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Squirrely…….

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Scotty’s graduation open house was tonight and it was a very nice event. Amanda and her mom organized the entire thing and did a marvelous job. I think we were all surprised it went so well, because the day did not start out that great at all.

Last night we had a pretty violent storm blast through the area. Not that we haven’t had a bunch of them over the past few weeks, but what made this one different was a direct lightening strike probably within 50 yards of our house. We knew what it was, but we didn’t get up. Lightening strikes someplace every time you see or hear it. And we learned as kids to count the seconds from when we saw it to when we hear the noise…..each second was a mile a way. SO…..when they are simultaneous, well then, it is HERE. (As a side-note, I was actually struck by lightening when I was 16. I remember pressure and waking up a good 15 to 20 feet from where I was standing but never heard a thing….everyone ELSE DID!)
Needless to say, we woke up with the tree you see in the picture leaning across the road behind our house and hung up on another huge tree still standing in our yard. The police had decided not to wake us, but to just close that part of the street. And at about noon a tree company came and cleared the road but made a mess (the town will get the rest of the stuff on Monday) But we were glad to have it down before the open house.
The sad, but kind of comical part, was a team, or a pack, or a flock…..I don’t know what you call it, of SQUIRRELS (there were four of them) were absolutely berserk in our yard all day. They obviously lived in that tree and were running around like nuts (more than squirrels normally do) and it was quite entertaining, but also quite sad. Oddly enough, the scary owl we bought to keep them out of Amanda’s garden they ran right by probably 100 times….yep right through the garden, but they were clearly stressed and I hope they find a new home here on the other side of the street in our yard…..particularly because God ejected them from theirs….literally.
But the nice part is that everything seems to be settled down and we are all ready for bed….actually everyone else is IN bed (with the exception of Steph and Cassie who are out), but I will head to bed as soon as I am done here.
Scott’s party was great, and Ben’s is just 14 more years away.
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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Tales from the madhouse…….

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Tomorrow we will host Scotty’s graduation party. And it is quite the affair to prepare for from the condition of our home. Empty trays are out in their places with labels, the refrigerator is full of bags (with labels) and I have been forced to wear a name tag all night, but I do not know why.

An odd part about all these events is that there are also labels in “code” of things to eat that would kill me! I am deathly allergic to seafood, and oddly enough every time we do something even similar to this there is seafood. My wife and mother-in-law carefully label these things for me, and if there is a possibility that something can be made “sans seafood” they make me a few and make them accordingly. SO as you can imagine, I suck up to them both big time pre-preparation, lest they both take a marvelous vacation on the Caribbean to get over my “accidental” death. Yep, it would be ridiculously easy to make me look like an accident.
But for now I just do what I am told….in fact, we all do. The party will be by us soon enough, and then we will go back to just our normal level of madness.
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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Growing in faith………

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Well, at least it’s growing……………….

Although I have had MANY gardens, I now have one that I am not a gardener in, but a laborer. I tilled and hoed…..but I did nothing else. I did not pick out what to plant, or how to plant, or even where to plant. I do not hoe or weed, though I am instructed to water…..and if you ask me what is in our garden I would have to honestly confess……..”stuff that my wife planted.”
BUT, it all seems to be growing and the garden has become yet another distraction for her instead of meeting my every need……..number 37 of 363. But who am I to complain, because if she is distracted by a garden, then the list of stuff she wants for me to do is quite a bit smaller.
Of course as I celebrated just how short this list was today, I came around the house to fine a tree down. Oh it was no just “drag it to the curb” tree….it was a “chain saw required” tree. So today I bought my first chain saw and spent the day as an arborist. And in truth I eliminated it as a potential career within five minutes. There is nothing sequential or logical about cutting trees. I was over it quickly.
But the good news is that the garden is fine, and soon I will be able to eat tomatoes morning, noon, and night……I can hardly wait.
But I WILL BE eating them with a smile……this is my wife’s garden, and I am no fool. EVERYTHING will be WONDERFUL. And I will smile and eat my veggies…..all the while dreaming of a STEAK…..which incidentally, we are not growing.
Goodnight my friends and God Bless.
Tommy+
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GOT IT………!!!!!!

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Today I applied for, and ironically was issued, my AARP card. I did it online, and really believed it was going to tell me to come back in 11 days when I was 50, but it did not, so I am IN! Of course it is a honor realizing that I very well may be the youngest AARP member at this point, but when they asked for my wife’s name to send her a card too, I guess little Miss 35 is it. In good faith however, I will NOT use it for anything for those 11 more days.

But I was curious as to its benefits, so after I was in I checked some of them out…particularly the travel. I travel a lot with my job, and any discounts would be welcome for sure.
Oddly enough, as I checked, I found that us “old people” sometimes get a raw deal. The AARP discount was not all I thought it would be, particularly with hotels. All I can say is thank God I am not 50 for another 11 days!
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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MVP……..

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Tonight, at his very last lacrosse banquet, Scotty was named the MVP of the team. It is a huge honor and an amazing accomplishment for him. We could not be more proud of him! He had a great year!

Sadly, I was notified of this via a text message and picture sent by Stephanie as I was driving from the airport. It absolutely broke my heart to miss it. I had been scheduled for my trip to DC long before the banquet was scheduled, but oddly enough I did leave in time to make it. I should have missed only the dinner part but would have been there for the awards. Sadly, Southwest Airlines had other plans for me.
When I arrived in Chicago I saw my flight to Indy was delayed, and I soon found out why. They were waiting for another plane from the west coast…..yep, it was about money for them. They accommodated a wrestling team from Washington State, and in doing so made it so I would miss one of the most important things of my son’s life. I was crushed. And I wouldn’t be so upset if it were not that not once has a plane ever been held for me. Quite the contrary, I get rebooked. And this was just a 35 minute (in the air) flight too. Thanks Southwest…..you seem to be bent on becoming a regular airline, and sadly that will make a difference to me. I will say I am loyal to things that I believe in, but this made me feel like I needed a shower.
But I will say I got to the banquet 5 minutes before it ended and went right up to Scott at the “senior table” and both congratulated him and apologized to him in that order. He was the JV MVP last year and the Varsity MVP this year. His life awaits………and he is off to a great start!
Way to go Scotty! I love you!
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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Redeeming a stressful trip……….

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This trip is absolutely killing me.

Although I arrived in plenty of time, I never was given an itinerary of the training I am attending, nor was this place easy to find. I DID finally find it……approximately 2 hours early (because I didn’t know the start time) AND I sheepishly had to share that as the training breaks up tomorrow at 5, I will be getting on a plane IN CHICAGO to head home for my son’s last ever lacrosse banquet….once again because I didn’t know the time.
I also am staying at a hotel 18 miles away…..don’t ask please.
But if there has been a blessing in any of this is it that my flights in yesterday were late in the night……and when I arrived at the rental company they had given out all the compacts, which is what I had reserved. I do have to admit that I was a little disappointed in my car, as I began my ordained ministry in Florida where the white Crown Victoria was the “old people car of choice.” BUT as I took the car out on the highway what I soon discovered was the the white Crown Victoria is ALSO the “police car of choice” for most of the nation.
The bottom line is this……….I may be pretty frustrated and tired, BUT I have been living the sadist’s dream by coming up on jerky drivers quickly from behind and raising their ticket potential blood pressure. No, I do not do A THING to act like I am the police, nor would I….but I cannot deny that it has been a pleasure.
So just a few hours to go. But I have checked and I can still get the certification I am here to get. And thank God for that!
I would hate to think I came all this way just to mess with jerky drivers!
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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Gullible’s Travels……

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I find myself in a bit of a quandary. I am currently sitting AT the Indianapolis International Airport getting ready for a flight that I am prepared to board FAR TOO EARLY. I left to come here prepared for the usual, but I didn’t hit a light, there was no slow traffic, and I was past security in record time.

AND….I was patted down for the first time. It was not that I refused the full body scanner because I didn’t (I DID APOLOGIZE to the woman who called me through it….no one show be traumatized like that!) but apparently my Crucifix didn’t show up as clearly as it should have. (Yep, leave it to my boss to get me a TSA pat down…though partial)
But it was probably payback for leaving my family with the lion’s share of the clean-up from last night’s storm. Though I heard no sirens, SOMETHING hot our neighborhood last night. It was a violent storm and it damaged quite a few of our trees. We did not lose any, but there were many who did, and you can see the path as it went right through our yard. I send Scott out to buy a tree-extention saw, and I will buy a chainsaw on Wednesday and finish the rest. We did get quite a bit of the broken limbs that were still in the trees down before I left. There is still plenty to do.
But as for now I will finish this up and make my way back to the gate. (I have been typing here at a restaurant.) I have a good layover at Chicago’s Midway Airport where I always have dinner at Harry Caray’s on trips like these. No it is not on my diet, but I am doing pretty well.
I would take a picture for you to see here, but they (the TSA) are not fond of that. As a matter of fact, the last time I tried that I attracted A LOT of attention and they took my phone away to delete the pictures. BUT……I will post a fine-looking picture from DC tomorrow!
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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Paneraville…….

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My family…..you’ve got to love them. We met at two today at a local Panera, commandeered about four tables (that is 28 in dog tables), and enjoyed an abbreviated Tirman birthday celebration together. It was a fine time, and we were glad to take part.

But I am happy to be home because I have a lot to do. I will be doing two services tomorrow morning (sure, not as many as SAINT – Father PT Morgan who frequently does THREE! Seriously, just ask him…..well you really don’t need to. He tells EVERYBODY!) and then I will head to the airport for a trip to Washington DC for some training. So there is a sermon, some bulletins, some laundry, and some packing to do. If I just had some writers, a secretary and a maid or butler! THEN I would be done!
But alas, I will just make do with what I have handy……my broken down mind, my old printer/copier, and this broken down body! It doesn’t sound glamorous, but at least it is familiar!
Not bad for a guy almost 50!
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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Happy Birthday Dad……..

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Yep, it’s true. And although I do not remember exactly, my dad either turned 316 today or he is 75 today…….it may be 316.

But in honor of his birthday I gave him a call (since I will see him tomorrow) and in honor of his birthday it was from my car as I was taking his grandson (Scott) to the ER to get a few stitches in his hand. He cut himself real good on a piece of slate as we were moving some things around our shed. But the cut, although deep, was pretty clean. Three stitches (one for each century dad) and then a band-aid for the 16 additional years. It was Scott’s gift to us both….seeing as he is aging me faster than I can stand.
But tomorrow we will be meeting for our annual birthday meet and exchange lunch/dinner. This year it will be a late lunch. With all the birthdays we have (Amanda 5/28, Dad 6/3, Scott 6/16, ME 6/19, Father’s Day 6/19, Ben 6/30) it is better for our diets to not eat that much cake! So tomorrow it will be Panera, turkey sandwiches, fat-free soup, and everything I want BUT CAKE.
So Happy Birthday Dad! It really IS 75, and I know it. Of course we hit all the BIG birthdays together……I will not harass you about 75, because it is a BIG ONE. Dear Lord, most people don’t live that long. But since I am just 16 days shy of 50 I will keep my mouth shut about how old you are……lest that sweet revenge rears its ugly head.
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+ (still in my 40’s)
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At the mercy of the feet of the master……

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He looks so sweet when he sleeps……right!!! He is tricking you!

Scott and Ben share a room, actually they share two rooms and a bathroom in between. What they decided to do was to put both their beds in one and a couch, and a TV, (and a bunch of toys) in the other. They call it their suite (or better described “sweet”).

It’s a pretty great arrangement and would always be if it were not for Ben. At almost 4, Ben is a constant invader of privacy. And thus is the case most mornings when someone wakes up with him in their bed. Our door is always unlocked so he sneaks into our room often, but Scott’s bed is within just a few feet, so he is an easy mark.
And it really would not be so bad if he, as the littlest Tirman, didn’t take up as much room as, let me say, a room full of Tirmans. He has to keep his feet warm, and he will jam them underneath anyone he chooses. He also bring his toys, his blankies, and anything else he sees fit to bring (and at any hour) but it all becomes very crowded with him and all his possessions.
So this morning I was relieved to see that he had chosen his brother. (Steph and Cassie keep their door locked – Ben proofed). And quite honestly I think we may be onto something as I heard Scott ask him, “When did you sneak in here?”
I am hopeful that this could turn into a daily thing. My ribs are getting a workout when he sneaks in with us. He must be dreaming he is a soccer player.
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+