Monthly Archives: June 2008

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Deja vu all over again……

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As heartbreaking as it seems, I had to take Amanda in for another shot for a migraine headache this morning, and then I had to take her in again for another shot this afternoon. As you may remember, I took her last week as well. The day seemed like deja vu all over again. It seemed like deja vu all over again. And yes, that was just a joke….my stroke no longer makes me do things twice twice.

But in all seriousness, I really feel badly for her. One migraine in a lifetime I know is more than enough for anyone. People who have them really suffer from them. And it is almost unfathomable to think about having two in one week, and then have the second one not respond to those shots. Most of the people I know who get relief and the shots make them sleep for a couple of days, but not Amanda. She is awake and miserable.

The doctor did order a CT scan which fortunately turned out to be normal, but it doesn’t answer the question of “why?” which really bothers her. Nor does it solve my her primary problem……the headaches are debilitating. We were just very thankful to not find any underlying causes…..beacuse some of them can be scary!

I have to say I am exhausted, busy with kids, and have fallen asleep twice now typing this with Ben and Scotty lwatching me. It has been a big day and I am still on duty. I want her to get better. Let’s just hope and pray we are not doing it again tomorrow!

Peace and no headaches!

Tom+

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Of Sundays, Hoosiers, and of course, Coach Marvin Wood…….

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Today, overall, has gone quite well. I was able to preach and celebrate at both St. Anne’s in Anderson and St. Patrick’s in Noblesville, but due to the flooding in Brown County that I wrote about yesterday, I was unable to be with the good people at St. Matthew’s in Nashville. How ironic that Big Brown (no relation to the County) and I both were unable to attain the Triple Crown over the weekend! It’s not anything I will get bend out of shape about though. It is clear to me that just getting to do two of the three services was still a lot for me and I am beat (but not beaten!)

So I was totally ready for a nap when I got home, and I do not know how it all happened, but Amanda got the nap and I got Ben (who was supposed to be a part of our overall nap strategy).

Ben has been amazing all afternoon, like a baby on espresso. Every time I think he is about to go out suddenly he smiles as if to say “just kidding dad,” and he’s good for another hour. And if that were not bad enough, I thought I would take the opportunity read while he sat next to me (part of the time in his high chair and part in his playpen). But he however decided to “sing” (as best as a baby can) all through that time instead. Don’t get me wrong, he is a great baby, but he is clearly tone deaf at this point of his life. It’s cute, but not for that long, particularly when I am trying to read. So I am praying his singing improves…..and at this point it really has to!

I mentioned a book I had received called “My Stroke of Insight” a few days ago. I did get a chapter read yesterday in that, but it was not the book I was reading today. Many of you may remember the movie “Hoosiers.” It was roughly based on the 1954 Milan High School Indians basketball team and their State Championship run. The coach of that team was one of my favorite teachers at Mishawaka High School who left a big impression upon my life, Coach Marvin Wood. I have been reading his biography, “A Boy, a Ball, and a Dream: The Marvin Wood Story.” And I tried, amidst the off pitch, 11 1/2 month old singing, to finish it today.

Sure, as we all know, I was no basketball player, and had I ever been one, Coach Wood would have been sure to cut me. In high school I was only 5’4″, nowhere near the 6’4″ I am now (okay I am just 5’9″). But Coach Wood was my health, PE, and driver’s education teacher, but more than anything he was a man of incredible integrity who left his mark upon me, and many of us who had the pleasure of attending God’s favorite High School, Mishawaka High.

After I graduated and was a student at Butler University in the early 1980’s and Hollywood came to film part of the movie “Hoosiers” there, a movie loosely based on Milan’s 1954 Cinderellas story. And I remember saying, “Who would ever want to see a movie about Indiana high school basketball?” I even declined, like so many other students did, at a chance to be in the movie as part of the crowd at Hinkle Fieldhouse. But here’s why…..

In all my years as a student at Mishawaka High we never really knew that Coach Wood was famous. He wasn’t someone we though Gene Hackman would ever play, he was instead our teacher….and that was who he wanted to be. He was a man who cared about each of us, a man of deep faith and moral conviction, who chose to not say, “Hey, don’t you know who I am?” But he was instead a man who listened to, taught, and walked with all of us. He left a mark on so many of us….myself included. And it said a great deal to me that he never used his remarkable past to leverage anything with us. He just cared for us and led us, and always did so with a smile. I still remember the sign he had hanging in the library under a pretty tall walkway….. it said “If you hit your head on this, please contact Coach Wood.” My head never hit it, not even close (even on a ladder). He always just had a smile, and he always could get one from you too.

I doubt that among so many others he taught through the years that Coach Wood would even remember me, after all, I was a hockey player and only ever got out on the basketball floor for gym or a dance, but I will always remember him. But, in truth, I also would certainly not be surprised if he did. He made a big influence on me and I, among so many others who had him as a teacher, felt it was important enough to be present at his funeral in Mishawaka quite a few years ago. It was an amazing gathering I will never forget.

It’s funny. Now I am a coach, and a lot of what I do is a compilation of many of the coaches I have had personally in my life. Coach Wood would have laughed had I said I wanted to play basketball, but even without playing, I know he coached even me. And I was blessed to have one of the best, because ultimately I believe coaches teach us more about life than anything else. He taught me a lot.

Thanks Coach Wood…..I never told you in person, but I am confident you hear it now. I am glad to have had the opportunity to read the book, but more than glad to have the opportunity to walk a short time with one of the great ones….. and I will make sure the opportunity is not wasted.

As I said, today has gone quite well (other than the off-tune singing)……and as I reflect upon it, so has my life. The Lord has blessed me with some great examples…..and for them, and for this wonderful day, I am truly thankful.

God Bless….

Fr. Tom+

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Houston, we have a problem…..

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The drama was almost too much to take, but sadly I had to take it. Our service in Nashville had to be cancelled today seeing as Brown County received record amounts of rainfall over the past few days……so we couldn’t even get there. The INTERSTATES were flooded and closed! Apparently it was about 10 inches of rain that fell, and that is almost unfathomable! It now joins only one other story I have heard in my lifetime about rain that I couldn’t get my brain around ….and that other story was Noah’s Ark! Praise God that everyone we talked to said they were doing okay.

Even though we had to miss the service, we will be seeing the good people of Brown County later this week to do some hands on ministry. We will sign up people at St. Patrick’s (Noblesville) and St. Anne’s (Anderson) tomorrow to head down to Brown County during the week so we can help people in need. We currently know of no one requesting our help, but Deacon Conley will be making an inquiry about where we can help this week tomorrow. If you are interested, please let us know.

Sure it would have been great to be back in worship. Sure it would have been great to have that first service behind me…..but there are plenty of things more important that hearing me preach. And helping those in Brown County with real needs is one of them!

The rain and flooding will not prevent me from being in Noblesville or Anderson tomorrow, and I am looking forward to it. But my thoughts and prayers go out to those who really need them right now…..those effected by the floods.

Keep them in your prayers, and come join us in helping them if you have the chance.

Peace!

Fr Tom+

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The final preparations…..

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Well tomorrow will be the beginning of the big swing! Tomorrow I will travel down to Nashville to both preach and celebrate. It will be the first service I have done there in quite some time, and the first of three I will do this weekend.

I am really looking forward to it too. Sitting around waiting to get better has made me pretty bored, and to be honest I am one of those maladjusted people who really loves what they do. I missed being in all our missions, not just because I love being a priest, but because they are full of wonderful people too!

So tomorrow will be a big day, and then Sunday too. My sermon is almost ready, and it seems to be about what I would expect, especially considering all that I have been through. It will not be earth -shattering or have information about how you can get the mate of your dreams, make thousands without lifting a finger, or lose 25 pounds without ever exercising, but it will teach a bit about faith in Jesus Christ. The Gospel is about Jesus eating with Matthew the Tax Collector and other “sinners.” Nothing like coming back to work and starting with an IRS sermon….at least the first place I give it will be St. Matthew’s!

Anyway, they say there is no rest for the wicked, so I best be getting to bed before people start talking. But I am excited to be at this point. As they say in Florida, the shuttle is on the launch pad and all systems are go……..I am looking forward to it.

Keep me in your prayers…..this will be a lot more than I have done in months!

God Bless.

Tom+

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Of lacrosse, awards, goals, and the future……..

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Tonight was a spectacular night! We were able to join a few hundred people for the Noblesville Lacrosse Awards Banquet. Both our boys’ and girls’ varsity teams received awards, as well as our boys’ JV. Next year we will add a girls’ JV as well.

The awards banquet was a big marker for me. It was a goal I had to finish this first season even before I had the stroke. And then after having it, getting to that banquet became even more important to me.

I had to speak at the banquet, and remember things without notes, and do so in front of this large crowd as we presented our part, the girls’ varsity awards. My Assistant Coach Lisa Corry had it all laid out and was there to help me fumble through what I had to say, but it was important to do because the Noblesville Lacrosse community is made up of some of the finest people I have ever met. They were there for me when I had my stroke. They stepped up for the girls during that time too. They brought the entire girls’ team into their already existing club and have helped us to develop. And all they did for Michael Treinen and his family was one of the most remarkable things I have ever been a part of. These are not just people who are good at running a lacrosse program, these are good people. And it was an honor, and important to be among them. I think I did okay, but Lord only knows….I will have to ask my wife.

We gave out the awards and celebrated a great year. It was a blast. I wish I had an award for each of them. They are all great girls and we wouldn’t have been the team we were without even one of them. Our three seniors who graduated will be missed, but college calls, and they are fine young women who will all do well. I was honored to be able to coach all of them this year. I hope that came across.

The hardest part, and a huge honor for me was to bestow the award for the Most Valuable Player which is among a few of the awards that the players vote on, not the coaches. This year it went to my daughter Stephanie, and I got pretty choked up as I read her name. She is a great player among many, and it was a big honor to be chosen by her teammates. As I talked to her about it later she said it was both a surprise and an honor, but then she started to talk about next year. As a matter of fact, most of the girls I talked to did. They are great kids, but they have become athletes and their focus is strong. It is awesome to see them develop as a team.

So today was a great day of both accomplishment and joy. I am glad however that it is over. I will need the night to rest and recover. Few days in my life have been better. I have great kids, I am surrounded by remarkable people, and life is getting better each day!

I best go to bed before something goes wrong!

Night and God bless!

Tom+

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Of carrying my assistant, and other ramblings…..

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I spent much of the day in meetings today, and as it turned out, so did Ben. He is very used to hanging out with me, yet the stroke, the heat, and the fact that he is getting a lot heavier and can’t walk on his own all are contributing factors to the upcoming heart attack I appear to be heading for! Hopefully in a few more weeks I will be in better shape and my energy will be back. (or he will be able to run at a brisk pace….I will not hold out for that miracle) But in truth, I do not handle the tired-thing too well.

One of my wife’s coworkers bought me a book to read that ironically I almost bought for myself last week. It is called “My Stroke of Insight” (my apologies to my librarian mother-in-law but you cannot underline in this blogging program) by Jill Bolte Tayor who is a brain scientist who had a stroke herself and wrote about it. Finally someone as fascinated as me with all that is going on inside my brain! I will begin reading it tomorrow in between writing a sermon for the weekend. I will let you know if I glean anything spectacular from reading it. But just from what I read as I looked at it, I was very drawn in.

I am excited about it, because I still need some help and to put my feet firmly on the ground. I will admit that I still struggle a lot. I know that I am blessed in that I have no real physical impairments from all of this, but I really am trying to get a grip on my mind. People talk to me and they see me. I look fine, I act fine, but I do act. On Sunday, though it went well, I was scared to death. And tonight when Amanda came home I just could not get a normal conversation out of my mouth. I had to just head to the other room and keep my mouth shut. I was not capable of anything helpful! I know what I want and what I should be doing, it just sometimes doesn’t come….I am told however to add the word “yet.” I need to be more patient, and though it is hard, I need the world to be more patient with me. I will get there….when however, is the question of every hour.

Keep praying for me and my family. We are still working hard, and I know it will all turn out fine in the end.

God bless…

Tom+

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Of birthdays, family, and of course cake……..

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Today is my dad’s birthday, and as always, I made it a point to call him. My dad is 25 years older than me, and though that makes him just 72 this year, (Lord I wish it were just 50) I always pretend it is about 172. He never fails to get me back though, after all my birthday is June 19th. Even at his advanced age he can remember that long! He and I jab back and forth at each other every year, but it is always in good fun. I am just thankful we can.

June is always a big month in our family. After we get Amanda’s birthday out of the way on May 28th (it is our warm up), we celebrate my dad’s, Scotty’s (June 16th), Father’s Day (I am not sure when), my birthday, and then now Ben’s birthday (June 30th)! And we all put on about 15 pounds in 30 days……and most of it comes from cake! I am not a big fan of sweets (unless it is cake) and I can think of no better way to spend the month than laughing, joking, and choking down my favorite poison….cake, with the real buttercream icing!

I suppose if I finally have to come off of medical leave and show everyone how far I have progressed, it may not be the best plan to do so in a semi-diabetic comatose state. But please understand, old habits and family traditions are the hardest to break…..plus, all the graduation parties make it almost impossible. In truth I will take what I can, after all, I am just happy to be back.

And back I am! I am now again working full-time and excited to be doing so. It is not always easy, not always pretty, and sometimes quite a challenge, but I see each day as a gift and as an opportunity. In time, I should be fine, but I do not want to take any of it for granted. God has blessed me, and the future is looking bright. And I thank Him daily for it….and of course for the month of June and all that cake!

I am preaching and celebrating at all three missions this weekend! I hope you and come on out and worship with us!

God Bless and I hope to see you soon!

Fr. Tom+

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Of hay, shots, and headaches……..

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As I sit here typing, I am reminded of the story about a traveling evangelist who went about place to place preaching and teaching. He went to one particular place to preach, a ranch, and instead of finding a whole bunch of cowboys, he instead found just one way out by a campfire on the plain. Even though the evangelist was disappointed there was only one cowboy there to preach to, he decided to share his entire sermon which it went over 45 minutes. After he was done, the cowboy looked completely overwhelmed. When he asked him why the cowboy said, “No offense sir, but sometimes I come out here with some hay to feed the cattle, but if I find only one cow I don’t make it eat an entire bale.”

I didn’t post at all this weekend because I indeed fed myself an entire bale, although that may huge UNDER-estimation on my part. This weekend our Bishop came to ordain a deacon (way to go Tony!) (the service was on Sunday) and he and a priest stayed at our house. It was great having them both here, but with so much going on, I just wondered how I did with everyone. It was more than I had done in months, and I really had to struggle hard to maintain concentration on all I was needing to concentrate on. I just don’t have a good sense of self-awareness right now! I just don’t want to insult anyone. Thank God they are both friends too, have a deep sense of concern for me and understanding.

We (our family) also had three open houses to stop in at for graduations this weekend. So there was even more going on than the church-stuff! But despite all the busyness, I knew I would make it, and I did! Yee ha!

Sure enough however, my long run is not quite over……this morning Amanda got very sick with a migraine and this afternoon I had to take her to get a shot. She of course has it A LOT worse than anyone else here in terms of condition. I know that for sure. It’s just that I am well past when I thought I would get some rest. And to make things worse, sadly, Mr. Ben is not being very helpful either. It amazes me that at almost 1 year old you never want to take a nap, while at 46 you want one all the time. And he and I just cannot seem to reach a happy medium. The important part though, and the blessing is, is that Amanda is unconscious and probably will remain that way until tomorrow due to the shot. It will take her a few days, but the shots do work, and she will get better….and we all thank God for that!

But the reality is that there will be no shot for me!! And I will be awake for quite some time. The bale this weekend and today already seemed pretty big, but clearly Ben thinks we need a little more hay.

No worries though, I intend to get through it and live a long and productive life………long enough for sure to make certain he gets what I know he needs…..a dad he can take care of! After all, what goes around comes around. And if I can’t give him that kind of hay, I am sure one day he will have a boy of his own!

Update: It looks like the graham cracker and bottle is working! Praise God!

Tom+