A Slower Pace

I have been slacking lately blogging. And I have some good posts in my head but have been sidetracked for one reason or another. And I have a quick trip tomorrow and am gonna try to hit NYC in the evening. I have never been and hope to see my 2nd favorite lady (the Statue of Liberty….. get your mind out of the gutter) as well as Ground Zero. It all depends if I can get what I need to get done in NJ and make it over to NYC.

But in the meantime, across the country in the other corner this weekend, my sister sang one of my favorite songs, our National Anthem, at a local fly in. She rocked it and the timing is perfect at the end — the roar of the F-18 flying over drowned out her last note just like it should be. The people at NASCAR should take note. And Christina Aguilara….. the one who slaughtered our Anthem at the Superbowl….. take note as well.

Sis, I am so proud of you!!!!!

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

Thank God the scorching hot weather finally broke. A storm came through on Tuesday evening that was pretty spectacular to watch. The wind gusted up to 50-60mph and the wispy clouds would no sooner appear and then disappear on the opposite horizon. At 4:30pm the parking lot lights at work came on because it was so dark. And torrents of rain came down and took the day from 98F degrees to 74F degrees in a couple of hours. So now we just have “normal” summer weather instead of unbearable equatorial humid heat.

Today was actually very nice. This evening I sat out on the back patio with all my ladies — the wife and daughters until I finally figured out we were wasting some of the evening away. So my wife and I took our normal 2 mile walk down our back country road. It was nice because it wasn’t too hot or too cold — a perfect evening for a walk with my wife. And my son tagged along.

When we returned home, we could see the girls sitting on the hammock in the front yard talking, which, as a parent, is so nice to see. With R going away to college in September, it is good that they are enjoying each other now before things change.

My wife yelled up to them “Who wants to go to Graeter’s?!?!?!?”

They almost dumped each other over on the hammock trying to get out while yelling “We DOOOO!!!!”.

So soon enough we were all in my wife’s truck with the windows down cruising along our back country road to get some ice cream. The air was comfortable, the kids behaved, the sun was setting, the full moon was peeking over the trees, and all was right in the world.

I had a double scoop of chocolate coconut almond fudge on a waffle cone. Yum!

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

While Slappy McSploder and I were arranging, sequencing and fusing fireworks in the garage this weekend in preparation for Thunder Over Finchville, we had the mancave TV on to Speed Channel and ESPN. One spot that caught my attention was a feature that ESPN did on ultimate fighter Rad Martinez. Now, I am not an ultimate fighting fan, but in watching this piece, I developed a deep respect for this young man and his commitment to something other than himself. I highly encourage you to watch the video clip below.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

I have the next two days off so I can go camping with my son and the Scouts. With last night’s wild storms passed (there were confirmed tornado touchdowns in metro Louisville), the weather appears to be cooperating with little chance of rain through the weekend and temps in the 80’s. And while this is different than the outback camping I did back in CA — the difference being that this is an established campsite and has “amenities” — it has lots of activities for the boys and should provide an adequate amount of relaxing time for me. And I get home Sunday in time for the race. And because it is my son’s b-day on Saturday, we will celebrate with the Scouts as well as with the family when we return.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

First off, a very Happy Father’s Day to my Dad who is one of my regular readers. If any of y’all notice, I use a capital “D” for Dad when I speak about him instead of “dad” when I refer to other generic dads. He earned this capitalization and respect and it is a very small way I can show that.

I also wanted to quote myself from a blog post from almost 5 years ago. I was giving thanks to those who helped me during the Hurricane Katrina Mission Trip and he was a key contributor to my success on that trip.

A huge thank you to my Dad who taught me the skills I used heavily while down there. Who woulda thought many years ago that at age seven, hauling brick in the Texas heat would give me the work ethic to work through the Mississippi heat and humidity. And from there every skill — carpentry, masonry, tiling, flooring, mechanical, problem solving to name a few — has been used extensively. I thank my Dad for sharing these skills with me throughout my life so I could leverage them for a positive impact last week.

And, as you can see, his contribution was decades earlier. And it went beyond the mere trade skills that I employed. It also included values like persistence, sacrifice, charity, and community. That is our investment in our kids; our children; our next generation. That pouring into our children of ourselves doesn’t happen haphazardly or spontaneously or at the last minute or come to think of it. It is deliberate, consistent, loving guidance that is there day in and day out, on good days and on bad days, when the sun is shining and when the clouds are dark. That is the only way to establish character into our offspring.

So on this 2011 Father’s Day, I want to say a special thank you and recognize all the men out there who make the tough decisions for the family. Men who are the spiritual leaders of their household. Men who love their wives solely and whole-ly in sickness and in health. Men who fight the good fight. Fathers who fail in parenting but who also get back up, shake the dust off and get back on the horse. Men who can change the oil at one moment and swing on a swing with the kids the next. Who can build a fence or a house in the morning and build a relationship with a loved one in the afternoon. Who can fix a lawnmower or a broken toy and also fix a hurting heart. A man who can “man up” to a mistake as quickly as a challenge.

Luckily, I have many examples of these within my own circle — at work, at church, in the neighborhood, in my family, and in my social network. We need more of them because they are not widely publicized. They usually aren’t in the paper, they don’t end up on the evening news, they aren’t on a reality TV show, the media doesn’t highlight them, and they probably don’t run for office. They are behind the scenes giants that quietly focus on God, family and community while living their day to day lives. These are the real men, dads, and husbands that this holiday is celebrating.

And while we are at it, we should all be praising our Father in heaven. He is the reason we are all here, whether you want to believe or admit that or not. He is the perfect, loving Father we should all be modeling.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

Because Father’s Day is creeping up on us, my kids have been asking me what I want for Father’s Day. My answer is that I don’t want them to spend any money. They can make me something or do something for me but I wanted to focus on their heart and giving, not consumerism and money.

So the scene above is what I saw as I left for work today. My son set up an impromptu workshop on the back of the trailer. He brought over an umbrella from the pool, put on his hat, grabbed some tools, and is making me my Father’s Day present. I am glad to see him take the initiative, be creative, and work for something. I don’t know what it is but I can’t wait and I know it will be cool!

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

Today is my wife’s 29th birthday…..again! She gets better and prettier every year. So I took the day off work so we could enjoy it together.

Happy birthday, my love!!!!!

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

Today was quite challenging at work. My boss is in Europe and there was quite a big issue that came up that went up the food chain. I ended up in a meeting with my boss’s boss’s boss working on an issue that had significant ramifications. Luckily, everyone focused on the facts at hand, gaps and risks, and possible solutions. There were no witch hunts or people thrown under the bus — quite a bit different than previous environments I’ve been exposed to.

But the day was challenging none-the-less. Multiple emergency meetings, efforts to keep everyone informed, documentation, and more communication. So when my last meeting ended at 8pm (luckily I called in from home — remember, Life-Work balance) I was ready to spend time with the family and decompress.

So pool time and splashing were the cure. I played in the pool for about an hour with K and D. And then spontaneously, I asked if anyone wanted to do a “field trip” to our favorite ice cream stop — Graeter’s Ice Cream.

Almost any day — hard, difficult, challenging, bad or just downright suckie — can be turned around with a little swimming and some ice cream.

And to top it off, I paused while swimming to watch a lone heron flap his wings slowly into the sunset. It was a scene of beauty that allowed me to just slow down and smell the roses. This evening, “a slower pace” really meant it.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

I am post dating this post so it appears on the date my son and I went fishing.

To kickoff the Memorial Day weekend, I wanted to emphasize family time. We had a shindig planned with people coming over on Sunday and definite pool plans on Monday. But to kick it off with good emphasis, I woke my son up early Saturday morning so we could go fishing. We hadn’t been in a while and he had been asking. So we beat the sun up and packed up the poles and tackle, bought some live bait, and headed to a spot where a friend had some luck earlier in the month.

We arrived at Miles Park only to find the “old men chasing a little while ball club” (also known as the SPGA) had absconded with the park for the weekend. With the Senior PGA at Valhalla, Miles Park was rented for the parking and they weren’t allowing fishing. Lame and a total bust! (Another reason I don’t like golf.)

So plan B kicked in and D and I headed down the street to Long Run Park. It is a very scenic area with a large-ish pond (or small lake). A few fellow fisherman beat us there, but none had taken our favorite spot in an inlet with some downed trees. It must be a good spot though because as we pulled up we scared off a blue heron who was fishing the same spot.

Soon enough worms were on hooks and lines were in the water. The air was a bit chilly for just a t-shirt but perfect in an hour or two. The mist slowly rose from the lake and we could hear the occasional splash of a fish jumping for breakfast.

D caught the first fish — a smaller but nice bass (I think). It put up a pretty good fight and D was thrilled. I am proud of him because his dad is not a fisherman by any stretch of the imagination. I actually hate fishing and would be much more successful if they allowed firearms. It burns me that I can see my fish but can never coax them into anything more than just stealing my bait. So for my son to actually do well fishing is nice to see because he didn’t learn it from me — other than maybe how to worm a hook and how to cast. I am just one of those who pays my yearly donation to the Kentucky Fish and Game Dept (more commonly known as a fishing license to normal people).

However, as I was thinking about that quote for this post and smiling at my son’s luck and the scenery around me, my line drops down and I get a tug on my pole. Could it be that my “donation” this year might actually provide a dividend in the form of a captured fish? Sure enough, there was something on my line and it wanted to get away. Now in the past, my luck has always been to hook the spirited, energetic fish that provide quite a fight only to be removed from the water to reveal a tiny pipsqueek fish. This appeared to be another one of those times. So while I enjoyed the tugs and fight during the reel in process, I did not have my hopes up. I was genuinely surprised when I pulled out the largest fish I have ever caught — which isn’t saying much. I don’t know how long he was or how much he weighed but the catfish was quite a beauty. I did get a picture of it though thanks to the wonders of today’s technology and my cell phone camera.

Even a bad fisherman gets lucky every once in a while.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

I am still working in Oregon and going through the hundreds of work emails before I get on a plane tomorrow morning to go home. I am using this down time in the efforts to get my email inbox down to a managable size before next week.

While going through all my email, I came across on of the more enjoyable emails that hit my inbox from Max Lucado. It was about priorities, family and overtime. A quote that ended the inspirational email really hit me — so much that I stopped my work and decided to blog about it right here, right now.

“When it comes to kids and family, it is a lot easier to make money than to make up lost time.”

So true!

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net