Yeah, I know they have passed away and are as we say “working from the home office,” but it didn’t stop me from taking a short detour through that part of Evansville and eat an early dinner after putting some flowers on both their graves.  I really wished I had more time than just a “drive-by,” but on this trip unfortunately I did not.  I left after my short dinner for home and unloaded my car, and I put in a load of laundry that I need for tomorrow…..and tomorrow begins with Father Robert and I leaving for Ohio at 6am!

But the short personal stop was an important one.  I miss them both, yet I also remember both their struggles at the end of their lives.  My sister faced hers bravely and was amazing, my mom’s ability to do that was taken away by Alzheimer’s and not knowing, I believe at least for her, was a gift.

So my trip was productive and I was able to meet some amazing people, and that was a deep blessing to me!  Tomorrow really continues that trip, although we will be back around dinnertime.  The big blessing however tonight is my own bed…..that I will get into just as soon as I put everything in the dryer.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

For those of you who are regular readers, you may remember how I became frustrated with flying and decided to drive instead.   That, for the most part, has worked out well….that is until THIS trip.  I was intending to get to my hotel in Illinois tonight about 7 but was nowhere near that mark!  The highlight of my drive was this picture in Alabama just before Tennessee….that’s right $2.99 a gallon.  It is STILL way too expensive, but cheaper than anything I had seen.  Unfortunately I had filled up a few miles earlier and therefore lost about $.10 a gallon….a dollar in my car.

But in all honesty, I still like the driving,  I like seeing the countryside, and I like meeting people in different places…because for as much as the news would have you think we are all going to hell, the world is full of some pretty nice people…..and I have met a ton of them on my trip.

But sadly, I do not have the energy to tell you about them tonight.  These past few days have had very few breaks, and I am feeling it.  I am in the hotel, in bed, and even if there was a fire, at this point, I might consider if I were motivated enough to wake up and leave.  My meetings are late tomorrow by design, and had I scheduled them for tonight I would have had to cancel.  I am thankful tonight for my skepticism about traffic!

So it is off to bed I go!  I have driven 1000 miles in just a few days and I am exhausted…..at least my bed just welcomes me to go to sleep!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Although I travel quite a bit, one of the blessings of such a life is the gift of being able to meet some very remarkable people.  And today the blessings of my travels come here at Christ Church Anglican in Montgomery, Alabama.

I am at a Provincial gathering of the Anglican 4th Day (A4D).  A4D is a renewal movement within the Anglican Church and has many similar cousins in other denominations such as Cursillo, Walk to Emmaus, The Great Banquet, and Paseo among others.  I am on the Provincial Board (our Province is North America) and the people are so very inspirational.  If you read this blog regularly you know that I  “get around” (in a travel kind of way…after all, I am a priest) but this was my first venture into this area of the country for work.

I have to confess I have been completely overwhelmed by the hospitality I have experienced here as well as in the teachings and wisdom shared by the clergy and people I am with here.  I feel very blessed by it, especially since I have made new friends that I will be able to continue to learn from and be blessed by in the future.  I think it is highly unlikely that I will travel down here all the time for the delicious meals, but it is very tempting for sure!

But my point is, that every once in awhile, it is nice to receive.  And here in Alabama, that is exactly what I have been able to do!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

When I took this picture last night I had no idea how prophetic it would be.  All I saw was all the wine bottles and the dog seemingly passed out next to the table.  He looked whooped.

Tonight I feel the same way.  I really did well on my drive and it was just shy of 10 hours.  But I had very little sleep, I spilled a coffee all over my desk right before I left which delayed me, and then just about 30 minutes out from my hotel and meeting I received word that our air conditioner on our old house needed to be replaced and immediately.

Regular readers may remember that we were not able to sell our home when we moved and had to rent it out.  It has not been without problems, but having a company manage it for us until the housing market recovers and we can sell it makes things a bit easier.  That is up until today.

You see, the price is just shy of $6000, and we do not have $6000.  Of course this would be less stressful if it were not 150 degrees outside AND if I were not out of town with responsibilities.  It is a mess for sure, but I have a call into the management company to see if the furnace people from our new house can come out and give a bid tomorrow.  Either way, we will have a furnace/air conditioner installed by Saturday.

But as I look at the picture I’d just like to think it was me…..tasting some good wine and just taking a well-deserved nap.  I have yet to sleep, but plan to take care of that right now.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

I am a bit worried……It is 10:45 and I am still awake, yet I am scheduled to get up in less than 6 hours for a trip (a drive) to Montgomery, Alabama.  I have a meeting tomorrow at 6:00 pm there, and I am not packed or asleep.  It is going to be a difficult day tomorrow for sure.

And to make matters worse, Scotty came home and he is sick.  I therefore have moved Ben out of there since they are “bunking” together while their grandma is here.  Ben is still jacked up, and Scott is sick and exhausted.  I just have to drive, and if my day gets messed up and I miss that meeting, well then, I suppose I would have chosen the good portion.  Parents take care for their kids, and that’s even when they are adults.  I hope Scott can get some good sleep.  He’s a mess.

But Ben has already tried to rouse his mom, but to no avail.  I have told him to give up, and although he seemed hellbent on having a conversation with SOMEONE, he has run out of options.  The nice part is that when I get up to leave I will see him right here without the chance of waking him up.  In a way, it is nice…..it could only be better if Scott were not having such a hard time.

So for now I will end this post with the hopes of sleep.  I am exhausted, but my mind is racing about the trip.  I pray that sleep will win…..and of course that I set the timer on my coffeemaker correctly.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yes, today I celebrated my 51st birthday.  My wife and daughter were in Kansas, although I expect them back at anytime to celebrate here with my mother-in-law, but this morning I was feeling a bit puny…

You see, only Ben and Scotty were here.  Ben slept in my bed “to keep his mom’s spot warm” and Scotty came down on the way to USMC physical training (PT), he walked right by me.  He was ZONED.  He called me later to wish me a Happy Birthday not ever remembering he talked to me!  So it was up to Ben!

To his credit, he sang to me on the way to Muncie, where we had lunch with my Uncle Phil.  My Uncle Phil seemed a bit surprised that I was up there having lunch with him on my birthday, but it meant a LOT to me.  In all honesty, life often seems as if it is slipping away to me.  I was at his wedding my Aunt Suzie when I was 10!!!  Family is the sure foundation of a stable life…..and I am blessed to have a good one!  It was a high honor for me today!!

And it meant even more as this was the first birthday I had without my mom or my grandma.  Sure, my mom sometimes didn’t even know what day it was, but at least I could be there to see her.  And today was the first birthday I have ever remembered not talking to my grandma…but today was because I couldn’t.

Another blessing was that Ben took this picture himself and of himself, so I decided to use it.  And I have crossed photographer off of the lest of potential careers for him I would recommend.  He will think it is pretty cool though.

So today I rejoice that I am on this earth yet another year, and that I am blessed with a wonderful family.  It has been a great day so far!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Today I, and my assistant Ben Tirman, picked up Father Robert and went to an all day meeting in Nashville that is a preliminary requirement for people entering the Novitiate of our Order. It was a great meeting, and Ben was pretty good in terms of behaving.  He spent most of his time in the playroom/nursery keeping himself busy with Avenger things……

The day ended late, but it was indeed good to get home.  I was able to water all our newly planted trees, which was nice, but as I came out to the front yard I discovered that we had lost huge parts of two other trees in out front yard.

Now although this happens often on a property that had 29 full grown trees before I planted the 5 new ones, but it did cause some problems.  First of all, I cut up and burn those branches normally.  I use my chain saw, and then I haul them to a burn pile.  BUT, our garden is now planted where our burn pile is.  We just don’t have this problem when the garden is in, but now we do.  I am hoping for a solution to make itself known.

Of course this is partially why we had the truck, because I could haul things to a burn pile off the property then.  But I am now without a truck, and without a burn pile…..but I do have a TREE and it is a massive job.

The other problem is that tomorrow is my birthday, and I had just a couple of easy and enjoyable things scheduled.  I however should not whine, as I DO HAVE HELP.  Ben is still with me alone tomorrow. Scotty has USMC fitness in the morning and work in the afternoon and evening.  My wife, daughter, and mother-in-law will be home in the evening and will not be in any shape at that point to help.

And of sure, I could call a tree company and have it cut and chipped and hauled…..but for as often as it happens I would not just need them on speed dial, but I would need a lot more cash!  The solution may be a new burn area, and I will chat with Amanda tonight about it when she calls.  And since I am leaving for a trip in just a few days, she will need to help me come up with a quick fix the three of them will just have to break out the old chain saw themselves…..it is a mess.

But for now who cares??  I certainly do not!  The picture is of Ben watching an Avengers cartoon during our meeting and in all honesty I am now in the same position in my bed without the cartoon.  I am glad to be home and in a couple of hours glad to complete yet another year.  It has been a hard one. I will be glad to put it in the books!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yep, today is Father’s Day and the kids made me this really cool board with a bunch of candy on it (because they know they can eat it), took me out to an awesome lunch (with Amanda and Scotty’s girlfriend Molly too!), and gave me this great picture that I have included with my blog tonight!  It was a great time….my only regret was that it ended far too soon.

In fact, we all drove separately to lunch.  Scotty had to pick up Molly, and Amanda and Steph were leaving from there for Kansas to help “Nanny” (Amanda’s mom) as Ben calls her to move.  They will all be back here in Indiana on Tuesday (my birthday), but my mother-in-law is just staying for a few weeks to visit.  It will be fun though and Ben is very excited about it as you can imagine.

But Ben and I came home for a quick nap, and we planted another tree…..this time a red maple.  We then came inside to get out of the heat……and apparently play superhero games.

But it is the life of being a dad, and I love it.  It was a great Father’s Day!  I have great kids and they did a wonderful job to make it special!!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Today my son Scott turned 19, and it has been a great day.  It seems as if it were only yesterday that he was just a little guy, but today he is signed and ready to hear to US Marine Corps boot camp as soon as they call……he is currently scheduled to leave December 10th.  I am doubtful it will be that long.

But today I got to watch both he and his sister play in their respective alumni lacrosse games, and that was a blessing.  Their little brother is a total sports klutz at this point, yet I remember them both there.  Today they are both fine tuned athletes and amazing human beings.  And, they are great friends.

Ironically, 19 years ago today Stephanie wouldn’t even look at him, as he was clearly muscling in on her territory.  We have come a long way.  Scott is a wonderful young man, I love him, and I am proud to call him my son.

Happy Birthday Scotty!!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Although most people under 40 I suppose may not know what this is, it is in fact a caboose, or the car at the end of every train that was eliminated for a blinking light and less crew on each train.  I saw this today in Anderson (home of famous Indiana Chief Anderson, which means “land of trains”).  As a side note, John Dillinger never robbed a bank here because there were so many trains, but had he done so, I am sure his last vision before death would have been this……a caboose.

But needless to say, I was quite surprised to see it, and it was being PUSHED, much to my dismay, by two engines.  But sadly, it connected my mind to my post from yesterday about the fruit trees.

You see, this morning I was able to speak with our good friends the Woodruffs, who we bought our house from.  Lucetta was excited to hear that we planted fruit trees and mentioned that they at one time even had an apple tree here they had to cut down.  But then she mentioned the “cherry tree” out front that she used to make pies from.  We had never seen anything on it, and quite honestly thought it was a crab apple tree.  And an arborist husband of one of my wife’s co-workers had come out a few weeks ago and shared that this very tree was diseased and going to die.  No wonder it had not bore any fruit!  And I had also already bought its replacement, thinking it was a crab apple tree and not knowing it was on its last limb.

So I went out and re-inspected it this morning…..no fruit, and yes, I could see the disease.  I therefore, like George Washington, will be chopping down a cherry tree.  It will be its caboose.  But now its replacement will be heading to another spot tomorrow and I will find another cherry tree.  Pears, plums, peaches, apples, and cherries…..my end it going to be fantastic!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+