This morning I got a message from Google asking me if I wanted to look at some new formats for my blog.  Being a guy who really cannot stand change, I was a bit hesitant as my blog has had the same format since the beginning.  And in addition to that, consistency and routine are really good for me, so I originally decided to keep it the same.

But then I thought that readers might like to scroll through pictures, which I have only been doing for a couple of years.  The blog title has always had a connection to the content, but often you cannot tell what it is about by looking at the title.  This new format, one of MANY I can try, allows the picture, date, and title to display.  And clicking on it brings up that day.  Let me know what you think.  I hate to colors, but maybe if I can fond someone smart enough they can help me change it!

And speaking of change, since that is what this entry is about……I was trying to quote David Bowie in the title and even find a picture of him, but the weird ones are too weird and the recent ones just look like a middle aged guy that many people would not recognize.  So the water will not be as deep here as I intended.  But I hope you get the point.  I may be changing the format, and although I still will use this as a discipline and therapy as I have since my stroke, I am also well aware that a lot of people read this, and I can work a little harder to make it more appealing for them as well.

So change seems to be upon this, but we will see.  I just would like to know what you think!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

I do not want to exaggerate, but our yard is just about two acres of land and has approximately 7 million trees on it.  And with it scheduled to rain tonight and tomorrow, I had to get out on the riding mower and mulch up the leaves on the ground.

It is pretty much a daily chore now to get these mulched, and so much easier than raking.  If they get wet, they mess the whole thing up, so that’s why I needed to get out there today.  7 million trees produce a lot of leaves, but fortunately I am up to the task.

I did get an earful from one of the “herd” of squirrels who lives in our yard.  He was definitely not happy. My best guess is that enough leaves have fallen to expose his shower or something similar, but whatever it was, he was not happy about it.  I did consider waking the dog up to chase him, but he was already tree-ed.

So at least I know tomorrow will not be a mowing/mulching day, as it will be wet.  I suppose I can live with that.  I have already been out there four times and most of the leaves are not even close to being down.  I can tell it’s going to be a busy few weeks ahead!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

I am writing tonight to encourage you to check out another blog which is found on Facebook called “When Dementia came Knocking, a daughter’s journey.”  It is written by my cousin Christine Tirman, and is about her journey with her mom, the Matriarch of our family, Odette Tirman.    It is a great read, and particularly relevant as so many of us go through these same issues.

But more than anything, I encourage you to pray for them.  Dealing with these issues is a hard, but inevitable thing.  And sadly, we all go through it.  I love my family, and I am blessed to have them.  But more than that, I thank God for the courage of my cousin to post this journey.  It will be a blessing to you as well.  Give it a look and see what you think.  I am sure you will find it a blessing to you as well.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

I often feel like Jay Cutler, the quarterback of my beloved Chicago Bears (who were beaten by Detroit tonight in Detroit).  I try to take the snap, drop back in the pocket and make a good throw, but often my protection is just not there.  No, I am not a real quarterback, but it is a pretty good metaphor for my life.

In truth, we all need to be surrounded by people who “have our back,” and sadly for Jay that doesn’t seem to be the case.  In my 50 years, I have never seen a Bear’s quarterback get to beat up.  But even the best teams will have issues, and that’s where it compares to my life.  We just have a lot going on right now, and things seem to “slip between the line” and it becomes harder to make those good choices.  Don’t get me wrong, I want to…..but occasionally you have to “rush a throw.”

So if you are not a football person, I apologize for the metaphor.  It just felt right today (and probably tomorrow and the rest of this week.)  I hope things get a bit easier, I really do.

But for now I will just do what I should and lead the best that I can.  Every minute is a new opportunity, and I am not willing to settle for second best!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

I have to confess that I am enjoying the view.  My office is in between Scott/Ben’s room and our room, and as Ben is in his bed, I hear the familiar words, “Mom, I am scared.”  Of course he is not scared, but it serves him as an excuse to head into try and suck up to his mom.

There is good news and bad news in this though.  The bad news is that it never really works……at the start.  The good news is that he keeps at it an he wears her down.  It is a game of cat and mouse at its best.  And sadly for my wife, she is dealing with a four year old professional.

He is actually IN my office now, playing….but at every mention of her name he gets the “deer in the headlights” look and bolts to his room.  Sadly for him we have a signal.  I cough loudly in code and she will appear and he will be removed.

And of course that is just what has happened and now he is back in his room crying.  He doesn’t understand that this is not our first rodeo, but that’s okay.  It is fun to watch.  He is a real stinker and a true Tirman.  Thank God for him too.  He makes me laugh pretty hard.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Being a parent is hard work.  After driving Drew Carey all around Missouri (see yesterday’s blog) I spent as much time as I could with Steph in between her games, and suddenly we were back in the car heading home.  Too little, too fast…..but I wouldn’t trade a moment of it.

And of course now I am home typing, and waiting not just for my alarm to go off at 6, but also for the Wednesday before Thanksgiving when she will return home.   I was able to see her play in three games though.  She is an awesome player, and it was fun to watch.  As regular readers know, I have also resigned my position as the Noblesville High School Women’s Lacrosse Coach, so I will, for the remainder of her college career, be able to attend her games.  It felt weird to sit there and watch just as a parent…..but I will get used to it.  It is just so very cool to see her play at this level.

The picture was impromptu as we were walking towards our car to leave.  These young women are amazing lacrosse players, and even more impressive as people.  Two of them saw us taking the picture and stopped their car and ran over to be a part!  It was a lot of fun.

But now it’s back to the grind.  Tomorrow is another day…..and one more to cross out on our way to Thanksgiving break!  Yee Ha!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+ 

Yes, Ben, Amanda, and I are in Missouri visiting Steph and Cassie as Steph has three games tomorrow.  I am excited to see them all.

But one of the interesting dynamics is how Ben acts around all the college girls.  While guys my age desperately try to look and act younger, Ben tries to act older, thus he stole my glasses to act like a big guy.  There may be issues though, especially as he tells everyone that Cassie is his “girlfriend.”  And of course she was the one to get him that Transformers backpack for his birthday, which may indeed be the equivalent of a “promise ring” in the preschool world.  But Cassie didn’t seem to mind.  Ben just flirted with everyone.

And the funny part about my glasses is that they make everyone look like Drew Carey, which I of course take as a great thing, because he is one of my comedic idols.  I actually bought them however, not to look like Drew, but because I have a young son who whips his arms and legs around all the time.  And after he broke a couple of pair, I decided to go with indestructible.  They have been a great investment for me for sure!

But tonight we have enjoyed seeing the girls, having a nice dinner, and driving around a celebrity.  Tomorrow who knows?  The games for sure, but whether it’s Drew, Optimus Prime, Spiderman, or Batman we will not know until we get there.  It doesn’t matter though, he is our son and we will take him regardless of who he is.

Goodnight from Missouri and God Bless! (And keep the house clean Scotty!)

Tommy+  

Among quite a few other things I did today, I was able to head over to Noblesville and bless some dogs in their home……Labrador Retrievers……four of them.  It is always a hoot to be there, and especially now for me as we have taken a break in the dog breeding business, because we usually have four or five Goldens at home ourselves.  We now however, are just down to one…..Viper.

But unlike Viper, these dogs we awake and ready to roll!  It was a blast too.  If I just had a tennis ball and a big field I would swear I was in heaven!  There was a lot of tail wagging, ear scratching, and laughter.  It really did make my day.  And, it was something that I really needed.

Too often in life the details get in the way.  Sure, they are important, but often it is healthy for us to just set them aside, even for a minute, and play.  Simple things, like scratching the ears of a dog and just knowing they are glad to see you, can bring a lot of life and joy back into a day.  I’ve got a lot on my plate, and these past few months have been terrible.  But the dogs didn’t care about that, they were just happy to see me, as I them.  And quite honestly, they didn’t care if I was there to bless them or not.

If only the world would be so gracious and kind!

Yep, I am home, and back to being hard at work.  But tonight I thank God for my four four-legged friends, who gave me a good dose or just exactly what I needed!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yes, we have been working on the truck.  And although ideally the thing to do would be to have it professionally done, we cannot afford that, so Scott and I have been improvising.  This is a truck we only use to haul sticks and limbs, and get mulch.  There is no daily driving of it.  It just doesn’t need to be an eyesore.

And now of course it is not, that is unless you get up next to it and see the “non-professional” job we did. But the cool part is that you can now not see through the sides of it, it does now STOP, and it is actually pretty fun to drive.  It does not have air conditioning, and I need to fix the fan on the heater (as well as the turn signals) but as soon as I do we will have an all-weather truck.

So yes, at least for now we are back to “drivable,” which means in our family “to drive without embarrassment.”  It will not win a beauty contest, nor is it the kind of thing you would take on a long trip. But at least it is ours, and more importantly, no longer an eyesore to the neighborhood!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

I really cannot believe I forgot this story, but on Saturday night Ben snuck into our bed at about 3 or 4 am.  That is not the interesting part of the story.  The interesting part is how I was summoned back to our room by my wife who said she wanted me to see something.  And there in my bed was Ben…….with a big hunk of chewing gum in his hair.

Of course this was not my first rodeo, so I said to him, as he was visibly upset about the gum in his hair, “where did you get that gum, and how did it get into your hair?”  And he looked at me not able to tell as lie just as George Washington when confronted about that cherry tree (yes, I know that is probably not a true story) and said “Scotty put the gum in my hair!”

I do know that this was not true.  Ben probably snuck some of his brother’s gum and had it in his mouth as he went to bed.  Kids often do that, and I am just thankful his emergency haircut wasn’t worse.

But what made me remember this was finding out from Scott that Ben wore his Halloween costume to Cindy’s today.  Scott didn’t know he wasn’t supposed to, but Ben did!  So when I told Amanda about it he did what any other four year old would do……….he blamed it on his brother!  As I have shared these things with Scott he just smiles, but they are brothers.  Ben will feel some revenge sooner or later I am sure.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+