Oh of course indoor lacrosse has started, and tonight both our women’s teams won, as well as Scotty’s team. My daughter’s boyfriend plays for the other Noblesville men’s team, and he mentioned they were beaten, but indoor is really in our programs about development….not necessarily about the end!

It reminded me of life itself. We often live this life thinking about the end-all, when in fact it is just preparation for something else……eternal life. Oh but we are impatient creatures! We want it all now….we like things all wrapped up and the answers in our own time.

But we are not really in charge. This life is practice, and though important, just the development for the next! Take it seriously….it matters. But know we will only be at our best down the line!

Sports has often been a good teacher for me and I am thankful for its witness. Friday however will see no games….I will have to make something up!!! 😉

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Like most everyone I know, I carry a cell phone. I suppose it’s no big deal, but mine is connected to the Church so that every call that comes in is directed to me immediately. We have no real office or secretary, so it is certainly the best we can do. But with all the use, I occasionally need a new phone, and though I am about a month away from trading mine in, I went to the store today to take a look at what has changed.

Of course the store was filled with people who were on their phones….some texting and some talking. It brought to mind how different things have become over the years. For instance, when I was my older kids’ age we did have phones, but they were all corded, they all had rotary dials, and we didn’t have voice mail or recorders. If you wanted to talk with someone you needed to wait until they picked up the phone, and knowing their every move, thought and location was something we only imagined in science-fiction!

I was involved in a ton of calls today and even texts. Times have changed. But boy oh boy I still long for the old days. I really don’t need to be that connected. I guess I am just a dinosaur!

Goodnight from the prehistoric times my friends and God Bless.

Tom+

Today was the last day of the “Ben and Dad Show,” at least for now……and it did not slow me down one bit today at all. He and I were both at St. Patrick’s today as well as Christ the King in Kokomo. And, had he not a date with his mom to walk in the late afternoon, he would have hit a few other stops with me as well. It was a fun day.

Tonight I finally have a night at home, and I am glad…..I have been tired all day long. There are times when things all seem to run together, and I am thankful for the break. Tomorrow will be a similar day, stuff to do, just not overwhelming!

I am thankful for the opportunities that God gives me to do what I do….I even thank Him for the busy times. It may seem like a lot, as it does sometimes to me as well, but I’d rather have a lot to do than a little. There’s an old line about that, but all that comes to mind is that “the busy bird catches the worm,” which even I know is not right! Perhaps that is a signal that sleep is not too far away!

So goodnight my friends and God Bless. I will catch you all tomorrow.

Tom+

Wow, after over 20 years in the ministry, and after making jokes about it for the entire time, last night I finally ALMOST got peed on while blessing a dog. Being a dog breeder myself, I suppose I should be honored that this dog really wanted to mark me as his own, but in reality I think he should have just sent me a note! He missed due to my quick action, and ironically he was the last animal blessed out of five services at all our missions! It really was the perfect way to end the run!

This year it was mostly dogs, but we did have four cats show up in Anderson, two kittens and two adults. It was a fun adventure with very few mishaps. We did have a couple of labs pull down their owner in the parking lot in Westfield, AND our youngest dog, Bernard, did get car sick on me and all over my car (30 seconds from home) on Sunday. But all in all it was a great weekend.

We are now back to the regular schedule for all our missions. I hope to see all these pets again in just one short year!

A dry goodnight my friends, and God Bless!

Tom+

Apparently I am not meant to remember all that well lately! As I mentioned earlier, I have started the indoor lacrosse season, but that shouldn’t be slowing me down. We will see. Give me a few days to get my ship righted!!

Of course I am only aware of a few people who read this with any regularity, and of the ones I know, most would be too polite to say “Hey dufus, get with the program.” (Everyone probably thinks it, but I have a pretty mannered following!) I do remember why I do this, and it is good for me. It just needs to be good for me a little more often if I am using it to measure my recovery.

For any who do not know, originally this was to be a thematic posting of issues I face as a priest, and the happenings in the larger Church. But that whole stroke thing interfered with that plan, so I began to use this as a way to remember, creatively write, and therapeutically (self-induced) force myself into full-function. As we can all see, I have a bit to go, but if I go back to where I started I could not even imagine being here today. I still struggle, but am amazing comparatively!

Today Amanda and Ben and I were in both Nashville and Kokomo for two of the five Blessing of the Animals services that I will be doing through Monday. Today I blessed only 7 dogs, which is about one dog for every 100 miles driven today, but it is one of my favorite services. Tomorrow there will be two more…..one in Westfield at 3 and one in Anderson at 4:30. Monday will see me in Greenfield at 7pm. So far no cats, no lizards, no snakes (other than Ben) and no rodents. I may just hop the fence at a farm on my way home and bless a few horses and cows!

Anyway, we are home and getting ready for bed. We are well-traveled and worn out! It has been a blessed day.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tom+

Indoor lacrosse started this evening, and Scott had a game as well as one of our women’s teams. The squad that my daughter plays on plays tomorrow.

In terms of Noblesville Lacrosse, there are a total of three men’s teams in indoor and two women’s teams. Tonight was a night like many, where Scott’s game and one of ours overlapped. It will chaotic I am sure until the regular season starts in March. It was just good to get back out on the field.

In our women’s game tonight we played Carmel. They are a constant rival and a great team to play. We got clocked, but I was very pleased. 4 of my 12 players were in their very first game and were learning not just the rules but how to play. They did great! And though my more experienced players wanted to get out there and really sock it to them, we all have our eyes focused on the prize. The regular season is where we want to win, and this is really development for us. The girls got A LOT of playing time….and by March we will not ave a worry in the world! Our squad that plays tomorrow has an equal number of inexperienced rookies, and we are holding onto the same strategy! it is going to be a great year!

As for me, there is little I enjoy more than being out there. Sure, I would like to be out on a hockey rink somewhere giving it a go, but at may age most hockey players are retired! I suppose I am as well. This is fun enough….plus when I played hockey I wasn’t allowed to drink Diet Pepsi all through the game, while here I am!

Anyway, it is off to bed for me. I am excited about tomorrow!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tom+

Well the hopes of Ben going back to daycare this week are now gone. We are just too busy to risk the flu here at all. So tonight I made the decision that Ben would be my assistant the rest of the week. AND….since our sitter is on vacation MTW of next week, it appears he will be hanging with me for quite some time.

No, he is certainly not my “Mini-me.” He is far more that for his brother than I. But he loves working with me. We cannot go into hospitals or anything like that. But he can go do meetings and lunch and the the churches (since they all have nurseries!) He actually LOVES hanging out. He loves the guys I work with. And he certainly LOVES the eating part too.

With that however, I am off to get a few things done. I hope to be blogging more tomorrow about things other than little Ben and I’s troubles and travels. We will see! I am just happy I am able to hang with him. I am looking forward to the next few days!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tom+

Ben and I are partners in crime once again now that the flu is making its way through his babysitter’s home. He was with me all day today, and tomorrow will be the same. And I have committed to working from home this week just to be safe.

In truth, I love it. Ben and I work very hard at the fine art of goofing off. It does make work a challenge, but I need to confess that generally work is a lot more fun with him around! Right now as a matter of fact, I am on “get Ben to go to sleep duty.” I have him here next to me in my bed while I type with him putting his blanket over his head saying “stuck, stuck, stuck.” He’s not really stuck…..he is just attempting to lure me into the game. He is pretty good at it too. Just now when the louder voice didn’t get my attention, he began whispering it. Neither method has yet to work for him.

But he does need to knock it off and head to snoozyland! After all if he doesn’t get there soon he will be totally unsupervised because he has worn me out! That’s all I would need to have her come up and discover him babysitting a snoring me!

So off to un-stick his little fanny to sleep. It has been a great day but I am finishing this up so that we can get in trouble together. He is my little partner in crime, okay mostly Scotty’s but tonight mine! Off we go to await our sentencing!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless. Send the bail money to our home address!

Tom+

It seems now like all a blur, but the Bishop is gone, my mother-in-law has returned home, and I actually had a nap late this afternoon (unintentional in the middle of the Bears game). Fortunately for me, the nap was not too long and I was able see most of the game.

Stephanie and Scott are now both working and Ben is going to bed. Amanda will disappoint him as she leaves his room, but I am certain he will throw a fit. He as had a LOT of attention this weekend, and has been searching from his grandma. It is pretty hard for him since he really doesn’t understand why people leave. He cries when each of us goes to work or to school. But being a grandson myself, I know the stress of having grandma leave! I still do not do well with that one!

Tomorrow however things should be completely back to normal. I will be taking a little time in the morning to catch up on my mental and physical health and hopefully be back in full swing by noon. It is good to have all these things behind me.

Off to declare this weekend over! Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tom+

It seems now like all a blur, but the Bishop is gone, my mother-in-law has returned home, and I actually had a nap late this afternoon (unintentional in the middle of the Bears game). Fortunately for me, the nap was not too long and I was able see most of the game.

Stephanie and Scott are now both working and Ben is going to bed. Amanda will disappoint him as she leaves his room, but I am certain he will throw a fit. He as had a LOT of attention this weekend, and has been searching from his grandma. It is pretty hard for him since he really doesn’t understand why people leave. He cries when each of us goes to work or to school. But being a grandson myself, I know the stress of having grandma leave! I still do not do well with that one!

Tomorrow however things should be completely back to normal. I will be taking a little time in the morning to catch up on my mental and physical health and hopefully be back in full swing by noon. It is good to have all these things behind me.

Off to declare this weekend over! Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tom+