’t need to call the big man.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+