What a marvelous day!  Bishop Roger was here for his Visitation, and we were able to see him Confirm two, receive the Novitiate vows of one, and ordain one to the diaconate and another to the priesthood.  It was kind of a busy day!!

But I have to confess, I was really relieved to get to my bed (which I did not sleep in last night as I bunked with Ben and my mother–in-law bunked with Amanda).  And I actually got just shy of a 2 hour nap!!!  It was WAY TOO SHORT, but the good news is that I am back here now typing!  Sleep WILL come soon, and I will need a ton of it!!  With being in Akron last week and the very quick turn around, it is going to be a blessing.

Sadly however, with all the chaos and all the people staying here, I did not have my phone to take pictures, nor has anyone sent any to me or posted any I can mooch!!  So tonight’s picture is just one of the Bishop last week!!!   The bad news is that it has nothing to do with today.  The good news is that it is really him.  And he is not just our Bishop, but he is also my friend.  It was a real blessing to have him here with us today!

But for now I am heading to bed.  Ben is in his bed and Amanda is far less wiggly!  I think I will actually get some rest….Lord knows, we all need it!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yes, today we sold Scotty’s car (being very aptly shown in the picture for the ad by Scotty’s dog Viper).  It had been in our family from before he could drive, and it was the car that his sister FEARED we would give her, but he loved it.  He put a ton of miles on it and as it left it was adorned with his beloved USMC decals and such.  It was hard to see it go, because to us it really represented part of him……but it did go to a good home.

Of course we still have his dog, and we even still have his little brother.  His room now is completely changed, and by changed I mean CLEANED.  He did apologize in advance for all that we might find there, yet I will confess that there was nothing at all that would incriminate him in any way.  (Other than the fact that he is a bit, a very very very large bit, messy)

Ironically, even though we do not hear from him, I am certain his area of the barracks is spotless and always will be.  He will listen intently to that Drill Instructor, and my best guess is that when he comes home for leave in December he will listen to Amanda too, at least about his room.

I guess that is the blessing for me for the day.  For although a little piece of me died today seeing his car leave our driveway today, I know the real Scotty will be returning up that drive himself in December, and as a Marine.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Holy Smokes!  I am SO VERY THANKFUL to be HOME!!!  And I drove through a monsoon to get here!  The drive however was pretty good and full of lots of singing and good conversation (with myself).  I had a good and productive time in Akron, but as Dorothy says, “There’s no place like home.”

But it is not that there is nothing to do here.  The Bishop, who I just left in Akron, will also head this way tomorrow where all our clergy are converging (to our house) for a informal get together before he ordains and Confirms and hears the vows of yet another Brother on Sunday.  So it was a “Hi honey, I love you, welcome home, let’s hurry and go to the store” kind of night.  Not ideal, but did I not mention it is HOME and I am delighted to be here.

And oh yeah, in my INFINITE BRILLIANCE I also scheduled a “Blessing of the Pets” tomorrow morning in Muncie from 9am till noon.  Yep, I am on it for sure!  If only I could fill up the afternoon before everyone arrives with heart surgery or something like that.

But the bottom line is that I came home to what family still lives here and it has been a real blessing.  I will sleep on Sunday afternoon and take Monday to catch up.  But right now it is go go go!  But at home, it makes these types of times not all that bad at all.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Well I am here for my last night in Akron and it has been a productive day.  I have heard from a ton of people who regularly read this blog, and the overwhelming consensus it to continue it and do so daily.  Cutting back will require a pretty amazing strategy, like posting pictures from the meeting I am attending, but I have decided to post a cool one instead.

What I am learning reminds me of the end of one of my favorite movies, “It’s a Wonderful Life” (the B&W version, not the color one).  Jimmy Stewart takes a hard look at his life and discovers the joy and wonder in it was not found exactly in the places he was looking.  It has surprised me at how many people connect with me and my life via this blog.  It really honors me in a most humble way.  It really is not a detailed account of my life by any means, yet people seem to know me from it.  I suppose in a way they do.  It just reminded me of how much joy I get from living my life, and how perhaps I need to re-read what I write in order to pick up more of that joy for myself.

I can’t promise for certain I will blog daily, but then again I never have.  I just did.  But I come at it now with a renewed sense of purpose and desire.   There is enough stress and tension in this life to last us all a lifetime.  But almost everyday something cool or wonderful happens to me, or I think of something, and I really DO feel committed to share.

So tonight’s picture is NOT of my meeting, but a gratuitous picture of my wonderful family on my anniversary.  It IS a wonderful life……and I am truly blessed to be living it!

Goodnight my faithful friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Well, I am in Akron and in a hotel, and although it is great to be among great friends (no, they are not all here with me at the hotel) my thoughts are focused on home.  I was able to speak with Ben tonight on my way here, but only from the cars.  He goes to bed so early that speaking to him after I arrived and had been through my meeting here was impossible, impossible that is because HE becomes impossible the next day without the right amounts of sleep.

I did get to do our daily renewal of vows (with Amanda, don’t worry she is my wife) after I returned to my hotel.  We were able to do it via Skpe, which was nice, but I always worry that her being able to see me in the light might just spoil it for her!  She always looks great, and that seems to be amplified whenever I am away from home.  What I can say though is thank God for technology! (when it works) We were not only able to renew our vows, but via her IPad, I was able to see the progress she and her mom made on Scotty’s room AND she took it in to show me Ben sleeping.

Now that is where things kind of fell apart, and although I would like to blame it on the technology, I am pretty sure it was me.  For as she was showing me sleeping I said something like “how cute” or something like that.  But this was no picture, it was live!  So all the sudden I was hearing “go back to sleep, it’s okay, go back to sleep.”  I believe (read into this HOPE) he did.

After all, he can be impossible when he doesn’t get the right amounts of sleep.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

The car in the picture is Scotty’s…..which is for sale.  The dog in the picture is Scotty’s also, but he is staying put.  The trees that you see just over the hood is one I pruned on Saturday.  And the bottom three limbs came down with my chain saw.  The sad part is that the dog ran UNDER the one facing the car as it was coming down.  It was all like slow motion.  But happily I can confess that he was just hit and bruised on the right paw.  How that thing came down all around him was really like a Bugs Bunny cartoon.

Of course I was delighted he was alive, though upset he was limping.  I thought about the letter I would send…..”Scotty, things are going well here, but oh, your dog is dead, I hit him with a tree.”  No, that would not be good.  And I already feel badly enough that he (Scotty) is gone.

And now a few days later, Viper seems fine, the tree looks marvelous, and I am relieved.  Of course I still have the car.  Someone asked if I wanted to trade it for a hot tub or an older van. Nope, I do not need that!   Others have said they would be here with cash.  But none of it seems true.

The best part however is that Viper is here and alive and no longer limping!  And Scott will return a Marine, quite capable of killing any of us, but will have no reason.  Praise God!  It looks like this is ending a good day!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+   

Amanda and I have been going around about the life-changes we have been experiencing and much of what we both do.  The subject came up about this….my blog.  Her preference is that I continue.  She lives many of the posts I write, yet she enjoys reading them.  She knows how every helpful they are to me in terms of writing them, yet she also knows the time restraints of my life.  I was leaning toward perhaps suspending things…..particularly as I have been sporadically posting.  She however wants me to continue the regular posts…..after all, I went over 4 straight years without missing till just recently.

But in all honesty, I am conflicted.  I focused myself on post stroke therapy, yet I am really not in need of that any longer.   Yet I seem to come at it (as my wife seems to point out) ONLY from my perspective.  It really does appear that people like to hear what is happening and that many people DO follow along.

If the truth be known however, I have really thrown all my extra time into my relationship with my wife.  I felt I needed to, and I have absolutely no regrets about that.  And with that and all the other stuff I do, it seems as if the end of the day has no time left to write.  Yes, I used to write and come to bed AFTER she was asleep.  And it was really a poor witness to how I feel about her.  I do not do that any longer.

I suppose I could write in the morning, or figure other models out.  I guess I cannot get my mind around the fact that people are really interested in what I write, after all, that was never the intention.

But this is to say, I ask that you pray for me and help me develop clarity on this issue.  Send me a note if you would like and tell me what you think too.  I am really interested in your opinions.  Because if I am writing just for myself, it is easier for me to stop writing and just jabber to myself.   But if you really do want to hear, I will continue on.  Deep down I really do enjoy it.  I just want to be a good steward of everyone’s time….including mine!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+