Sadly, tonight on our way home from a meeting in Akron, Father PT and I were in an accident.  I was driving and we struck a wolf (yep a real one) going full speed just east of Fort Wayne.  We are certain he died instantly, and I maintained control of my car, but the damage to it (body-wise) is very noticeable.    I took a picture of it to post, but it was just too dark.  We were just fortunate that we are okay and that the car still drives.  I have seen vehicles lose control and crash or ones that have had the animal shoot off the hood and through the windshield.  Thank God none of that happened.

I do however feel badly for the wolf, who was probably chasing something that go over the divider before he turned back and ran into our path.  He was a beautiful creature, and although I posted Big and Bad, quite honestly I can only attest to the big.  Accidents happen, but I must say I am saddened by it all.  If I could have avoided him I would.  Evading him though at that speed and with wet roads could have made this a much different story.

So I pray this night that he did not suffer and that his last memory might have been of that meal he was chasing.  I thank God for our safety, and I will deal with the car when I can.  It’s just a car.  You’ve got to have your priorities in order you know.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

I just returned form Ash Wednesday services when an email came in from my daughter Stephanie who is in college in Missouri.  Steph is also an amazing lacrosse player and this past weekend was in Florida playing.  Of course she was not happy with her picture, yet she was named the WILA Defensive Player of the Week.  And as it happened, one of her housemates was named the WILA Offensive Player of the Week.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE NEWS ARTICLE

Oddly enough, before Steph went to college, she was primarily an offensive player, and one of the best in the state.  Her college coach moved her to defense, seeing something in her that made that make sense I guess, and it seems to have been the right move.  In high school she scored goal after goal.  Now she never even shoots or is close to shooting, yet she loves what she is doing now even more.  Funny how that works.

But I am very proud of her.  She is a fine athlete, and the best daughter a dad could have.  Plus I suppose I should mention that she is a pretty fine student as well.  She is now just two and a half years away from a degree in Biochemistry with a minor in Mathematics.  (I probably ought to have her DNA checked…..after all, I majored in Trouble).

But way to go Steph.  You are awesome!  I am blessed to be your dad!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Tonight I joined about 80 other people for the annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper at St. Anne’s.  We had an additional one in Nashville, but without a car, it was just too far for me to walk as it is 100 miles from my house.

But tonight was fun.  Everyone had a good time and it raised some money for a good cause.  Father PT is quite the pancake chef, and everyone seemed pleased to help out.  There were a lot of kids and plenty of fun.  AND, it was really the perfect way to end the season of Epiphany.   Lent arrives tomorrow!

As for me, I intend for tonight to be a transition.  I am tired of living withe body I have.  And no, I am not in the picture since I took it.  But the man behind the camera, God willing, will be a different man at the end of the next 40 days.

Please pray for me as I will for you.  I really do want to see things change!

Goodnight and God Bless!

Tommy+

We have a nice home, but I have to confess that today was a bit like prison for me.  We sold my truck and Scotty’s car is being repaired so he had mine, and I was at the house by myself all day.  Of course that is not totally true as the copy machine repair man, as well as the plumber stopped by, but the point was that I could not go anywhere and it really drove me nuts!

But no worries……tomorrow will be exactly the same.  I will still have no car, nor will I be able to leave.  Oh I have PLENTY of work to do, but if I could escape, or at least had the means to, it would all seem more tolerable.  Sadly, the day will drag onto its very end tomorrow.  The good part however is that tomorrow is Shrove Tuesday and the dragging on will lead into pancakes, which are always a blessing.  But I am sure I will start imagining them as early as 6am.

There is hope on the horizon.  Scotty’s car will be finished tomorrow and sometime in the afternoon (if I can find a ride to Fishers) I will be able to travel without begging for a ride!!  It will be a glorious moment, although I am saddened that it will cost me a bunch of cash to enjoy it.  Then again, what is the value of one’s freedom?

The answer is, tomorrow about $900.  The blessing however is that there will be pancakes to help me ease all that pain!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Sadly, my truck and I parted ways today.  It was a good run, but the happenings of yesterday were more than I care to address.  I am more than willing to address issues that I can fix, but I am a priest and no mechanic.  The truck went to the latter, and he was excited to receive it…it was a fire sale for sure.

Well, my wife was unable to make her trip to Belgium, which in many ways will make my life easier this week, but canceling the big party I was throwing tomorrow at the last minute will be hard.  But in all seriousness, big changes to plans such as this (the trip and her being away a week, not a party) are hard…..especially today.

And as for the rest of the day……Scotty, a few days ago, slid into a curb at work in his car……DAMAGE.  We THOUGH it was just the rim, but the repairs may be more than the car is worth.  We dropped it off at our VOLVO MECHANIC and we took the truck.  Sadly, the truck did not make it home on its own….it had to be towed.  So I have listed a non-running truck on Craigslist.   The car, we will see.

As I sat down to do this blog, I realized I am doing the sermon tomorrow at 2 places and have no sermon. I did go down and make sure my clothes were clean and ready….they are.

You just cannot write a sermon in this state of mind.  I would not dare try either.  Tomorrow will be an early morning, but all things considered, at least it will not be today!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

This may surprise the regular readers of this blog, but tonight’s picture is of my 4 year old son Ben IN MY BED.  (Okay, it is not a surprise to anyone)  He is currently in his Batman pajamas, which he incidentally wore to school today as it was “pajama day,” and now he has taken up residence in my bed waiting for his mom.

Oh she is a ZUMBA, which also is no surprise.  It is Mardi Gras night at Zumba tonight, and as she has been on death’s door and to the doctor this week (she is now on antibiotics and pain meds), she clearly had to make sure she went there and did too much…….and of course tomorrow morning she will again be up bright and early to head to Zumba again.

What makes this all even more insane is that she flies out for a week long business trip to Belgium tomorrow afternoon.  The whole rest and take care of yourself conversation is lost on her, but then again if she were a woman who made good decisions I would be single.

But that is why I am in bed typing with two of Batman’s feet jamming into my side.  His mommy is going away for a week, so that is license (apparently on both their parts) to have this sleep over.  He does sleep in his own bed a lot, and honestly having him in here all night is often far better than the door wildly slamming open and then closed abruptly between 3 and 4.  Regardless of how you prepare yourself for that possibility, it always rattles your nerves.

So Batman is hanging here tonight.  Oddly enough he wanted to stay up till she got home.  He did, but instead of waiting for her to finish with her shower, he is sawing logs next to me already.  The adventure never ends…….there’s never a boring day.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+ 

Tonight my mind was taken back many years ago where Father Kelly Irish delivered the sermon at my ordination to the priesthood.  The theme was evident, and we have since titled it “Father Phony,” and it was about what would happen if the higher ups discovered who we really were.  It was actually a great sermon, and it reminded me that it is only by God’s Grace that we are called.  No one is really worthy, but we, Kelly and I, have had many years joking about flying under the radar.

In all honesty, I used to have a lot of insecurity about being in this vocation, but much of it subsided as I met others in it, particularly these “spiritual giants” who I discovered were just men called like I was.  In fact, I watched many of them fall too, leading me to see the extreme fragility of life and ministry, and to thank God for being able to stay in it.

But really, I am over most of that, as my concerns and worries really do not revolve around me anymore, but more so around my kids.  Steph is away at school and traveling the country for lacrosse (tonight and the next few days they are in Florida for some games).  Scotty is working and going to school full time, and rarely home.

But Ben is omnipresent, and in school, and a Catholic one at that.  Sure he looks harmless in this picture, but he is really turning on the heat!  As he is a pastor’s kid, and MY KID, my anxiety is once again all tied up in that.  Steph and Scott started out in Catholic School and had exemplary careers for their stints.  Ben however, is a different breed.

Tonight for instance, we talked about Jesus….who was his mom, who was his dad?  And then I asked him, “Where was He born?”  And Ben said, “In a manger.”  So I asked, “What’s a manger?”  To which he replied, “It’s a place with a lot of those yellow things (straw) that look like fries.”

Yes, Ben Tirman, the son of a priest of well over 20 years, envisions Jesus being born on a bed of fries.  Yep, I have made it a long time…….he however, will clearly be my Achilles’ heel.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tommy+

Oh sure, I know you were expecting a picture of Ben and SCOTT, but there are actually three of them.  Ben here is pictured with their middle brother Viper, or in dog years their older brother Viper.  Either way you look at it he likes to be under the covers.

Viper is actually Scott’s dog.  We got him as a pup, and Scott took primary responsibility for him and even showed him in the ring (the PRO ring……AKC, not 4-H).  But Viper, although very loyal to Scott, is an opportunist.  And he had the opportunity to watch “Homeward Bound” with Ben and “under the covers” at that, so he took it.  Viper looks a lot like Shadow in the movie, but he is clearly younger.  Either way, he was milking it for all it was worth and enjoying the night.  And when Scott got home he expected us to not say a thing…….fortunately for him, Scotty never reads this blog.

So Ben and Viper had a great night, and the cat, whose bed they were in, was angry.  But such is the life here at the Tirman home.  The day is done and all that is forgotten but for this blog.  Even the cat has let it go.  Tomorrow is yet another day.  All are significant, yet not all are memorable.  Even so, I thank God for each and every one of them!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Oh the romance is abounding in our home for Valentine’s Day.  We ate dinner, did some laundry, and Amanda asked me to run Ben’s bath……so that he apparently would not be stinky for her falling asleep with him in his bed tonight…..although she told me it was so he would not be stinky for school.

But alas, that is the life I lead.  I take care of kids, work, and write this humble blog.   I am 50 years old and yet speak to an audience under 5 90% of the time.  It is really no wonder I am how I am.  It is now 9:00pm, and I am in my room typing and the cat is somewhere in here with me.  If I just had a handbag and some books (and was female) I could be a cat lady.

Of course I am holding out for something far more glamorous and worthy of my sacrifices.  If the house I am building in heaven is in proportion to all I am doing right here I am betting I should have some pretty awesome digs. But who am I to complain?

I had a front row seat at the Ben Tirman comedy bath show tonight…..AND he is clean!  And a clean (non-stinky) boy makes for a happy (no-grouchy) wife.  They may be off sleeping in another room, but it smells great in mine, and I am not in any kind of trouble!  A victory for sure!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+