I have been home just about an hour.  My clothes are in the wash, and Scotty has so very graciously offered to put them in the dryer for me.  Ben asked me how my trip was, but that was apparently just to lure me into a deeply detailed recounting of the Spiderman movie he was watching.  Honestly I was very worried that he was going to pass out as he kept talking and talking.  I never saw any time for air to go back into him.

But of course that is what I know as “normal,” and I am glad to be back in the midst of it.  I am tired and miserable because my legs are killing me, but all I have tomorrow is a doctor appointment in the morning (an ophthalmologist)  I have been having problems with my right eye for over a year and this is a specialist among specialists.  My hope is that he can either fix it or take it out!  I am tired of it!

Now my eyes are certainly not what they used to be, but I do know that Ben went into my room quite some time ago and has not come out.  I also know the lights are off in there.  I see his plan and am prepared to live with it for the night.  He often invades my space, but I have been gone since Saturday and honestly it has been a bit weird as that no one talked any superhero stuff to me, jumped on me, or threw a Captain America shield at valuable stuff around me.  It bored me to tears.

THAT problem is solved.  Tomorrow we will see if the good doctor can solve the rest.

Goodnight from beautiful Edgewood, Indiana and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yep, I completed my certification training and now am a certified life coach.  Of course I intend to use this mainly in my role as the head of a Church and and also of a Holy Order, but I suppose if tons of you wanted to hire me at an astronomically obscene rate, then I could just donate money to make sure the Church and Order are well funded.  But I am guessing that a private practice in all of this is probably not going to happen.  My best advice is to donate to the Church and the Order anyway…..it will make you feel great and it will help us do our work as well.

But obviously this is not my first rodeo.  I am at my hotel for the night rather than trying to drive home through the mountains and snow in the dark.  I will be leaving in the morning, and as soon as I hear from Amanda I will commit to a time.  I am not looking forward to the drive, but I am looking forward to getting home.  My certification will probably not mean a lot to my wife….I am sure I will still be sleeping in the garage.

But who cares?  It will be MY GARAGE!  And that means I will be around all my stuff and this may surprise you, but there is a little less traffic and congestion in good old Edgewood, Indiana.  I LOVE where I live, and will be more than happy to return.

So keep me in your prayers tomorrow.  I am coming home…..and that I can certify!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Sometimes I get what others would call “writer’s block,” but for me it is hard to tell.  I write this blog primarily as therapy for myself post-stroke, and when things challenge me I often wonder if it they are just the normal old things or if they are connected somehow.

Well the Superbowl is over, and much to my chagrin, my beloved Chicago Bears did not win.  There of course is always next year, and I am going to send a letter to the Bears’ management tomorrow suggesting a different strategy for the future…….like playing well enough to actually make it to the Superbowl.

The big story, I mean other than the Giants’ win, was that Amanda and Scott were in attendance and had an absolute blast.  (Amanda sent me this picture) Amanda won the tickets in a drawing at her work (Eli Lilly) and they were actually in the Eli Lilly loge.  (Not a luge as I had previously stated, as Amanda does not like cold weather.) I could not go, as I am currently in Virginia for a certification class that was scheduled at this time.  And Scotty has been making the most of it.  He has tons of stories, but the best has been meeting Joe Montana and sharing how mad I was going to be that it was not me.  I used to watch him at Notre Dame.

But I did get to watch the game at the hotel, and while they were fighting traffic, I was in bed relaxing and typing this.  It really was a special time for both of them though, and I am so happy they had this opportunity.  It will be something that I am sure Scotty will remember forever.

Just like the time I missed meeting Joe Montana.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

What is it with all the deer that want to kill themselves?  Do they think that running out in front of my car as I am going 70 will make it any less of a suicide?  They either are REALLY depressed or MORONS, and I am betting on the latter.

Yes, today I almost wacked Bambi 3 different times, and I use the word “wacked” because I am the first generation of my family born outside of Brooklyn, New York.  Do you have a problem with that?  I though so.

But in all honesty, I would not mind helping these said deer out, if they would just help me.  I truly HATE my car, and would be more than willing to HAVE TO buy a new one.  But these deer are just not right, and as they DOVE in front of my car, I was certain that they were working for my wife, who was probably going to pay that Buck’s little Doe Widow an appropriate sum so they could both vacation in Cozumel.  Don’t try to fool me, I could see it in his eyes!

But as the kids say, “too bad so sad,” Mr. 10 Points is still prowling the woods and I am suffering immensely at my hotel….not!  And the bottom line is that we will both live to do something incredibly stupid another day!

Some things never change.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tommy+

Tonight’s picture was taken in the parking lot of the Anderson Public Library, where I took Ben to return last week’s “Justice League Film Festival,” and hopefully talk him into something a bit more educational…..like a book.

Clearly his Nanny’s genes are being repressed by the do-gooder genes that favor the Justice League.  After all, she is a LIBRARIAN, which to her grandson apparently means she works at the Blockbuster.  And yes, I know that there are no longer any Blockbusters anymore, but I am sure you got my point.  The  boy just like fighting evil.

He also apparently has NO VOLUME CONTROL either, raising his voice in the video store, I mean library.  Now I am certifiably hard of hearing and DO qualify for hearing aids, however even I do better than Ben at understanding how loud I am.  And warnings, threats, anything…..he is not afraid, as he is a superhero and has not a lot to fear.  So I just apologize left and right and check out a few movies and head off on our way.

So tonight at home he watched his movies and was talking about how great a friend his cat was to him.  Of course I mentioned to him that he never feeds her, although it is on his chore list.  AND, I told him I thought it would be nice and she would appreciate it if he fed her tonight.  He agreed.

As you can see, there is little doubt in my mind why that cat loves him so.  Superheroes are hard for me to understand.  But who cares?  It really cracks me up to be able to live with one!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

As I stopped into the Wal-Mart yesterday to pick up a few things my mind went back to another time.  I was watching an older woman, who obviously was working their, stretching up on her toes and balancing the item on the very tips of her fingers to get it into place.  Yes, she was short.

And that made me laugh.  No, not because she was working so hard to get this done, but because she had a lot of determination.  It reminded me of my grandmother, who also was pretty short but yet determined.  And I always loved to hang around with her, not just because she was my grandma, but because she thought I was tall…..or at least led me to believe it.

So I left the Wal-mart and went to pick up Ben……early.  He just seemed out of sorts, and really hadn’t been feeling well this past week.  And when I asked him what was wrong, he said he was felling “low.”  Of course I knew that meant he just wasn’t feeling well, but as he said it my mind went right to my mom whose favorite song was Garth Brooks’ “Friends in low places.”  I felt for him, but the analogy made me smile, as did the good memories today of two people I miss very much.  God rest their souls.

But as the day wore on, I began to wonder.  Ben took a great nap at home but woke up fine.  And it was after he got his pajamas on that he began to feel “low” again.  The picture is my hypothesis.  Yes, that is MY BED he is in, next to his MOM.  Just before then he was a wild man, playing with his dog, his cat, and his brother.  He was singing and clowning in the tub before this too.  But as the now “imaginary umbilical  cord” began to stretch, he reeled her in….after all, he was feeling “low.”  What a short memory she has, although I dare not complain as I benefit from it often.

So today I thank God for some good memories, and pray to Him tonight for no little feet jammed into my side of put across my head in my sleep.  But if it does happen (which I imagine it will) as least I can thank Him also, that that little weasel (a favorite word of my mom) is clean.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

There are so many things that are happening right now in my world that I am almost afraid to share them as my head feels it is about to explode, but I want to assure you they are all wonderful things.

First of all, I have been training to be certification as a coach, and tonight I found out that all seems to be in line to obtain that certification.  I want to us this as the Superior of our Order (check us out at The Order of St. Michael the Archangel) as a way to help new churches and faithful Christians discover and move into their ministries.  Our hope in the OSM is to be a blessing to others.  So that is going well.

And in terms of the Order, I also want to share that we are getting inquiries from ALL OVER!  And this BLESSES US!  And though at this point there are FOUR brothers who are a part and have taken life-vows, our prayer is to see others join us and that means WOMEN as well.  And the inquireries are encouraging as well!

But more than the INWARD FOCUS, exists the OUTWARD one………we want to be a blessing to you. If you are wondering what God is calling you to do or be in your life; if you feel called to plant a Church where you are or elsewhere, or if you just need to talk, we are here for you.

The Lord has called us to this wonderful place and He has blessed us to be a blessing to you.  Let us know how we can help you or how we can pray for you.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Although he is much less “super” in this picture than he is now, Ben did indeed pick it out and ask me to use it on my blog tonight.  I was actually looking for a different picture, but he has been home much of the day not feeling well, and seemed pretty insistent.  I was smart enough to not argue.

Of course, even I, like most of us, like pictures from many years ago.  In my pictures I was not only younger, but I was thinner.  Unlike Ben however, I was just as super…….I swear, delusions are absolutely wasted on the youth.

But as I perused through the pictures I began to see a theme, as well as a theory of why he is the way he is.  Ben, unlike Steph and Scotty, had PJ’s that were almost exclusively superhero.  There was very little Barney, or preschool stuff, but instead all the classics that had screwed me up so well throughout my life.
Everything began to make sense, and as I reflected on it, I cannot say I regretted it one bit.

And why?  Because I was actually worried about Steph and Scott at Ben’s age.  In truth, a purple dinosaur  influencing kids without their parents around, or other kids that used musical instruments for fuel and protection, just didn’t seem like decent role models.  I just thank God they have turned out well.  But the whole good verses evil along with the basic formula of God and Country just has never failed me.

So I am glad for what I have and for where it appears to be headed.  Superman at this point, he is not, but that will not deter me from encouraging it.

Somethings in life are just worth teaching and believing in…….and being one of the good guys is among them.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+