I’ve gotta admit, it scared me!  I am in the process of cleaning up and rearranging my office and as I came up the stairs and into that office tonight I saw Puddy gnawing on something on the floor.  Since both the cat and dog eat in my office I assumed it was a cat treat…..but it was pretty far from where I give her those.

Of course my office is in MAJOR disarray, but not enough to miss the MOUSE!  It was dead, and BIG, and to be honest I have no idea where it came from (other than from a mommy and daddy mouse) but I am uncertain whether she caught it up here or downstairs and brought it to her dining room.  Either way, I did not care.  I took her dinner right outside and disposed of it.

Of course I intend to show it to our exterminator tomorrow after I call him.  Other than the mouse, I see no signs of one being here.  Puddy however is an excellent hunter.  This I am certain is her first mouse.  She has eaten her share of bugs, spiders, praying mantis, and walking sticks at our old house.  And I am hoping at the mouse funeral all the other mice say, “hey, this cat means business.”

Puddy however will now need shots.  She has not had them in years, as she is our vet’s WORST PATIENT.  And since she was an indoor cat, she has not had to visit for quite some time.  Her visits SCARE the other clients, as she wails as if some one was killing her.  AND she BITES.  They actually wear welding gloves to immunize her.  But at home she is pretty sweet, except to the mouse.  And we need to keep that up.  I am guessing she caught it elsewhere and brought it up to my office to impress me, as if I was considering putting her to sleep.  No way!  She is a first class hunter, and although I will arrange some immunizations for her, there really is some tuna in her future.

So alarm system shalarm system…..I’ve got a killer cat. (and a dead mouse)  Thank God for her killer instincts!  I just hope she continues to be on the prowl.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Although I posted yesterday about “Da Twins,” today we began to make a few moves to separate them.  For the last year they have lived in a “suite,” with a TV room and couch (and toys) on one side, a bathroom in the middle, and both their beds in the larger bedroom on the other side.  It was a deal they both enjoyed and were committed to, but things are “a-changin” here, and we needed to make some adjustments.

Scotty is still scheduled to go into the US Marines.  And as he has always been on track to do, he intends to serve in the reserves as he finishes college before going “all in.”  But his original intention was to do that in St. Louis next year after basic and his MOS training.  He is now reconsidering that.  He is now thinking that he may return here, live at home while in college, and get his degree at IUPUI.  Either way is fine with me, BUT…..here he has free room and board, a full time JOB that they will hold for him….AND on Sundays he works for me.   I would lose a musician for 6 months and then one Sunday a month, BUT it would be really great to have him around.

To make his accommodations feel a bit more private and permanent however, we took out the couch, moved his furniture into the other room, and I gave him the desk from my office that used to be my dad’s.  Amanda got me a new desk and credenza for our anniversary that we bought tonight, so he is now all set up to study.  PLUS there is another good feature of all this…….Ben goes to bed and does not wake up when Scott comes in to go to bed anymore.  Their bathroom is the same, now between them and still a mess.  And in all reality, they are still sharing the same two rooms.  Ben will now just have to go through the bathroom to sneak into bed with Scott or to beat him up, and Scott seems very pleased that he has his own space.  Believe me I know…..four year olds have a very poor sense of boundary.

So things are just a bit different than yesterday, but I am glad everyone is okay with it.  Change is always hard, and so far I am wondering just when the storm will hit.  So far so good!  I will count my blessings.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

I remember when Scotty was a little guy.  All he ever did was want to be like me.  I guess I always assumed that Ben would be the same way, but what I never took into account was that Ben has a big brother.

Of course that is the reason we call them the twins, because in all reality they really are.  Everything that Scotty does Ben does.  They act alike, and even dress alike.  Ben is now wearing a tie, and I am required to put it on him just like like Scott wears his.

The funniest part is when you ask him what he wants to be when he grows up.  He will tell you without hesitation that he wants to be a Marine like Scotty is going to be.  So Scotty always asks him what do Marines say, and Ben replies, also without hesitation, “Semper Fi Ooh Ra!”  It is hilarious, but to Ben it is serious business.

When I was at the end of high school, I sat in the recruiter’s office ready to sign onto the Marines.  I wanted to be nothing else.  I was a kid in need of a lot of direction, and I knew that it was the road for me.  Unfortunately for me, that recruiter lied to me, and instead of signing I delivered a pretty colorful rant at him as I walked out of his office….never to return again.  It is a decision I regret to this day, because I really needed what the Marines could have offered me, and the road I walked from there, although successful, was a lot less sure than it would have been.

In the end it has all worked out, thank God, and although I never achieved that high honor myself, I will indeed be the father of a US Marine, and perhaps even two.  And that does not bother me, because it has never been about me.  I am just honored to be an American, and soon to be among those whose children serve this great country of ours.

I still need that direction and discipline.  But in the end in looking at these two goofballs I lives with, perhaps it is best that I let them receive it instead.  They are both great kids, and they both make me proud.   And it pleases me to hear the words so dear in my home of duty, honor, and country.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

I almost got myself in trouble for taking this picture, but really not for this one…..rather the one before that included her sleeping.  But Ben has snuck int our bed once again tonight and they were TWINS as they slept, so being a guy who thinks that kind of thing is funny, I decided to take a picture.  The general interpretation, and when I say that I mean the interpretation from the General, was that it was neither funny or acceptable……thus this picture.

But Ben’s illness has made him seem to believe that his room is now our room.  Not that he doesn’t think that all the time, but we had made such progress with him.  He actually told me today that he was never going to move out and that he and Scott were going to live with us forever because they are “best friends.”  Somehow I wonder if that may be true!

But the bottom line is that I am keeping the picture I didn’t post, and will show it to her in a few years when she misses stuff like that.  I really am not trying to embarrass anyone, and it really is a great picture. I just have to respect the fact that she has no clue as to what a great “impact picture” that picture is.  I probably could have won a Pulitzer.  Sadly, I will just stay here in the minor leagues.

I do not want to complain though, for no one loves to see the two of them sleep more than me.  For when they do, I do not have to keep an eye on the little one, and I also am not given anything to do.  Bliss bliss bliss!

So with all this bliss I will call it a day.  They obviously already have.  I will not be too far behind for sure.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

I had the unbelievably great blessing of being able to attend the ordination to the priesthood today of my long-time friend Tony Bender.  And when I say “long-time,” I mean a LONG time.  Tony and I have been friends since 1981.

But it was a glorious day!  Tony was priested by Bishop Ames at St. Paul’s, a church we planted some years ago of which Tony went to serve.  Tony actually went there to serve as a favor to Father Chuck Conover, who took St. Paul’s as it first went out on its own.  Chuck had done a great job, and the church was doing well, but he fell ill with leukemia and that’s when Tony, his long-time friend as well, asked to go help him out.  Chuck never did recover, but mentored Tony as Tony helped him out.  And Chuck was blessed in his last days to have his friend at his side.

Tony however is like that.  He is not just a good man, but a great one.  Solid and steady, he is just the kind of guy you would want by your side.  We have been friends for 30 years, long before his hair was gray and we both become reluctant members of the AARP.  But I cannot express how grateful I am for his friendship……nor how proud I am for his fulfilling his call.

God Bless you my brother!  Welcome to the Order of Priests!

Goodnight to all of you my friends……and God Bless!

Tommy+

Well after lunch at IHOP (at his request), a nap (at mine), Ben finished the day off by eating Amanda’s special ice cream from the fridge for dessert.   The last part was her fault too as I told her in advance that I was giving him the ice cream container because he wanted to eat ice cream with her.  She didn’t make it in time.  RIP Amanda’s ice cream.

But the day was harder than I thought.  I had a lot of opportunities to work, but I set them aside to goof off with Ben.  It was a great time too.  We played and ate and played some more.  I am “Robin” when Scott is not around, and Ben is always “Batman.”  When his mask is up though he is just Ben.  He really doesn’t grasp that whole Bruce Wayne thing…..yet.

We are now up in our room with the Batman movie on starring Adam West.  It is awesome too.  Adam West is a brilliant actor, overacting so much that I am convinced he is a comic genius.  Every time I see him drinking warm milk at a fancy restaurant out of that wine glass I about lose it!  I would love to know how many takes it took to do those scenes without laughing.

So I will enjoy this end of the day movie and look forward to tomorrow.  It has been a great one and not quite over yet either.  So it’s off to watch some more of the movie.  I have seen it many times with Ben, but with my brain there is always the possibility I may be able to forget the end!  I think however, Batman wins.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

As hard as I find this to believe, I actually may be able to take the day off tomorrow.  Generally I SAY that Friday is the day I take off, but it is not often that everything clears.  And although I could be wrong (please do not tell my wife) I believe I actually may be looking at a full day off!

Of course I will have a still sick little 4 year old all day, but that should be fun.  He was much better today, as was Batman, and hopefully that is a precursor to an even better day tomorrow.  I also have the possibility of an 18 year old for part of the day as well.  We should have a good time.  I am looking forward to it too.

With that I suppose I should just call it a day and head to bed.  No sense in spoiling a potential victory by staying up late enough to figure out why it may not happen.  As they say, “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man a lot less tired than if he had stayed up all night typing.”  Or something like that.

Okay, off to bed.  Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tommy+

Tommy+

As if life couldn’t get an more difficult.   Ben was sick last night and today, and had a fever that would not break as well as some pretty severe abdominal pain.  It was pretty scary.

The doctor worried that it might be his appendix, which meant a CT scan with contrast, something I am deathly allergic to.  He was a brave little guy, and fortunately getting the IV was harder for him than the dye.  Amanda held his hand through it, and I stayed in the hall and prayed for him not to have my messed up allergy.  Kids at that age need their mommies, and if I were in there he would cry for her I was certain. And they both did great….really she was more a mess than he was.

But in the end the CT showed the appendix was in the clear.  He was not to eat or drink till then to be ready for a possible surgery, so that was good news.  The bad news was he still had a pretty fair fever, and he really didn’t want to eat or drink anyway.

But it is now 10pm and he is in bed with a temperature that is going DOWN and much less pain.  It may turn out to be a medical mystery, but I do not care.  He is feeling a little better and hopefully a lot better by morning.  The picture is from a few minutes ago.  The title is a quote.  And the prognosis is looking up.

Thanks so much for your prayers.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yep, the title is exactly how I feel.  My truck, my beloved but STUPID truck, was repaired last night (by me) so that the alternator was actually CONNECTED to the battery, and that was a good thing.  But on my way back down to Greenfield this morning my gauges AND my radio died.  No problem, fuse, right? Nope wrong.  There are only 10 of them and all of them were good.  So I stopped by the Autozone and replaced them ALL anyway……and BAM, it all worked.

Of course that was up until I filled up, then it was back to nothing.  But then I knew I had a full tank so no worries.  It came back a little later in the day and is still on, but it will need some looking to, and I just didn’t have the time today.

But it reminded me of my cars in the 70’s.  I had three of them, but not all at once.  I had TWO Ford Pintos, that were really awesome (even though the people who died in them were from our community, mine were fixed in the recall), and a Chevy Nova (Spanish for “no go”).  They all were great cars, that was when they were working.  But in the days before computers in cars you opened up the hood and had only about 10 options….all of which you could fix.  That’s the case with my truck too.  I will rewire it SOON because there are not that many wires AND no computer.  But I felt just like I did in the 70’s as I was pulling over to fix my truck.

But that’s not all.  In the 70’s air conditioning and power locks and windows were an OPTION.  And my cars, as well as my truck, have none of them.  And it normally isn’t so bad, but it is the harvest around here and the crops are all dry, and every farmer in the state is collecting their crop and kicking up dust.  In my cars I have air, and power windows (that have good seals).  In my truck I have no air, crappy (the cleaner term) windows, and the propensity to suck in dust.  And what else reminds me of the 70’s???  The fact that I have very BAD allergies……..that have been not so bad in my modern cars.

So the bottom line is that I am miserable.  I love my truck, but I would gladly trade it for a modern one if I could just afford it.  In truth, I am more of a truck guy anyway.  And despite the misery, I feel better driving it than anything.  (Of course I try to do it alone….it’s pre-air bag and safety such)  But I am a truck guy at heart.

So today I relived the 70’s, and although I am miserable, I am clearly the better for it.  If only I was not reliving it with a 50 year old body!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+