Well I apparently now CAN TELL you my big news, but I am going to do so tonight.  There are two reasons for this too…..one is that I need to make sure a few certain people are notified about it first, rather than reading it on the blog…..and two, I want to share that my daughter Stephanie and the Lindenwood Lions finished their lacrosse season tonight as CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS!!

There is good news and sad news however in this impressive feat.  The good news is that their team is the very first NCAA Division II Conference Champion in the school’s history.  The bad news is that as this is their first year in Division II they are ineligible for the National Tournament to play for the title.  They will also be ineligible next year, which means Steph will be a senior when they are first eligible.  It will be a great way however to finish out.  And I am SURE they are celebrating their 15-2 season tonight out in Colorado!  And if you go to www.LindenwoodLions.com you will see the team and the story on the front page.  It is pretty exciting.

So for now this is all I will be saying, but I say it with great pride!  Way to go Lions, and way to go Steph!  And it could not come on a better day for me, as today would have been my grandma’s 96th birthday!  I am sure she is smiling down on the Lions as well!!!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

I am now home and fairly prepared to meet the day tomorrow.  My back hurts, my knee huts, and that along with the storms moving through led to the decision for Father PT and I to return to Indiana early from the Synod.  We left Father Robert and his family there in Akron and picked up their hotel for one more night.  They were having such a great time, we thought they would enjoy a bit of a vacation…..and they were elated to accept.

But I come back with some mixed feelings.  We really have a great ministry here, and we are reaching out all over.  But it has been A LOT of work, and it continues to be.  And although we have a good reputation and such, when you start out (we as an Order are still under a year old, though we have been living like this for well over 5 years) people tend to take you as a bit faddish.  And as Anglicanism reforms, reorganizes, and revives, I see so much coming together in ways that seem to be thrown together, and I worry, not that these things just will not last, but that they water down the meaning of what we are called to do.

When we formed the Order of St. Michael the Archangel, we were really putting a name on something we had been living.  In addition to that, we are far more than an association or some sort of fraternity…..we are vowed to the Order no less than we are vowed as priests, and it is for life.  We worked hard to distinguish ourselves from our brothers and sisters who live cloistered and celibate lives, yet we have much in common with them all (most of our wives even voted for celibacy) but we are technically not monks and nuns, yet we, like them, are among the Church’s Religious.  Canons Regular live differently, work differently, and ultimately ARE different.  And in the Anglican Church, we very well may be the first expression of them.

But we are in this for life.  AND, we are looking for people to join us.  Send me a note, give me a call, pray about what God may be calling you to do……even if you do not join us, let us help get you to where you need to be.

But above all, please know that to us this is not a novel thing.  Anybody can write OSM or anything they want behind their name, wear a habit or a ring, or anything else for all that matters……but to us the mark of our Order is not about that at all.

The mark of our Order is quite simply found in the way you live your life…….

Come on now and get in touch with me.   Let’s get you to where God is calling you to be!

Goodnight (from my own home) and God Bless!

Tommy+

I have been in Akron, Ohio all day for the Synod of the Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes.  It has been a fruitful time and a blessing to those of us attending……and that is a big confession coming from a guy who generally dislikes these kind of gatherings.  This however, has been done well, and we will go from not until tomorrow at 4pm, after which Father PT and I will head home.  Father Robert and his family will stay one additional day and enjoy some well-deserved rest and relaxation.

It is a great group of people too, some of whom I have been working with or among for 20 years.  It amazes me how things have changed.  I am taken back by my memories to gatherings where we spoke of our concerns for the Church and its direction and prayed diligently to God for HIS DIRECTION and help in correcting it.  Most of us were expecting reform, but what we got was an Exodus.  And the result is far more than we could have ever asked for or imagined.  It is pretty cool.

But to be honest, I am tired.  I generally come to things that go all day the day before so I am well rested.  Sadly I didn’t do that.  Plus my back hurts from all the driving and sitting, and my knee is not too happy as well.

But at least I am!  I love what I do, and I love the people I do it with.  And today I was able to spend the entire day among them!  What a wonderful blessing!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Wow…I got a call from my dad tonight asking me how I was after having knee surgery today, and I had no dang idea what he was talking about.  Apparently he got that information from this blog, so I want to apologize to ANYONE who thought I was under the knife today, and I pledge to no longer post while having a vodka tonic until this mystery is solved (or “sol-ved,” as my hero Peter Sellers would say.)

In truth, I have an APPOINTMENT with my surgeon on Tuesday, and yes, he does love to repair my athletically-damaged body……BUT I am not totally convinced I need any type of surgery.  What I am convinced of however is that my knee (my GOOD knee) still hurts.  To cut into it is going to take some convincing (and probably some expensive testing) but I will see.  My ortho doc is a great guy, a wonderful guy in fact, and all things considered, I am glad we spent absolutely ZERO time together today!

So my knee is the same and everyone is guessing incorrectly at my surprise.  Life is good…even if I am limping.  Tomorrow I head to AKRON, OHIO till late Saturday afternoon….bad knee and all.  But I am looking forward to it and hope to enjoy the trip.

But pray for me …….after all, I have no clue apparently as to what I am doing!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Okay, as for my big announcement/surprise, it will happen, but now I cannot tell you until sometime NEXT WEEK…..other than to say it has a lot to do with CORN.  So I apologize for that, but it is clearly not my decision to make.  I will however tell you as soon as I can.

As for yesterday’s post, my wife said I needed to go onto it and correct it, for after I shared her interaction with me about my stroke anniversary, she said I went back and closed my post by going back to the wrong date!  Indeed she was right, but I have decided to not correct it.  I am instead posting this “correction” just like you would see in a newspaper (an archaic method of communicating news that was popular when I was a kid)  so……”the reference to Tom’s stroke being on April 18, 2008 in yesterday’s blog post was in error.  The correct day should be April 14, 2008.  We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.”  There, buried in the middle of the blog.

But why would I not go back and change it?  Well, quite simply because correcting things as a habit that I cannot remember or do incorrectly can be very damaging to a stroke survivor.  You see, this happens all the time, and if I went back to everything, or I got all upset about everything, it would probably cause me to spiral.  As I say, “it is what it is,” and I am just not going to worry about it.  If I did, it would be a quick trip to the loony farm.  I choose instead to laugh it off.

And of course if you knew about my week you would see that I am laughing quite a few things off currently.   But thank God I will not be forgetting anything else.

Yep, the one thing I have never lost is my ability to laugh.  I thank God for that, on this day, on April 14th, and even on April 18th…..the anniversary of my stroke. (Sorry honey, I just could not resist.)

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

What I am going to share I really do see as a GOOD THING, but I attempted to make my wife feel guilty on the 20th.  You see, I thought that she MISSED the anniversary of my stroke, and since she and the kids have ALWAYS made a big thing about it, I can say that I was a bit hurt and even offended by the LACK of acknowledgement.  Having a stroke is a BIG THING, and it kind of hurt that they forgot.

So I tried to bring it up to my wife in a STEALTH manner.  I shared with her how April 18th came and went and that she and the kids didn’t even acknowledge it at all.  And of course I brought this up on APRIL 20th, as I had apparently forgotten myself!

But my wife in her usual DIRECT WAY, apologized and then shared that she thought about it on THE VERY DAY…….APRIL 14th.  She was in Kansas and felt terrible, but since I didn’t say anything, she thought I might of forgotten……which I apparently DID…since my stroke was on April 14th!!!

Oh yes, I was called out, and rightly so……I was trying to get some mileage out of something I had already blown…..I just wish I knew I had already blown it.  The bad part was that I got caught….the good part was that I really did forget, which I consider not a good thing, but a GREAT THING.

Yes, on April 18th, 2008 I had a stroke, and though it affected me, it does not define me.  Am I the man that I was, heck no, but in all honesty I believe I am a better man.  I am just thankful for my family who has stood by me, and EVEN for my wife who is OCCASIONALLY smarter than I am and can call me out.

But regardless of whether or not I remember the date, I thank God that He made me taller, smarter, ad better looking.  After all, if you have had a stroke, what is the point of remaining connected to the bad parts of reality.

My wife is one lucky woman!  Scary, isn’t it..???  THAT PICTURE IS OF ME!!!!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Well today has not gone as planned.  Apparently I told my son (Scotty) he could keep using my car and I suddenly discovered that I was going to be unable to pick up Ben at 3, as he had not left me keys to his car.  In addition to that, my knee was not cooperating to the extent that I finally gave in and called the surgeon….I have an appointment next Tuesday (although I still hope to cancel it).  AND, all the stuff I was hoping to catch up on I still have to do.  Time today was not my friend.  And I hope to see some better progress tomorrow.

I am amazed at how the things I envision are often nowhere near what really goes down.  Oh sure, it is great when those things exceed my expectations, but many times they do not.   Victories occur when they at least meet them…..so as you may be able to tell, I am not all that thrilled about today.

But the beauty of life is that there is almost always a second chance, and that will be the case for me tomorrow.  Amanda asked me about my tomorrow a little bit ago, and I couldn’t give her a direct answer.

I guess that means I am envisioning a day of confusion beginning first thing tomorrow morning.  Finally a day where I can live up to and meet my expectations!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Well it seems like it has been for forever, but we are finally back at home in good old Edgewood, Indiana tonight.  Saying good bye to Steph was mighty hard, but as we left she told Ben (although he is famous for meltdowns, she is too) that she would see him in 20 days!  That’s right, in 20 days school will be over for the year and she will return a JUNIOR!

And with as busy as I will be, I suppose I will manage to wait (like I have a choice).  But it does give me something to look forward to.  I will say that I am looking forward to these next few months, although I also can confess that I intend a bit of news with everyone later this week that will also be a big change for my plans over the next few months.  Yep, nothing EVER goes as planned.

But for now I just be thankful for my own house, my family (sans Steph) and my own bed.  I will be at home ALL DAY tomorrow catching up from being away, but it was all worth it.  I am just happy to be able to live the life I am living……it is a total blessing.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Oh sure I wish this were a better picture of me (I am on the left)…..it is not a thorn and two roses, but two roses and some sort of bull moose.  BUT the real blessing was that this bull moose was able to hang with his daughter.

Tonight they had an end of year banquet for lacrosse, and we were able to go.  It was different for me, in that the last lacrosse banquet I attended that Steph didn’t receive some sort of an award was her freshman year in high school.  It says a lot about the level she is now playing.  These girls are phenomenal players, and as a coach (now former coach), it is a real delight to be among them.   I only wish I could get to more of their games.

What I can say is that I am glad to be able to be here.  Lacrosse is a BIG part of my daughter’s life, but when I am here it is easy to see all the buildings where she attends class and remember that chemistry is a big part of that life too.  She will graduate from here in a little over 2 years and enter life after traveling the country playing lacrosse, developing close friendships with some pretty fine young women (and I mean that in terms of their character), and in addition to this learn a little chemistry as well.  It’s pretty cool to see what she has accomplished, and I look forward to what’s ahead.

Of course tomorrow I will be all depressed because we will head back to Indiana where I hope and pray Scott still is with the cat and the dog and the house.  AND, I pray they are all healthy and that the house is still standing.  Steph will return home about a month behind us, but that doesn’t mean we will not miss her.

Growing up is pretty hard……..but at 50 I am working on it.  

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yep, Amanda, Ben, and I are in Missouri for Steph’s final home game of the season which they won tonight 17-10.  Steph played a great game, and it is so wonderful to get to watch her play.  It was one of the primary reasons I retired from coaching high school last year.  I was just not available to see her play her last few years of lacrosse.

Scott of course has that whole “job thing” going on, so he and the dog and the cat (the last two are not working) are at home doing the weekend there.  I really wish he (Scott) could have come along, but at 18, he is pretty busy.  I am sure however it would have made him miss lacrosse…..a sport we have all been involved in, and love.

But for now I will just enjoy that for which we am here.  It will be my last trip out here this school year, and I hope to get to see all those great seniors that will be graduating next month.  Steph has some really great friends and it is just such a great time to be able to see her and them, and spend this kind of quality time with them!

I intend to enjoy every bit of it too!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+