It was just a matter of time before Ben thought he was smart enough to cook. Lord knows, like most two year-old children, he is smart enough to do everything else he wants. So tonight it was a battle of wills, his against mine, about just what I would and would not let him do to make his macaroni.

Mind you, he was already teed off that this wasn’t “Toy Story” macaroni. It was Kraft, just like the TS macaroni, but the TS macaroni takes twice as long to cook, so no more of that. An extra 7 minutes to an impatient kid that age is not worth even the coolest of patterns in your macaroni that you would never be able to identify.

So Ben helped me get the water in the pot and pour in the salt and oil. (I know, let’s not get into the argument about water and oil not mixing…..it is just my way!) He threw an absolute fit when he realized that he wasn’t going to be allowed at the stove, but a short time later, after registering his complaint with his mom, he was allowed to mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Of course none of that really mattered to him because he wasn’t old enough to make the connection…..he just wanted to eat the noodles. I shooed him away and mixed in the cheese. He seemed no worse for the wear.

I am sure this must be how all the great cooks start, by developing their prima donna attitudes when they are all young and stuff, you know, without the parts about being a woman, or Italian, or in the opera. But I am just glad it is over. Ben “cooked” and ate and now is asleep! Praise God! Maybe I’ll go see if there is any left over!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

I love sports, I really do. And now that I am no longer the athlete, I absolutely love the opportunity I have to be a coach. It is not quite the competitive battle it once was, and I never hear my name over the stadium PA, but I love the competition and the opportunity we have each day to make better for ourselves.

Tonight we played Westfield High School, who we handled without a lot of trouble. Westfield is not just our neighbor though, they are friends in the same region with a great coach and a marvelous bunch of girls. We love playing them, because they are a great team and just good people. They lost to us tonight, and for that tonight we are thankful, but that will not always be the case. Teams come and go, and someone having an off or on night can make a world of difference. Roger Bradley, their coach, has taught me a lot about lacrosse. Those girls are blessed to have him. Our lofty plans for a Hamilton County Team would be awesome. I cannot imagine exposing our girls to his coaching skills!

Anyway, tomorrow is another JV game and then Thursday another regional rival in Hamilton Southeastern. It seems intense, but it goes by so quickly. It does however, make a difference.

I am so blessed to be among some talented athletes, and to have such a wonderful coaching staff. We are well on our way. We want more this year than just the Final Four like last year. I believe with a real dedicated push we may be able to make a run at the title.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Tonight I have had the difficult task of ciphering through all the data I have to decide who I will nominate for Academic All Americans from our lacrosse team. I only have five slots to nominate, and I have to say I am very blessed in the fact that I have about 10 girls who are academically qualified, and are fine lacrosse players to boot.

This time of year always reminds me of what a tremendous privilege it is to work with these caliber of girls. When I was playing ice hockey as a young man, I cannot remember even being asked about submitting AAAA forms, nor would I have been a great candidate. Most of us who played well didn’t lead well-balanced lives. That is not the case today though. I am amazed to really know some exceptional student athletes!

What I hate is the limitation of nominating only five. I think all of them are impressive. But just like a lot of things, I do not make the rules. They are all special in my eyes though. I coach some of the finest young women in the country, and I am truly blessed by their presence in my life!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Why in the world the more tired I get, the more energy he seems to have. I have hidden my keys from him, so I know he didn’t sneak out for an espresso at the Starbucks or anything like that, but I AM suspicious that something is amiss. He just never seems to want to go down!

Oh yes, the picture is a few months old although I WISH it were tonight. Mr. Incredible would be A LOT more incredible if he slept more in my mind, but what I do not understand is with his mom walking around here like a zombie (she is beat too) why she doesn’t entice him to fall asleep in our room, which he will…..as long as he knows she will be there. He loves me, but he would clearly throw me under a bus for her, which gives me more free time when both of us are here, but often makes me nervous in that they could suddenly afford that month-long Disney vacation if something were to “accidentally” happen to me! I however am the only one to drive them both while they sleep, so as long as I have some value I suppose I will be around a while.

Tonight however he is watching “Shrek” while I do some work. Amanda is “switching out” his summer and winter stuff, which is a hard concept for a guy like me who has 3 pairs of jeans, some sport shorts, clergy-ware (all black) and t-shirts. My whole wardrobe can be split into work and other and then just pants and shirts. Seasons do not matter, my wardrobe is year round and valued at maybe 100.00, including the shoes!

So from the dining room I now pray that I will walk into the other room and find him asleep on the floor…..I know, fat chance. But I will pray nonetheless. I know that one day he will LOVE to sleep, and then it will be his turn. My grandkids will be his problem then, and since they will not live with me, my prayer is that they will never sleep! As my mom always said, what goes around comes around!!

Goodnight and God Bless my friends! I hope and pray you had a blessed Sunday!

Tommy+

Yep, it’s a twist on the Disney ride “Disaster Transport,” though I am told it no longer exists. But of course that is how I feel……I am utterly exhausted from the long day away out of town for lacrosse. The good part is that we won a couple of games. The bad part is that I am about 20 years too old to be doing this much in a day.

Fortunately for me, though the day began at 5am, we were bale to arrive home at around 4 and I was going to be able to take a nap. When one is that tired though, it is far easier to take the toddler with you, which we did, but her slept in the car so he was NOT tired. So after about an hour of him hounding us, I finally got back up and abandoned all hope for a nap. I just was wishing at that point he was 16. Teenagers WILL sleep, and really do not have a whole lot of interest in keeping you up, after all, you can ground them. So Ben won this round……but not the title!

It is now however approaching midnight and ironically, he is asleep IN MY BED and SNORING. What a little snake! It doesn’t take away how tired I feel, but there is just something about this little guy’s MO that is amazingly unfair. He is either a genius or just quite lucky. I will pray for genius….I may be needing him to take care of me someday!

Anyway, we won both games today, and now after 150 more things and no sleep, I am prepared for the day tomorrow and ready for bed. I won’t disturb him….just pray for him to keep snoring all though the night. I have no interest in negotiating with anyone at this point who does not want to sleep!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yes, with new Spiderman shoes, and a Spiderman shirt, Ben went out today to fly his new Spiderman kite. He broke his Buzz Lightyear inflatable kite, but we did get our dollar’s worth. And the nice thing about kids’ kites are that they are cheap. We now have the new Spidey kite with two additional backups and are out just $3.00!

It is SO WORTH IT though. He cannot get the kite airborne by himself, but once it is up he thinks he is the real deal just holding the string. Sadly he is infected by a bit of “kite-incompetence” because every time it starts to stall out and come down he rushes towards it, which of course is the exact opposite of what he should do. So someone always has to run towards him to grab the string to help, of course causing him to run toward it all the more.

The real blessing though is the joy of a 34 month-old child while flying a kite. He smiles and laughs, and tells us every moment just where his kite is……up about 50 feet right over his head. I think we could learn a lot from him. Our world would be a much different place if we were as happy about such a simple pleasure as to just fly a kite.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Tonight, at a very later hour (9pm), we were finally able to get together to celebrate the anniversary of my stroke. It is a birthday of sorts, and I am blessed that it didn’t happen on my birthday (sorry Brad) because I get to have TWO celebrations a year! AND…..tonight we all went to my favorite restaurant Charleston’s were we had a nice dinner, a couple of “Perfect Margaritas,” and where Ben put on a show. It was quite a time.

Of course I do not consider these days real birthdays or reasons to celebrate, as much as I consider each day a blessing. I am the oldest of five, with just three of us living, and watching our two sisters die from cancer, I know what a blessing and gift each day is. In the late 1980’s while living in Florida, my doctors thought I had liver cancer, and it allowed me to examine my whole life. And believe me, when you suddenly can’t think straight, spell, talk right, or control your emotions when not remembering the event itself AT ALL, you count your blessings for every minute. I am truly a fortunate man.

Ironically, I had not ever even had a margarita till 2004. My sister Sarah loved them, and she and my mom would go out for Mexican food and have one together. I had my first when she was first diagnosed with cancer, and I cannot have one at all without thinking of the two of them. So….as we raised our glasses tonight and toasted, I was thinking of them, and though I miss them, am pleased to know that the Lord has chosen to have the three of us not toast in person….yet.

I still have a lot to do, and I am glad for the opportunity to do. My life is filled with many blessings, and tonight I am thankful for them all.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tommy+

Two years ago today, I was at home watching Ben and on the telephone with Amanda, when I had a stroke. I have no recollection of the event, I had no pain, and in my mind (which was what was damaged) I even had no discernible symptoms. Ben and I were just hanging out as neighbors began banging on the door and a bunch of firemen showed up.

It is funny to me how something I do not remember has changed my life so much. Sure I remember the days in the hospital, the “mystical camel of healing” that Steph and Scott got me as a joke that I still have, and of course the “stroke patient” key chain they got me that I still use, but on which the words have been long worn off. I also remember the blessings of my staff, family, friends and other coaches who really stepped up and were there for us.

What I do not want to focus on are the things I do not remember, the effects on my memory or the things that pop up from time to time. I worked hard to get by things, and often still do. This blog in fact was a big part of my rehab. I had started it a few month prior to the stroke, and it was to be about something completely different…but since I was struggling with reading and writing at the time, it became a daily therapy which I obviously still practice to this day.

The real blessing of this day is that now when I act crazy or forget something I can blame it on a medical excuse…..a blessing indeed! But in truth, I am thankful it actually happened, and I really mean that. It changed me, and though I sometimes still struggle, it has all been for the better.

So happy anniversary to me! I am blessed that we can all be a part of it too. Every day is a gift from God, and I know that today, perhaps more than anyone.

God Bless you!

Tommy+

My daughter Stephanie has a group of friends, many of whom play lacrosse, who Amanda and I have had the pleasure to get to know. They are over a lot, they never knock or are expected to, and they are some of the finest young women I have ever known. BUT in all honesty, all of them need to be in rehab, not for anything like drinking or drugs, but for the bizarre addiction they all have for making cakes.

I really do not know why it started, nor do I understand it. I know initially Amanda was involved, but they have really worked hard to muscle her out. The cakes they make are quite creative AND TASTY, but it is funny that it doesn’t matter if there are five of them or two of them, they seem to love it. Another year from now they will all be in different places, but I expect when they are home to see them here, even if Steph is not home, baking cakes so I can screw up my diet.

Tonight it is Steph and Katie. They are both remarkable lacrosse players, and are doing homework in between cooking (also quite normal FOR THEM). I will miss this weirdness next year I am sure. But for now I am loving it. Amanda, if she were here, would be loving it too. Lord knows what kind of cake is on its way…..I only know it will be good!

Goodnight and God Bless from the home of the Cake Bosses!
Tommy+

Well, the four of us have survived school, work, lacrosse practices, a babysitter, and two girls lacrosse games, which I am happy to report we won. The odd part is that from the sidelines I could not hear her yelling (she calls it cheering), but that is probably because she is in England for work till late Wednesday night.

Now that I am thinking about the day, I am realizing how very I tired I am and should be! I went to bed after midnight and was up at 3:30. I had her delivered to the airport and was home before the kids had to go to school. I have been going ever since too…….suddenly I am feeling tired!

At least I have the satisfaction of knowing it is later there….five hours later to be exact! Of course knowing Amanda she probably slept on the plane and anywhere else she could. AND, I am sure she has been asleep in her hotel for hours.

So for now we will just celebrate her arrival in England and the the survival of a busy day. I just hope we can have a lot less to do….beginning with tomorrow morning!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+