All posts by Fr Tom Tirman

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No picture, but you really wouldn’t want one……

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On days like today I wish I had a do-over button. From the very start it has not gone well.

First of all, I am still having problems with my eyes. It required another tip to the eye doctor, some more medicine, a really crappy “daily” routine, and the discussion that this condition tends to be chronic, rather than acute. It was not a real good way to start my day….but from there it all went downhill anyway.
Without sharing all the gory details, what I can say is that I am just hoping for a better day tomorrow. It is the week before Christmas, and always a busy one. I cannot say that I am all too pleased about how it is starting out, but God-willing, I will make it to the end of it. Just please say a prayer for me if you get a chance today!
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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Crusin……..

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Sure I roll the window down and let the dog hang his head out the window in temperatures under 20 when it is just he and I in the car….after all, I am a NORTHERNER. We took Ben to the sitter and then it just made sense. So I hope you enjoy the picture as much as he enjoyed the ride.

But things are different here where it snows, and to be very honest, as a native of a “lake effect” area where it REALLY DOES SNOW, this 2-3 inches of white stuff is really not snow. I consider it both a blessing and a privilege to come from the NORTH, and the really cool part is that when it snows just a few inches I can easily get around because it was like that in JUNE where I grew up.
In all honesty however, I love snow. Sure it is great when it is warm, but much of my childhood revolved around things like ice hockey, skating, and shoveling driveways for money. In truth, those were good times that I do indeed miss, and although I am too old to do most any of them but skate, I I thank God for the memories. They are are real blessing to me.
But for now it appears I am just going to have to live through my dog, but he appears willing to let me do so.
We are kindred spirits, he and I. And although I am sure the people who saw us thought he was nuts, I at least have the better excuse………I was just his driver.
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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Running behind…..

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Catching up is not for sissies. I would like to think that I would not be behind at all if it were not for the move (the biggest part of my problem of being behind), but generally things get pretty busy around this time of year anyway. Amanda reminded me that we still have Christmas shopping to do, which as a guy is still difficult to understand with 10 days still to go.

But I am working hard to catch up though. I hope to be able to make progress in the office tomorrow and then spend all of Friday making pastoral calls. I know however that the best intentions sometimes are sometimes thwarted, but that’s the current plan.
In these times however, all we can do is keep running the race. And that is just what I intend to do. It doesn’t help that it is dark all the time, but the cat has offered to tutor me about the nocturnal lifestyle. I am not too hopeful about that, but I do seem to need more time.
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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Stopping at the North Pole……

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Amanda and I met tonight after work, with Ben who I had just picked up, to get a few Christmas gifts at the mall. It was a pretty hectic trip getting there with the traffic and all, but well worth it, in that Ben was able to see Santa for real for the first time. (In prior years he was just not interested)

And, we just happened to be the first in line. Yep, about a 10 minute wait for Ben to go sit on his lap, take a $25,000 picture (not the one you see here that I took for free) and to tell Santa that he wanted a BIG Octopus Prime (because he had just seen one earlier when I was looking for a phone at Frys).
But what was cooler than all of it was to see him just walk up to Santa all by himself. Although he knew him from watching The Polar Express a million times, the PE is still just a cartoon. This was the old man in real life, but he seemed very matter of fact and walked right up to him! He did great, and we have some pictures to prove it.
Unfortunately, Steph and Scott were not there. We were shopping for them, and it just turned out that way. But they already have the pictures……so I suppose it was a pretty great day!
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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Riding on the Polar Excess…..

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With Stephanie home, Ben has been all about hanging with her. They have not just watch “The Polar Express” 500 times together, but today he managed to talk her into sledding in the front yard. Ben had never been sledding, and Stephanie had been out of practice in dealing with her brother, so this was going to be an adventure.

They both laughed their brains out going up and down the hill in our front yard and were both covered with snow. Steph rode with him on the sled quite a few times until he was comfortable, then she pushed him down own his own a few times too.
When I looked for the comfort (really safety) of our “parlor” (no ice cream) I saw them both taking a break at the bottom of the hill. Steph was sitting in the snow, and Ben was bending down to pick something up.
When I said that Steph was out of practice, what happened next proved it. He had picked up a bunch of snow and ran over and threw it on her head. Sure, her mistake was to to trust him, but his was to try and torment an in-shape college athlete when he was dressed in bulky Weeble-like clothing. She caught him quickly and returned the favor. They they laughed out there rolling around in the snow like a couple of polar bears…..one looking like a Weeble.
But as a dad, there is no greater pleasure than watching your kids knock the snot out of each other for fun and not for real. (The latter requires intervention, the prior makes for great blog fodder.)
So the sled is up, the college athlete is worn out and in bed just before 8:30, and the Weeble is looking for someone to watch……”The Polar Express.” It had been a cold day, but a good one. I am very thankful to have been a part…..especially from the inside.
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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Ominous Prime……

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One of the constant comedy shticks that come from living with a three year old is that they mispronounce just about everything complex. And Ben was doing fine with his cheap Walgreens’ Transformer “Bumble Bee,” because he could say that. But when he left it at St. Patrick’s today Amanda stopped at another Walgreens looking for a replacement (spending the $5 is a lot easier than driving back in the snow, and TONS easier than listening to the whining). Sadly, when she arrived they were fresh out of Bumble Bees, so she bought the same priced, but more complex, “Optimus Prime.”

Of course Ben says it wrong every time, though he is convinced he is right. It has been Ominous Prime, Octopus Prime, and Opadapdamus Prime among others. I will not push him about it either. I am just thankful there are no evil Decepticons!
Oddly enough, Ben has a few superhero action figures, but he is not allowed to see their shows…..he just knows they are good guys. In fact, I do not think there is a bad guy of any kind in his toy box. I cannot say the same for his attire though, because I do think he has a couple of Nittany Lion t-shirts.
But it is fun to be a part. I mean if you are 49 and gotta play with toys, the superheros are my favorite….even if my Transformer is really “Othropedic Not So Prime.”
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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In need of the Bishop…..

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My Bishop is not just a good friend, but somewhat of a kindred spirit in terms of that twisted personality/sense of humor. Last week for instance, we were in Akron, Ohio together where in between meetings he took pictures of me holding up some of the odd offerings (I felt guilty about using the word “tacky”) we found in the local Christian bookstore.

But today I came upon something I could hardly believe, and I would have called him right then and there, had I not been fascinated by the site. AND, I would have taken a picture of it had I not left my phone in the car with the dog. (He likes to think he may get a call.)
But there, right in front of me, a young Hispanic woman went up to the counter, gave her name, and the female postal worker went back in the back and then after a few minutes returned with a LIVE CHICKEN! It’s the truth, and I was amazed.
You may wonder about my stability, in that the first thing that came to mind was that I wished Doc (the Bishop) were there with me, because he would enjoy this. But that’s exactly what I thought. In fact, I figured no one I know would enjoy this as much as he would, with the exception perhaps of me.
Oh, but it gets worse…..the postal worker apologized because this chicken was actually a day late (apparently flying Delta). I am not totally sure of what was said in the conversation, but I did hear the word refund. I am sure however that it would not be a big refund. If you are flying via the postal service I am guessing it was not first class.
So I suppose tonight I will pray that the poor chicken’s life is a bit more settled and for the Bishop who will be so sorry he missed this.
I am just thankful I didn’t. It made my day.
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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Waffles, but no Wiggles…..

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Although Ben and I watch “The Wiggles” just about every morning (I LOVE THEM and particularly thing my ideal job would have been Captain Feathersword), our lunch date had nothing to do with them at all…..even though it was waffles. and how did we arrive at waffles? Well, the little snake turned down just about everything else.

So I made his waffles, and when he came down from upstairs, he was in the attire you see in the picture…..Thomas the Train pajamas and a Spiderman hat. Too cool for words I suppose.
But what gets me is what a hit this little fashion-disaster is with the ladies. Now of course I am married, but when I was a single guy I always tried to attract a bit of attention. The Thomas the Train PJ’s and Spiderman hat never crossed my mind. Oh, but to know what I do now! He seems to be a fashion savant.
And now he is in bed, in those same Thomas the Train PJ’s but sans the hat. Oddly enough, he is in MY BED where indeed my wife thinks he is adorable. I am just at a loss for words.
But tomorrow I am getting online. You can get anything on the Internet, and I am going to look for a hat and PJ’s. If you can’t beat them, join them. I will like the attention, and if the truth be told, I am pretty fond of waffles too.
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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No more lifting…….

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Unless someone drops off another piece of furniture here, I am happy to report that ALL our furniture is in place. It took a lot of doing, particularly with everyone gone today, but between meetings I managed to horse all the remaining pieces up the stairs and into place. Thank God!

AND…..tomorrow I will be working from my office at HOME, which is something I have yet to do, but something I am looking forward to. I am really behind with some work things because of the move, and it will be a real blessing to catch up, or at least make a dent in doing so!
There will be an additional blessing tomorrow as well, in that Stephanie is coming home for Christmas break. There will be a big surprise I will write about tomorrow night that she and I know about, but few others. It is going to be an awesome day.
Please keep Scotty in your prayers too. Tonight in the last indoor game of this session, he took a pretty fast shot off the helmet and into the side of his neck. He was pretty dazed by it, and is Motrined-up, and resting in his bed. He is a great goalie, but tonight he did not get a lot of help, which can be pretty dangerous. I am the high school WOMEN’S coach, and although I have an opinion that I will be happy (and sure) to share later with my counterpart for the men’s team, I am not able to intervene. It is a coaching thing, and I hope it can be corrected.
So for now I will enjoy these last few minutes of peace before I head to bed. Tomorrow I am declaring a “furniture-free” day…..and no one could be more blessed by that than me!
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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Handling depression……..

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People have different ways of handling their depression. Some cry, some sleep, others throw themselves into the world of comfort food. But what does one do when their Cowboy Grandpa leaves to return to Kansas? He gets a blanket, his Polar Express movie, and then shares his issues with his dog on the couch in their “office.” And fortunately the dog is a good listener, if you can get by the fact that he always falls asleep when you are talking, because Ben seemed fine by the end of the day. It appears it was all acute. But with toddlers just about everything is. And with Ben, cute is a part of just about every word we use to describe him.

But I suppose you never know how anyone will take things. Amanda was so happy to see her dad. Her dad and I were happy to know she was not going to have us carry any more furniture, and Ben and Scott just had a good time. It seems that is all turned out well in the end.
And for that, on this day, I am thankful.
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+