Boy I wish things were different, but Mr. Ben has been sick all day.  He and Amanda had intended to go with me to St. Matthew’s in Nashville tomorrow, but about 30 minutes ago we made the decision to scrap those plans.  He is just too unsettled right now, and once I leave for Nashville there is little time to stop or take detours…..it is 100 miles from here.

So Ben and Amanda will be staying home, and hopefully Ben can pull it together before school on Monday.  He has really not been himself, and it is hard to not be able to make him feel better.  He is now back in our bed with his mom, and he is watching “Monsters Inc,” which I believe is a documentary about those guys who changed the formula for Coke a few years back, but I may be wrong…..Ben is a big milk drinker.  I cannot imagine that capturing his interest.

But I have put my last thoughts into my sermon, and I will hopefully bring it all into some sense of coherency on my drive to Nashville in the morning.  I very rarely write things out anymore, as post-stroke, I have trouble focusing and delivering when I am looking up and down.  But we record them now and post them online (this will be our second week) so you can hear it and tell me then that you are feeling ill too!

So I will now head to find a TV and see the Tebow/Brady showdown (at least for as long as I can stay up.)  But I am rooting for the kid!  He is a great quarterback and a pretty dang decent human being.  And I will write more about all of that tomorrow.  But what I can say now as a preview is that I have been a bit shocked as to what people are saying and thinking about him…….as I am one of those Christians myself.  I just had higher hopes.  Check in tomorrow and I will write more.

Keep Ben in your prayers!  And pray for me tomorrow!  Lord knows what I will be saying…….and yes, I suppose that is a literal statement, though it was not intended to be.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

I should have known something was wrong.  Yesterday Ben said he didn’t want a candy bar, and then after dinner tonight he had a bite of his ice cream and then said he didn’t want it.  He had his dinner, but clearly he was not himself.  An hour or so later he was pretty sick.

Fortunately it came and went pretty quickly.  He was miserable for a short while, cried a lot, then took a quick bath, got in his pajamas and is not Skyping with Steph and Cassie.  He seems to be fine now, and for that we are thankful.  It was definitely a stressful turn to a busy day that I thought was just about over.

And after all that, plus the 10,000 other things I did today, I am hoping that perhaps now the day is now over.

Oh no……he’s now here in my office with a toy that sings a Biz Markie song….the red one.

It’s gonna be a longer night than I thought.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tommy+

Dear Lord, I might as well live in Bermuda.  There is a WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY here and why????  Well, because we may get a couple of inches of snow!  Oh the humanity!  How will we ever survive?  I am so confused by living in this “non-northern” environment.   I even had to use a picture from 2007 of Scotty (his picture is AWFUL), Stephy and our niece Kayla because it was the only snow picture I could find.

As I was reading about the “advisory,” my mind went back to the countless times we would get a ton of snow up in Mishawaka (Indian for “God’s favorite city”) and how we would listen to the radio praying earnestly that the Superintendent would close school that day…..it rarely happened.  And yes, there was ice and snow, lots of it in fact…..but life went on.  After all, if we issued warnings like they do now I would still be in 3rd grade.  In truth, we live in an area where it snows, although here really not that much, and we ought to all just come to grips with it.  I mean I am now 50, and I have only had a snow blower for a year but it’s because my driveway is about 10 miles long…..not for the inability to shovel.

But I am getting tired of complaining about it.  I chose to live here in the deep south, and I guess I should just come to grips with the fact that people are a bit timid about snow and ice here.

But I think it is a bit deeper than that, in that we have become a people in need of drama.  It is January 12th, we live in Indiana, and it may snow 2-3 inches today.  Why that needs to surprise anyone is beyond me, but there needs to be news…..and apparently dramatic tension.  But considering it can snow here as early as October, yet this is just the second snow for us in the central part of Indiana, I would think we would be talking about how fortunate we are.  I guess not.

But a month ago I moved the snow blower from the back of the shed to the front, where the mower sits in the warm months.  Last year at this point I had used it at least 10 times.  This year I wonder if I will use it at all.  But regardless, I thank God that I grew up where I did, and I also thank Him for the snow.  I really love it.  Christmas wasn’t quite right without it, and although I have enjoyed getting out to do some work still outside, I really want 4 seasons.

So bring on the snow!  Let’s break out our skates and sleds!  Let’s make a few snowmen and have a snowball fight.  Unfortunately this hyped “advisory” isn’t gonna do it for me………

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!


Tommy+

Last night I felt that the well was a little dry, as I wrote a preview to today’s blog as it was big news here and I didn’t have much other than that on my mind.  I have to confess, it concerned me, since I figured today would be just a rehash of what went on.  But like so many other times in my life when I feel this way, suddenly I find myself in the land of abundance.  And that is where I find myself today.

First of all I should let you know from the start that Ben overcame his genetics, and not only finished his first day of school but did so without incident.  No principal, no police, no angry girlfriends or suddenly retiring teachers…..he did great.

But the material started flowing again just about 3am, when I looked next to me in my bed and I saw him there.  His “promise” of sleeping and staying in his own bed, which I understood as permanent turned out to be only temporary….and very temporary at that.  But I let that slide.  He needed his sleep and so did I.  I decided to save that battle for another day.

In the morning however, when he was getting dressed to head to St. Mary’s, I asked him if he knew who Mary was, but he didn’t make the connection.  So I asked him who Jesus was, and he knew that, and then I asked him who His mother was and he said “Mary.”  So I said, “your school is a school named after Jesus’ mother.”  He thought for a minute and then asked, “Is this school going to be about Jesus?”  And I said, “well I suppose at least some of the time.”  So he said, “Well I do not want to go to a school that is about Jesus.”  So I told him that was something I preferred he not share at school.

But soon we were off.  He walked right in.  He had no tears, no fuss, and apparently no anxiety.  Amanda was a little upset, but she did better than I expected her to as well.  We got out of there and he began his day.

Amanda called me at 2:30, since I was supposed to pick him up at 3, and seemed surprised that no one from the school had called.  Yep, Ben stayed out of trouble, didn’t need his parents, and when I arrived he got up like an old pro and went with me to get his backpack as if he had done it a hundred times.  He was as cool as they come.  The report from his teacher was great, the kids seem to like him, and soon he was in the car with Viper and I heading to the bank.

I did ask him how school was, which he defined as “fine.”  When I asked him what they did he said, “we played, ate, and did our homework.”  (He didn’t seem to bring anything home to work on, so I am guessing he finished his calculus in class.)  But when I asked him if he drew any pictures today in class he looked at me very seriously and said, “Dad, we don’t draw at St. Mary’s.”

So he is well on his way to wherever he is going and God save the teachers ahead of him.  The nice thing is that he enjoyed it.  I am glad too.  He is a great boy, and a life of adventure and learning is on the road right before him.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Tonight I helped Ben make the “obligatory phone calls” to grandpa (my dad) and Steph (his sister), as it was his last day of freedom.  That’s right, tomorrow Ben puts his nose to the grindstone as a student at St. Mary’s Preschool.

It has been a long time coming too.  He already insists he he smarter than all of us, and the whole St. Mary’s thing is probably just a diversion from the fact that he belongs at Harvard. (I just used Harvard for the joke, but I am not a fan).  But the calls went well, his backpack is loaded up, his clothes are laid out, and he is in his bed (although his mom is there with him as there is some sort of monster in there.)  But the cool part is that he is VERY excited.

And he will do fine, but I DO want to ask your prayers for Amanda, who although is acting pretty business-like and tough about the whole thing, will absolutely lose it tomorrow when he goes into class.  I do not see a chord, but I know it is there.  And I am smart enough to just stay out of the way.  Ben will do fine,  Amanda, I am not so sure.

But regardless, I will have to deal with them both.  Ben has been his usual multi-personality self, but she has been uptight.  I know she is worried about him, but I know him well and am worried about the school and the world.

The next 24 hours will tell, but I am betting on Ben.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Oh yes…this is a “stock” photo, since Scott is complaining about his phone tonight and cannot send me a “real time ” picture…….but I am at home alone, that is except for the dog and the cat.  Amanda is back at Zumba with Molly, and Scott and Ben are out on a “Boy’s Night” on the town.  They are hitting Chick-fil-A, and then seeing “Alvin and the Chipmunks, ” which will most probably bore both of them to tears.

But it has been a productive day here.  I have been working on our website all day and have created a “Podbean” account for it, which will allow us to publish sermons and stuff onto Podbean (our link is http://smaac.podbean.com/), Itunes, and our website.  I even published yesterday’s sermon onto it.  We will see how it goes.

THAT HOWEVER, doesn’t float my boat as much as hearing about what the boys are doing.  Scott and Ben are hilarious together, and occasionally (about monthly) they go on these little trips.  The stories are always funny, and I cannot wait.

The big news for the day is really not that as a PREVIEW of Wednesday’s blog……the day my wife is going to FALL APART.  Yes, today we completed the registration process.  Ben is officially a member of the student body of St. Mary’s School…….and Wednesday will be his first day!  He is excited, and Amanda is TRYING to ACT like she is under control.  On Wednesday however, she will be a sniveling mess!

So here is a Chick-fil-A picture (that I had to call and request).  They are having a time, and I am glad.  After all, Wednesday begins all the schooling…..and he is in for a life-long sentence!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+ 

I would like to say that I spent the afternoon enjoying a Chicago Bears’ victory in the playoffs, but that would just be delusional.  The Bears were nowhere near the playoff, although that is far closer still than the local favorite, the Indianapolis Colts, the difference is that the Colts’ fans will have the last laugh with the first draft pick.  I will most likely be angry yet again next year.

But today had really been quite odd.  I celebrated at two services with two sermons that were really very different.  I thought the first one was terrible, but after listening to it, it really was fine.  I will post most probably the second one within the next few days on our website St. Michael the Archangel Anglican Church, but I have not done so yet.  We are in the process of developing an account you can subscribe to….on podbean.com or iTunes.  But regardless, despite with good intentions, I delivered two different sermons.

Now however, I just want to go to bed.  I had envisioned today and it has not turned out like anything I had even considered a possibility.  So, I will just call it a day.

I hope tomorrow turns out a bit more like I want it to, but sometimes you need to just pack it in and think about the future……kind of like my beloved Chicago Bears.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

A day of confessions…..

Although I have a permit to carry, Ben is not quite old enough, but he does carry at home.  He actually has two six-shooters, given to him by “Cowboy Grandpa,” bust most often he wears just one…..on his right.  Ironically my dad, who for purposes of clarification he sometimes calls “Hospital Grandpa,” (my dad had a pretty serious health scare well over a year ago, but it has stuck), but my dad gave him the shirt in the picture.

And all of it makes this picture kind of cool, because Amanda’s dad is indeed a real-life cowboy, and my dad was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York….making Ben the second generation born outside of Brooklyn.  But the DNA of coming from a family of New Yorkers (real ones too, not those stupid (w)rapping wannabes) PLUS the whole cowboy DNA thing, will make him a force to be reckoned with. His grandfathers are the “real McCoy” of two pretty amazing and revered stereotypes of our culture, so all this is to say that his madness will come naturally……actually, it already shows.  He just may end up being the kind of guy that Navy Seals and Special Ops guys are afraid of…..who knows?

What I can confess is that he is about 178% boy.  And, he is 100% mine.

All my kids have their (let’s call it “unique”) personality quirks, but I cannot imagine having a better “herd” (as my mom would say).  But in all truth YOU, as the reader of this, need to get to work…….you need to pray for their future spouses and children.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

If I could figure out how to put him into a white hat in his picture I would, although it would probably burn his head.  But Father PT SAVED me (and Viper) once again.

I had an ice dam last year on the house and decided to install some heat cables.  What I soon discovered was that my ladders were NOWHERE NEAR tall enough to do the job.  So I found a guy in town with a very tall ladder her was willing to part with and made my way over in my truck (with my dog) to pick it up.

Of course the truck started in my drive and after I filled it with gas, but as I had the ladder on the truck and my dog ready to go and do some work, it didn’t start.  The guy who sol me the ladder tried to jump it, and had a battery charger, but it was to no avail.  But Father PT came and helped me take OUT the battery, go get a new one, put it in, and see me and my dog start up my truck and head home. Yee ha!

Of course he is driving the truck his wife let him by, while I am driving an old classic that I have now decided to sell.  PT suggested I take it and my car to the dealer…….I suggested that this would clearly be intentional suicide.

But the good news is that a battery later, I have a ladder and the ability at least, to install what I need to on my house.  What I didn’t have today was time.

But I am grateful for my good friend PT (as is Viper) who made today much more bearable than I could have imagined!

Thanks my brother!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

This may be the longest post I have ever written, but it is important.  I have been blessed in my life to have had the opportunity to meet some of the most impressive human beings on the planet in my humble opinion.  And tonight my thoughts go to two of them, one of which I have written about before.

The first is a high school teacher of mine, Marvin Wood.  He taught health, driver’s ed, and physical education.  He was also the basketball coach.  I was an ice hockey player and I was SHORT.  I never would have made the basketball team (I was VERY short), but Coach Wood was short too (my height).  He cared about his students, not in a patronizing way at all, when he spoke to you he was truly engaged, and he was one of the best teachers I have ever had or known.  And chances are, you may have some knowledge of him too.

You see, Coach Wood and his story was the inspiration for the movie “Hoosiers,” starring that little known actor Gene Hackman.  But unlike the movie, Coach Wood was not controversial.  He wasn’t in his 50’s, Milan High School was his first job out of college, and he never hit anyone.  He was just an all around first class guy.  And his belief in fundamentals not just won a State Championship (this is INDIANA….it is a BIG THING), but it taught me that any player can learn to be the “go to” player.  He affected my play as a hockey player and my coaching philosophy as well.  And, I had a pretty successful career in both.

The funny part was that we never knew he was that legend.  It clearly wasn’t important to him.  He cared about the people in his care, and not about glorifying himself.  THAT was a big lesson.  There are so many people who would wear that championship on their sleeve, and cash it in.  He never did.  I found out about what a legend he was when I had long graduated.  He always was focused upon the now.  AND, that was a valuable lesson.

I have coached for many years and I cannot even begin to tell you how he influenced me.  As a high school lacrosse coach we went to the Final Four in my second year and placed fifth in the state in my third.  I have now retired from coaching, but I will say I was influenced for sure. He died in 1999.

But that is the long way to tell you about the “other coach,” long time Notre Dame ice hockey coach, Coach Lefty Smith.  Lefty was the coach of the Fighting Irish at the time I was just beginning my playing career, and I was able to attend a few camps that he ran at Notre Dame.

What I can say is that I remember him vividly.  AND, what I will let you know is that too many camps I have been to in my life, in multiple sports, use players and assistants rather than the Coach.  But that was not so with Lefty.  I remember him being out on the ice with us, and I remember his instruction.  He was a legend, and yet at that age I had no stinking idea of how much I would love him.  Lefty died on January 3rd, yet I read that he graduated ALL 126 players that he coached during his career.  He was a man of INCREDIBLE integrity, and a giant in my young life.

A few years ago as a high school lacrosse coach I met his daughter, who was connected to St. Joseph’s High School in South Bend.  We had a LONG conversation about her dad.  I told her how much he meant to me, and asked her to pass that along.  I am sure she did,  It was very sincere too….he helped me to fall in love with the sport.  It continues to this day.

I learned of his death from a Facebook note from a friend.  She contacted me as her son is an ice hockey player as well and is now playing at Notre Dame!   She wanted me to know about Lefty dying on Tuesday.  I am eternally grateful.

You see, I learned a lot from him too.  And his impression on me made me want to be a better player, a better man, and later a better coach.

Coaches I have had throughout my life have molded me into the coach I am today.  And although I am not currently coaching, do not count me out.  I am only 50, and I have learned for legends…..at least to me.  And I DO intend to get back into the game.  After all, life full of adventure, and there is no better adventure than the game!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+