Oh do NOT WORRY.  Sure, we are IN San Diego now after a long day, but despite sharing that publicly we are not too concerned.  Our home is SECURE.  Not only do we have alarms and a BIG DOG, but we also have a few Marines on duty there……what could be better?  And in a few days we will be bringing home our own to take leave for a short week or so before heading back to California.

But we are glad to be here, despite the busy-ness and the stress of the day.  We had a LONG flight into Las Vegas and that is where the picture is from.  Steph and I both lost ONE DOLLAR on a slot machine at the AIRPORT.  We just wanted to say that we did, and now we can.

So now we are in our hotel, and trying to adjust to the time.  It is 3 hours different from home and everyone is feeling it.  We will SEE Scotty tomorrow from 1-6 for ON BASE leave.  Friday, after his graduation at 10, he gets to leave base with us and is on total leave for 10 days.  We will hang out and eat before flying him home on Saturday.  I will be posting some pictures!!

But for now we are just glad to be here and settled in.  Going home will be the harder adjustment, but we are looking forward to that too….I more than most.  California is always a culture shock to me, and not one that always makes me all that comfortable.  I will be fine on base, but I have not really ever been too far or often off the farm as they say.   I will be happy to get home for Christmas and with all of us.

But for now I can say that I have “been to Vegas” and gambled big with my daughter….all in the airport 20 feet from our gate.  Sure it is not as glamorous as it could be, but it is big for me.  Tomorrow however will be bigger……and nothing could please me more.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yes, despite KNOWING that we are leaving for San Diego in the morning, we did what we usually do…..we cram way too much into the day before traveling.  And this time it was a doozy.

The picture is of my wife, who didn’t just have her hair done today, but also had a facial.  Steph and I dropped off and picked up a car at the dealer for a recall service, but we did so AFTER I got back from Fort Wayne, which is 100 miles away.  We also then went to shop and meet Amanda for dinner, no not anywhere near our house, but in Carmel…..40 miles away.  And we are exhausted, not completely packed, but in our hearts at least ready to go see Scotty for the first time as a US Marine.

Oh it will be worth it too!  We have been counting down the days.  Sure, San Diego we hear is beautiful, but that’s not why we are there.  We haven’t seen Scotty since September 24th and in two short days we will see him in person!  It is so exciting I cannot stand it!

But for now I/we will call it a night.  We are all up later than we had hoped, and are still further behind than we planned.  It is not what we were thinking, but it is the usual.  We go with what we know, and tomorrow we will take that philosophy across the country to see Scotty in CA!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Tonight we attended St. Patrick’s annual ornament exchange, normally scheduled on a Friday night, but this time scheduled for a Monday to accommodate the Tirman family who will be out of town for some “US Marine Corps Graduation” this Friday.  AND…..it was a marvelous time!

The highlight, I mean besides all the great food and wine, is the ornament exchange itself.  We all draw numbers as we have all brought an ornament.  And when your number is called you can either pick an ornament (they are wrapped) off the table or take one that someone else has already picked.  It is FUN and FUNNY when people start taking the picked boxes and bags, yet this year was probably the least antagonistic gathering we have ever had……BUT it was a blast.

The folks at St. Patrick’s are such great people and we enjoy being with them very much.  It is always a great time.  These socials are good for us all, yet despite being social in nature, they take place among some pretty dedicated Christian people……dedicated Christians who gather once a year to enjoy a passive aggressive ornament exchange!!!

I wouldn’t miss it…..and this year, once again, I didn’t!  It was a real blessing, and thanks to Mike and Joan Prystas for hosting it this year at their home!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yeah, that’s ME in my high school senior picture….now you know why I am thankful to be married….

All and all, it has been a day of which I have just survived and I am thankful it is at its end.  I have had a rough go from start to finish, and in all honesty I cannot say why.  Perhaps the closing of the Hostess plants is finally catching up to me, I do not know.

But in all honesty, I am at a loss.  I have a headache, and am grouchy, and probably seem and look mad.  Sure, the Bears lost today, and sure I watched a lot of it, but that is far from a reason to feel this way as the Bears do this all the time and I am just feeling like this today.

But things could be worse.  The reality of my life could really be like this, and I would be stuck living with it.  I am just thankful that all this appears to be an anomaly and I look forward to feeling “normal” (a relative term here) sometime soon.

On the upside, these next two days should go quickly and San Diego and Scotty are within sight.  We are ALL looking forward to that too.  I just want to get out of this funk and enjoy it.

So it is off to bed for me!  Perhaps a good night’s sleep will help……at least it is the plan!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!


Tommy+

Yes today was “baking day,” and Amanda and Cindy have been at it ALL DAY.  It is an annual tradition, although this was a first for Amanda and Cindy.  They are naturals at just about anything together though and seem to be having a blast.  It is not really a guy thing though, so I am staying clear!!

But EVERYTHING they are making is not on my list of food to eat.  I HAVE sampled, but I will do better to stay away from it tomorrow.  Ben has already been cut off, and Steph has also sampled, but is very disciplined.  It is a smorgasbord however of tasty goodness.

It used to be that Steph and all of her peeps would join Amanda for this bake-fest, but with them now all over the country it seems that my wife needs to do something new.  I will confess, it is kind of cool to see her here doing this with Cindy.  They are pretty great friends (Cindy is who Ben formerly labeled as his “babysitter,” but she is really his other mom) and being close in age, they could do this all the time and keep me and Jamie her husband (okay and the kids too) in treats long past when I die.  It really puts a lot of stability into the model, and what the hey….they will be friends the rest of their lives anyway.  It seems a good fit.

But in all honesty, I have been just getting a lot of work done and have been kind of lonely if you want to know the truth.  NO….I do NOT want to bake.  But they are just laughing and carrying on and I am WORKING.  (Thank God for Oreo Balls or I would be hostile)

But tonight I am just thankful for good friends and for the ability for us to have them in our lives.  My wife needed this day, and I would be no help at all.  And baking day seems a lot less hectic with all the girls in their mid 20’s like Amanda and Cindy (yep, earning brownie points).  I am just happy they are having fun and look forward to hearing all about it tonight before we go to bed!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tommy+

On a day of such tragedy in Connecticut  I must confess that I couldn’t get to Ben’s school fast enough to pick him up.  I eyed everyone as I thought something like this could happen anywhere.  All those parents just dropped their children off at school this morning thinking it all would be okay, and now their lives are changed forever…..they all deserve our prayers.

Yet the blessing for me was not only to get Ben in my car and get out of there, but to come home to greet our daughter Stephanie who has come home for Christmas break.  Yes, I worry about her too.  As for Scotty, who we will see next week, I am sure a guy like this shooter wouldn’t even get through the gate of the base dressed like he was, but if he did make it in all those Marines, my son included, would have shown him a time.  This is to say, I am not too worried about the US Marine Corps.

But tonight we went out for the drink I could not have 10 days ago with Steph in Missouri, as I was on medication.  So I bought her a drink and we toasted her….AND it was awesome.

Yet we were together and they were safe, but my mind drifted off often to those who are not.  And as prayed for them, I was also thankful for my children and their safety here at home.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Pretty cool huh?  This is the view of our flags taken from behind my DESK in my OFFICE.  AND, it is absolutely PERFECT.  I cannot wait for Scotty to see it, and he won’t see this as he will not be able to access a computer or phone till next Friday evening.  But I will have him sit in my chair and I will turn out the lights in my office for him before opening the door…..pray for some wind then, because it is a spectacular sight!  I just cannot get a good picture in the dark.

But I love sitting there and looking out at it.  It reminds me of the blessings of living in such a great country, and also of the blessing of having a son who is willing to serve that country proudly.  It brings me to the edge of tears every time I look at it.  And I know it will mean just as much to Scotty when he pulls in the driveway on the 22nd as he arrives home.  He will love it!

Don’t get me wrong, I am proud of who I am personally and who I have become in life, but my pride for my children leaves my own accomplishments and achievements in the dust.  They are a pretty great crew, and I will confess that Amanda and I have decided to keep all of them.  I cannot be more blessed by them than I am.

And that’s going to be all for tonight.  I am going to just spend a bit of time looking at the flags before bed!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Although we have not heard, I am posting early today to say that by this time Scott has returned from the Crucible and has received his Eagle Globe and Anchor and is now a US Marine!  We will not see him till next Thursday in California for his graduation, but the big part is done.  Now he and his platoon  are members of the most elite fighting force in the world…..the US Marines!

I cannot even begin to express how very proud Amanda and I are him.  He has worked unbelievably hard and has earned every bit of it…..including the right to be called Marine.  He was able to do what I did not, as I got mad and walked out of the USMC recruiters office at 17 (I posted about that before), and my only regret at this point right now is that I will not have the right to salute him……I wish I did.

Scott will be home on the 22nd with us for a little over a week.  He will see his family, his friends, his new flags, and his dog.  It should be a great time.  We know he has changed quite a bit, and we know he will soon leave for parts yet unknown to us, but we are honored that he has chosen this life and are deeply blessed by his sacrifice.

So today is a pretty awesome day!  Way to go Scott!  We love you and we will see you soon.  AND YES, I know he will not see this, nor can he call, or anything else!  I am just one proud dad, and it was good to say it to the world!!

GOD BLESS YOU ALL, GOD BLESS THE USMC, and GOD BLESS THE USA!!

Tommy+
The Reverend Dr. Tom Tirman, FATHER OF A US MARINE!

No, he’s not wearing the same gear today as he was in this picture, but this was one of the first real times in his short 19 years that I could see great physical and athletic potential.  Sure, he is wearing his own glove in this, as the catcher’s mitt was too new, but Scotty made the most of it and became a darn good catcher for a variety of teams.  Of course this ultimately led to lacrosse where after thinking he could be an offensive star, switched to goalie.  And a JV MVP in his junior year and a Varsity MVP in his senior year later, he proved that potential true.

But tonight as I write this at 9pm EST, Scotty is wearing much different gear, the gear of a US Marine. BUT, he is not yet a Marine…..he is in the final testing of bootcamp, The Crucible, and has been at it with his platoon nonstop already for over 40 hours.  They have 14 more to go too.  But when they finish, tomorrow they will all become Marines!  It is a big thing!

But as I looked over some of his pictures tonight I remembered how I saw that potential.  In truth, this was not on my radar then, but it now makes perfect sense.  He made me proud then, and he makes me proud now.

Keep them in your prayers, but don’t worry.  They are a first class group of guys….with just 14 hours to go!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Well today I felt like I almost had a handle on things, so something must clearly be wrong.  I know that men my age suddenly become prone to confusion, so perhaps that is it, but I am committed to enjoy my delusions as long as I possibly can.