A few months ago, my doctor gave me some news that I really was not expecting…….he felt my stroke had damaged an area of my brain connected to my metabolism as we have tried about every option short of cutting off my legs to get this weight off…..nothing was really doing it.  It was both comforting and discouraging at the same time.  It was comforting in the sense that I had an answer that made some sense, and discouraging in the sense that I really would have liked an easier answer.

So, with that news, I was very to look at viable options for me short of pre-planning my nursing home care and funeral in anticipation for an early demise.  I am 70 pounds over my pre-stroke regular weight, and you just cannot make that work for decades.  Ideally, stimulants would be the best option, yet they are not an option for someone with a stroke in their history.  So needless to say, it has been a real physical and emotional beating trying to figure this out.

Ironically, that also seems to be the answer too.  If I am to recover fully I need a beating, and I am pleased to say that I have found such a beating at Indy Boot Camps.

Yes, although I am just one week in and quite often the first to die in these sessions, I am at it, it is working, and I am sore.  But more than that, it is jarring my memory to times of busting my tail like this for sports and enjoying the results.  I am in for a month, but if this works like I am seeing and feeling, it may need to be with for a long time.  As a young man, I remember wanting to be a “monster” and working towards that.  Now I am still a monster but just in personality!!  I want to get back and stay back!

So keep me in your prayers!  I would if I could…..but I can no longer put my hands together….I am so sore!!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

I have considered using this picture many times.  It is Ben, and he is pretty little, which is not the case any longer.  He will be heading to KINDERGARTEN this week!! And a lot of that preparation has made us long for, and remember him as this little guy.

Kids however, grow, and he has been no exception. He still has the giraffe, which was a gift from his brother and sister before he was born.  He keeps it in his room though, as most superheroes are not in need of stuffed giraffes too often.

He still of course is 5, and when he is not fighting crime we do see bursts of age appropriate behavior…. particularly at bedtime.  He will start with not wanting to sleep alone, to he is afraid of the dark, to he hears stuff, to the scary pumpkin (it is packed away in a box in the basement…a Halloween toy) scares him, to he is worried about us, to (generally and finally) he has leg cramps.  And nightly he just goes through the list hoping that something works or that he wears someone out.

Tonight however, I went to check on him as he hasn’t been in our room in quite some time, and I ran into Scott coming out of Ben’s room where he went in to say goodnight.  I asked him if he was asleep and he said no, and that Steph was in there.  Ben is a snake.  Steph was in there with him because Ben went to HER room and said he was scared….and he sucked her right into his sneaky world.   He is a pro for sure.

But the picture is of him when he was a newborn…cute and sweet.

Who would have thought that such a cute little baby would have everyone hopping some 5 years later to meet all his made up fearful needs?

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Well, I spent the day in Muncie at St. George’s training one of our Deacons, Kim Akers, about the Eucharist…..in all honesty, I think he gets it!  But if there is ONE THING I HAVE LEARNED, it’s that Open Houses are not very effective.  This Open House had ZERO attenders.

But in a ministry that has always been and remains ever-fluid, I am not really concerned.  In Greenfield as we planted we held “Informational Meetings” and offered “dessert and coffee,” and they WERE well-attended.  We just do things differently each time to see what happens and what we like.  BUT, the bottom line is this….we already have a CHURCH AND CAMPUS MINISTRY IN MUNCIE, and it will open whether people are there or not!!!

But the hard part, and the most DEFEATING PART of all was COOKIES!!!!  (AND LOTS OF THEM)……yes, despite not announcing desserts, we had them and half went home with me.  Now this would not normally be a problem, but I AM ON A DIET AND WANT THEM BADLY!!!!  But I am not complaining.  They are all still in my house and if I cannot take it, I will indeed gain 6000 pounds….but I believe I am going to be fine.  and that’s because I really do want to be thin.

So I will just set my sights on tomorrow and see what it will bring.  My hope is ANYTHING BUT COOKIES.  But in truth, I am on a diet, and I tend to be diluted!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

One of the coolest parts about tonight’s blog is that the picture is a graphic for a beverage company!  I love it, and just possibly will visit!!  Too cool for sure!!

BUT…….I do sincerely hope that my last Saturday with all my family here is better than my last Friday.  Scotty has been gone all day.  Amanda worked late.  And as I was mowing, Steph, Amanda and Ben (who had turned down a dinner invitation from me) all went to the Target (or Tar-gggjjay as my mom would say) without me.

Oh, not that I do not think that mowing is more fun with possibly the last few days I have EVERYBODY around and can do things.  Steph will head back to school, and then Scotty’s ship date is now November 5th.  Getting everybody together is going to be hard form now on and dang it, I WAS HUNGRY TOO!  I re-heated some soup I had made on Monday, and it was good, but I really am a bit focused upon my family suddenly scattering.

Sure, my lawn looks good, and I look good (mostly in my diluted mind) but this next week to me does not look good, because I always hate it!!!  I will say that I have been blessed this year to have Steph come home and everyone together, but she is a JUNIOR now and the clock is ticking.  I just need to focus upon enjoying this time that I supposedly DO HAVE IF IT WERE NOT FOR TARGET.

No, I am not bitter, really. My family just chose to shop there over dinner with me.  So tomorrow I will ask again……..but this time in a red polo and tan pants.  It just has to work!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

As a pretty serious fellow, I often find myself pondering the deep questions in life……..”Why am I here?”  “What’s my purpose in life?”  “Is this all there is to my life?”

But today I was out with Steph and Ben, who were fresh back from their trip to the Indiana State Fair (voted by Indiana residents as the “Best State Fair in Indiana” the last 23 years straight).  We were getting Steph’s oil changed (in her car) and had some time to kill, so we stopped at a couple of stores.

So imagine my surprise as I came upon a car, or what I believed to BE a car, being held together (no doubt) by a bumper sticker asking one of the most alluring questions in life.  Here it is below…….

In all honesty, I never really pondered it before.  Sure, I have heard and seen the “used to be popular” “What Would Jesus Do?” But as soon as people began attacking Christians (sans lions this time) that gave way to the recently popular “What Would Tim Tebow Do?”

In truth, people never really agreed on what Jesus would do, and I do honestly believe that Tim Tebow would probably just ask Jesus.  But in terms of something of which people would not and could not argue about, this one was clearly a winner.

And as we toured the Kohls, looking at stuff we could not afford to buy, Ben and I came upon this hat (which incidentally, we did not buy).  I took it as a sign that I ought to blog about this tonight.  I am sure Scooby would.  And I made sure it was okay…….as I called Tebow and asked him as well!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Well, I THOUGHT I might have some pictures to post today of Stephanie and Ben’s excursion to the State Fair (ALWAYS capitalized in Indiana!!) but apparently I was not send a one.  So tonight’s picture is of Ben and Steph on vacation eating a smore together at a campfire.  (yes, she is wearing Ben’s Spiderman hat)  It is now also Steph’s profile picture on Facebook.

Steph has just about a week and a half here before she heads back to school.  But over the this break, she has been not just Ben’s big sister, but also “her brother’s keeper.”  Yep, it has been her summer job to take care of Ben.

And, it has been something they have both truly enjoyed.  All the kids are pretty tight, but each has a special relationship with the other.  Ben was devastated when Steph left for school last year, and this year we anticipate it being worse.  (And Steph gets pretty broken up about her littlest brother as well).

So today Ben and Steph (and Kara and Molly) took on the State Fair (it will even be capitalized when it is not going on…..this is Indiana!)  Ben said he saw a lot of animals and had a lot of fun.  But Steph’s junior year is looming as well as kindergarten for Ben.  Just a few more days left.

But in Indiana, there is no better way to enjoy them than hanging out at the State Fair…….

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

I must confess, I have NO INTENTION of offending anyone, but I have had an extremely bad, or as they say “challenging” day.  I will not put you to sleep with all the details, but I will say that the “low-light” of my day is when I rubbed my eye and the stint I had put in in March CAME OUT!

Oh this would not be a problem had I known a way to get it back in place.  I did try, but at some point (see the picture) I decided that I could NOT get it back in, but I might be able to get it ALL OUT.  So I did what any other capable and smart guy would do…..I PULLED.

In retrospect, that was not such a good idea, since as my FACE seemed to follow the tugs, I discovered that the stint was LOOPED.  But since in a conversation with my doctor two months ago I discovered if it was not working it would be removed, I weighed my options.  1) I have two weeks left to the 3 month mark where it might be removed.  2) I had an appointment in two hours.  3) A trip to the ER to fix this or cut it out would be pricey, OR 4) I could cut it and pull it out for free and make my appointment and NO HARM NO FOUL.

So I chose option 4.  I cut it, pulled it out, called my doc (who will call me tomorrow) and ended the whole affair.  My eye, in time, will heal from me tugging on that stupid stint, and hopefully it will drain.  My doc will call me tomorrow and probably give me the prednisone drops he would have in two more weeks to keep the hole open…..we will see.

But as for now, I am “stint-less” and still a bit amazed. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Tonight’s picture is one that returned with the crew from Kansas.  Yes, it is probably staged……I am sure they were miserable without me…..at least that is what they told me. But I suspect that they just may be patronizing me.  I will pretend however that I was constantly in their thoughts.

That is hard to do though, particularly considering that I was told that Ben woke up crying this morning knowing he was going to have to leave his grandparents and come home.  I seriously doubt that this was for show, yet I must confess I have not ever seen it before…..particularly as it relates to me.  Me: “Daddy is going on a trip.”  Ben: “Okay Daddy, bring me something.”  Me: “Okay”

I did however have some fun upon his arrival.  I asked him where he had been.  He said in Kansas visiting Nanny and Grandpa, and I said “Well that explains it…..we have been looking for you for days.”  He was absolutely fascinated that I didn’t know, and that was despite talking to him on the phone a few times too.  As you can tell he is “center of the target” focused on me.  It is good to have him back.

Well at least it is good to have him back part of the time.  He brought back all his multiple superhero and evil villain personalities too. Quite a few of them made appearances in the couple of hours before bed.

So things are well on their way back to normal.  And for it, I am quite thankful.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Tonight I was hoping to get over to my dad’s to a celebration for my brother Mike, who leaves for law school in just a few days in Minnesota.  That’s right, he too will enter into a profession like mine that was once considered noble before all the dirt balls ruined it for all of us.  Unlike me, however, Mike will probably improve the reputation of lawyers!! (As some of my cousins have over the years as well.)

He follows our grandfather, my dad’s dad, who died before Mike was born, but who was an attorney.  I have no memory of him, but I do have a picture of me sitting on his lap as a baby.  Rumor has it that I peed in my diaper and he threatened to take me to court.  Yes, I just made that up, but I do understand that much of the twisted Tirman sense of humor you see in my blog, and in my children, and in most of those who bear his DNA can really be traced to him.  It was a shame he died so young.  I imagine I would be much further along had I grown up with him.

But regardless of all the warning signs, Mike will become an attorney, and I am certain a good one too. I will catch him before he goes and my family will too.  Time are a-changing as they say.  I am just glad that I am keeping up.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Communication, I hear at least, is essential in a marriage.  And that is why tonight I must confess that this is on my mind as I asked my wife what time she would be home from Kansas tomorrow.  Her answer?  “We are coming home Monday, remember?”  Oh yeah, sure I do, because as a husband, and like all husbands, I am committed to the theory, excuse me I mean concept, of listening.

But as a person who serves in a vocation where listening is so very important, this intrigued me.  For instance, how is it that I hear every bit of detail in my clergy meeting this morning, but miss something like this?  And more importantly…..1) does she know this, 2) is she irritated by this, and 3) how can I blame this on my stroke or old age?

But tonight I had an unlikely ally, and that was my son Ben.  Amanda and everyone was out at the lodge where they had all been staying together, but Ben went home with his Nanny to spend the night saying, “Don’t worry mommy, I will be back in the morning.”  A true natural distraction and gift!!

But she was a bit wounded by it and I understand why.  Ben is TOTALLY dedicated to her, and only has interest in the rest of us when he needs a new nemesis, or like the older kids needs money.  He chooses NOT ME ALL THE TIME……but this was a first for her.  What she failed to see however in the woman who raised her was the “grandma factor,” which children almost always gravitate to in time.

But as for me, I will rejoice, not in the distraction from my mistakes and shortcomings in listening, but in the reality.

That’s right…….Scotty and I now have 24 extra hours to clean the house, and of course wash Amanda’s blanket.  Viper misses her and pulled it off our bed to sleep on!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+