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Attempted feline flim flams and good ole rest…..

It is now about 10:30 and I am finally home after a very long day. I have to say it feels great to be here too. I am typing this while in my bed, much to the cat’s chagrin too. She wants me to go downstairs and give her some treats. I do that every morning, and though I have had a stroke, I am certainly not stupid! I still know the difference between morning and night……she will have to wait.

Tomorrow awaits and God Willing I will wake to it…..for my sake as well as the cat’s. But for now I must call it a day. I have been up 19 straight hours with very little rest. I am thankful for my bed and this day’s end.

Goodnight and God Bless.

Tom+

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A very very difficult time……

Things seemed so good last night as I finished up everything and let the dogs out. They enjoy going out, but one enjoys pushing the limits, my wife’s dog Spencer. I tell him about 5 to 10 times per time out to “stay in the yard,” but if you take your eye off him for a second, he sometimes bolts down the street or into the corn when it is there. I have chased him more often than I can count, sometimes successfully, but sometimes not. But on the “not” times, if it is night, I wake up about every hour and go check for him at the back door. He gets there every time, sooner or later. All but this time that is.

Last night at 2:30 am we were awoken by the police who were at our door to let us know that Spencer had went out onto the highway and had been struck and killed. We were obviously heartbroken, and Amanda especially. It was a difficult time, and still is.

I went out at 3 am to find him and bring him home, which I did. And though I could not get him to the vet to be cremated today, nor tomorrow, since I have a funeral in Nashville, I will Tuesday. He will then wait to be buried with two of our other dogs, Pepsi (our first Golden), and Tweety (Scotty’s first show dog) when we move to more suitable place to raise and breed Goldens after Scotty graduates. Spencer was a good boy, and part of our family. He deserves to make the trip to the farm….and he will.

Please keep us in your prayers, and particularly Amanda. We just miss him, but we are thankful to have had him.

God Bless.

Tom+

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Finding order in chaos…….

We are once again reclaiming parts of our basement, and in fact, I have done most of my work today from my office which is done there. My library is there as well as the copier and church supplies, but it is still a staging room for the construction as well. Okay, it is more of a “put things that belong out in the main part of the basement in order to keep them out of the construction areas” room. Either way it is a mess. I am just glad to finally have a little space.

It often seems as if my office lately is somewhat a metaphor for my life…..there always seems to be something out of place. It always feels like a work in progress. It always feels as it there is something yet to finish. And every time I think it is under control, something else happens to take it out of the amazing order I dream about.

I suppose if the Lord wanted me to have that kind of order I wouldn’t be me. Plus, I think with that kind of order I might be bored. Amanda is a lot like that, and thrives in it. I always tell her she put the capital O in OCD. Her desk is immaculate, mine is messy. Her many sides of the closet are categorized, while my small part still has me asking her where stuff is. She is a scientist, and I am the big winner! After all, if she is so smart and organized, she should have married better! I clearly have the easier job!

Anyway, me and my metaphoric tornado are heading to bed to make a mess of the neatly made bed which has some 600 pillows on it, none of which match, but that are laid out in some sort of geometric pattern that I will never master as long as I live. Even the cat avoids getting near them. But underneath my mattress awaits for me to call it a day.

I hope you have had a great one….I know I have!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tom+

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Oh me oh my, what to wear……….

Tonight Ben wore his “Brian Urlacher” Chicago Bears jersey and pants, giving me hope that at least one of my children will follow in my incredible footsteps as a Bears’ fan. Sadly I am alone in my hopes for him, since that outfit is one many pro ones he has…….oddly enough all the rest are Colts’ blue.

He wore it to the girls’ lacrosse game tonight and it struck me as funny. When kids are little they can wear jerseys and look cute. Ben was certainly all that too. But Steph and Scott both wear jerseys there and if I called them cute it would insult them. At some point kids move from being cute to being too cool for such childish things! Steph and Scott are both high school lacrosse players now and want to look and be tough. And of course soon, probably by 5 years-old, Ben will be in his first competitive jersey thinking he is tough too…..and from there it will last a lifetime.

I just love watching all three of them (especially in Bears’ gear) grow. I have been blessed with wonderful children, and all three of them remind me of God’s abundant blessings in my life. At least the ALL are Cubs fans. Baseball season is coming and I am looking forward to a house of unity and proper sportswear!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tom+

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The day is done….finally!

I really thought tonight might not ever get here. It has been an extremely long day filled with a variety of work….Church work, construction work that I did on our house, and work in preparation for our upcoming Varsity lacrosse season. I ended the night at Scott’s indoor game, and it was a blast. Noblesville has three teams in the indoor league, and this week and next are us playing one of our other teams. I enjoy it, because the people are so nice, and they, as well as all the players are so respectful. It is a great program, and I am glad to be a part, not just as a parent, but as the girl’s Varsity and JV coach.

The construction work I did involved putting in some beams for the ceiling that were not part of the damage and repair estimate from the pre-Christmas water incident. I am glad I can do things like that because I am sure it would cost a fortune. Plus I like it. So much of my job is not tangible. It is great to do something I can see immediately.

And of course soon the regular lacrosse season will be upon us. I enjoy getting to see my son play, but soon I will be immersed in the girl’s program. We have tons of games and practices and they all begin late next month and go through mid-May. It is a lot, but well worth it. My only regret is that lacrosse wasn’t a sport when I was in high school. It would have been a great way to stay out of trouble!

Anyway, busy days lead to good night’s sleep…at least I hope. I hope your day has been full of God’s blessings!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Fr. Tom+

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A day of thankfulness and bliss……..

Yee ha! We have contractors in our house and things are moving along. I was told that they hope to be done within two weeks. It will be awesome to have our home back to normal again…..or at least as normal as it normally is!

Life just sometimes sidetracks, and we have to deal with what comes. Certainly we all want it in our own terms, but what I have found, in my short almost 48 years, is that it rarely ever is. Life generally spans the entire spectrum. But in truth we are only promised paradise in heaven, not here. Oh sure, living with my wife Amanda is like living that kind of paradise all the time 😉 but most everything else can go back and forth.

I am writing and posting this early today because I have been working hard and I just have a hankering that I will be pretty tired tonight after returning from our men’s Bible study. But it has been a good day so far, and I hope it stays that way until its end. I am thankful for that, and I hope your day has been just as good as well.

God Bless you my friends!

Tom+

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A new day, a new era……………..

Today the world watched as Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. And though I did not vote for him, I do hope and pray for him, for his success is ultimately our success. And in these tumultuous times, we need success more than ever.

Ultimately we as a people, we as Americans, are much stronger by what bonds us together than the disagreements that keep us apart. I just hope in time we learn to define ourselves more by the label Americans than political affiliation, ideology, or race. It’s doable, and I pray that it happens and that a sense of civility can be restored to our society.

President Obama may not be the President I wanted, but he is now my President, and the one I will have for at least the next four years. He is not the first President I have not voted for, and Lord knows, he will not be the last. But our great nation is a free nation and a melting pot of voices. And on this day I give thanks to God for the opportunity to voice mine.

Congratulations to President Obama. May God Bless him as he serves this great country, and may God Bless all of us in these United States of America.

Fr. Tom+

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Calling the day………….early.

Sadly, my stress level is over the top this evening, and despite my best efforts (about an hour sitting here typing a variety of things) I think it would be best to just call it a day and hopefully try again tomorrow. Some days we are just not at our best, and today is certainly one of them for me. And the pushing forward, is doing nothing but producing things I am not happy with, and the mercury of my frustration thermometer up to the top.

Say a prayer for me and know that I am going to just head to bed. Tomorrow is another day, and like God offers us each day, a new chance to begin again. I will take it, because today is just not doable!

My apologies….goodnight and God Bless.

Tom+

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An icky and sad experience…….

I came into the CVS where my daughter works tonight to see if she wanted me to go pick her up dinner and she was visibly shaken. A woman came in who was angry about the Minute Clinic not being open for her young son to get his ear checked out absolutely unloaded on Stephanie, yelling at her in front of customers. To make it even more sad, the woman did this with her young son with her. What a wonderful example.

It saddens me that these types of incidents are more frequent these days…..they should not happen at all. People treat others with disrespect and this takes place all around us. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised though, seeing as that’s pretty much the examples we see on TV. The election itself was filled with a nastiness I cannot ever remember happening before, and there seems to be no end to what is acceptable.

I do hope this woman gets some help, both for her son’s ear, and for herself. Her anger will leave an indelible mark on my daughter, and it certainly wounded me. We all want the best for our kids, and even at 17 I want to be able to shelter her from the pain the world can inflict upon her. Sadly, she will continue to learn a lot of that on her own.

Please pray for Stephanie, for this woman, and particularly for her son. He is learning some pretty poor lessons.

But most of all pray for our society. It’s never too late to remember that we are all God’s children and with that should all treat each other with dignity and respect. I hope you take that to heart. We all can be better people.

Goodnight my friends, and God Bless.

Fr. Tom+

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Of living at and in the pseudo-airport……….

The industrial fans are running and their friends the industrial dehumidifiers are on as well. We are so used to these that they are like furniture. And though it sounds like we are working as a ground crew for an airplane that has its engines on, the good news is that this airplane is going to be taking off…..perhaps Monday morning. We were out looking for flooring this afternoon, and by Monday that should be done too…….leaving nothing but putting it all back together for us to live in (hopefully) blissful peace.

In truth, I am glad that all this is coming to an end. Our house has been out of commission too long. It is hard to have things piled up in different areas, and though the guys who work to put it all together are great guys, and I mean really great guys, it is hard having people in and out all the time. And with our busy schedules, adding all this in just makes things so hard. It will be nice to get back to our regular chaotic lives.

Anyway, nothing too deep today. It has been a busy but productive day. I am looking forward to tomorrow too. It is always such a privilege to be among such wonderful people. I hope you have had a great day!

God Bless!

Tom+