Sure he seems cute now, but if he doesn’t start developing some semblance of normality soon he will be 35 years old playing video games and living in my basement.  The moustache, which he insists is real and that he grew tonight, has apparently been shaved in time for bed.  I love him, but he is bizarre.

Steph and Scott both had their share of weirdness too, but never to anything near the DEFCON level Ben goes.  Steph loved math and school and learning……so much in fact that I had to force her to go out and play.  Fortunately now she loves both. She is a chemistry major and a top notch athlete (her lacrosse team is now ranked 15th in the NCAA II poll in the COUNTRY!)

Scotty was the opposite. I had to force him to learn.  He was plenty smart enough, but his favorite subject in school was the same as mine…..recess.  He was all social.  If he had interest he he nailed it, but had really no interest in tests or being measured….he lived for the love of it.  In fact, he quit all the music lessons I ever paid for and then self-taught himself to be a very accomplished musician and theorist.  He loves history and can talk a lot about it, but has no interest on being graded about it.  And in a world that measures (SCHOOL), as a parent, he drove me nuts.  He was me, and I deserved him.

But each of my children give me a glimpse into myself.  And although I love them all and am every proud of them, I wish I could just go into their brains and tweak them with the things that I have learned by my mistakes.  Of course I can’t, but I can live with it.

Just like I will be living with Don Juan and his cheesy moustache…….everyday for the rest of my life.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

It actually made him cry.  He and his mom’s favorite tree lost two big branches.  The higher one fell on the lower one, and the lower one was the one that his swing was attached to.  But we bravely headed out to the tree together and looked at the damage. (as seen in the pictures) And in all honesty, he changed.  By the time we headed back into the house he was more concerned about all the flowers from the fallen branches dying……he has a good heart.

But as for me, I didn’t see the same picture in front of me…..I saw instead a chain saw project that I will probably hit on Monday.  But that is nothing new in this house with all the mature trees.  Every time the wind blows (or the sun shines) something is down.  But that is why I have a place in my yard to burn.

And I am not so sure what a pink flowered tree will smell like when it burns, but I intend to find out.  AND….it will burn with the other 10,000 branches I have picked up this past week.

But it really doesn’t bother me as I LOVE our house.  And within days the yard will be clean, the swing reinstalled, and I will be awaiting the next time I will be picking up branches to burn.

It will probably be sometime late Monday afternoon……

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yes, he cannot pronounce it, (he says “caradactyl”) nor does he believe me when I tell him what it is, but that really never matters to him……at 5 years old he is always right and far smarter than me.

He received the prehistoric replica for answering a “math question” at school.  It apparently was what do you get by adding 1 to any number.  And he nailed it, however he always does when there is a toy on the line.  Regardless, we are proud of him.

But his stubbornness has also reared its ugly head at other times this week as well.  My favorite was an argument that he and I got into on Tuesday.  You see Amanda had left ME a note on MY DESK.  It said “TOM, I love you. Amanda.”  Make your own assumptions about it, but I am guessing is was meant for me.

Oh but Ben would have none of it.  He KNEW the note was for HIM and that his mom just made a mistake……a big mistake apparently.

So I am living the easy life with my youngest son.  He gets everything right you know.  I just need to figure out how to get that to work for me.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tommy+

Well in all honesty I had a lot of things I could post about today.  First, I woke up to a note from my wife that said, “Tom, I love you. Amanda”  I showed it to Ben and he was totally mad.  In fact he INSISTED that she had made a mistake and it was REALLY a note for HIM on MY desk.

And I will not bore you with the other things, but I will bore you with this picture tonight from Ben’s Taekwondo, where he received his “yellow tip.”  The yellow tip is what we in the priesthood call “bait.”  It is something that gets someone to look forward and want something more.  Ben will soon test for his yellow/white belt, but now he is a white belt (the one you buy when you start) and he has a yellow tip.  And he is TOTALLY PSYCHED!  In fact he was SO psyched he had to call his brother, PFC Scott Thomas Tirman USMC (named after ME, but Ben’s name is Benjamin SCOTT Tirman, named after his brother) and let him know that he now had his YELLOW TIP and that when he comes home he was going to KICK HIS BUTT!!! (Don’t worry I am going to film that for a future post)  But it was hilarious….as Scotty was playing along but Ben TOTALLY BELIEVES IT!

Anyway, it is all more than I can stand.  I love my wife, but she has obviously contributed NOTHING to our gene pool.  At least Steph seems to have potential…….but then again, she is my daughter.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Well I need to make a confession.  Two nights ago, my wife (who is now also my barber) and I got into a discussion about my (former) moustache (see picture) that I had had for close to 30 years.  She had the clippers (electric so I was safe) in her hands and asked me if I had ever shaved my chest hair.  I never had, but I thought (as if it was a god idea) to say “go ahead and cut it off, after all you have the clippers.”  So she did.

I would like to say that all that “barbering” uncovered that Adonis body that I used to have and still remember, but quite honestly it disturbed me more than I could have imagined.  It reminded me of the time I cut my moustache off about 20 years ago just to see what I looked like.  (of course I do not have it, the moustache, now as my stroke has killed my ability to grow it on one side) But as I recall, my daughter CRIED and was afraid of me as she did not recognize me….so I grew it back wishing I had a picture of me without it to remind me of what a moron I was.

IRONICALLY, I felt the very same way last night.  No, not when she was doing all the barbering.  As she was barbering I was just praying to God that she was attracted to WHALES.  But it answered the question, and I will take a picture of it tonight so as to know I never to do it again.  TONIGHT’S picture however is ME…..with both a moustache AND ALL my chest hair!!

But I probably won’t do it again regardless…..as I am a REAL GUY, a man’s man (not in a sexual way, but in a role model kind of way).  You see this morning after I got out of the shower and had shaved, I put on after shave, and as is the custom, I rubbed some on my chest.  I will not tell you what I said, but it certainly cured me of the desire for my wife to like whales.

I am just a guy, and a real guy at that.  I have no regrets…..the only thing I am currently missing in my life is chest hair.  But it will come back soon.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tommy+

Yes, I did NOT post yesterday.  It was the five year anniversary of my stroke, and quite honestly I was both surprised and kind of thankful that NO ONE remembered.  I was with Amanda and Steph and Ben, and nothing.  I heard from no one via email or online.  I didn’t receive a card or a note…….AND….I didn’t even remember myself until late in the day.

To me, that is really a pretty good sign.  It was an event that was so life-changing that I often obsessed on it.  Over the years it has become less and less apparent, even though its going to be my life-time friend.  Yet of all the things that it causes me to forget, THIS ANNIVERSARY is not one of the things that bothers me.   Yes, I was kind of bothered that Amanda and the kids didn’t do anything (like always) but then again, if I am really honest, I would rathe
r just be normal, or at least as normal as genetically possible for me.

So it’s not a MISS, but an intentional WAITING FOR A STINKING SURPRISE PARTY THAT NEVER HAPPENED.  But I am not bitter.  After all, I have had a stroke, and in about 5 minutes I will be looking out the window trying to remember my name.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+ (Bonaparte) 

Yes, today we were able to see Steph and watch her play lacrosse.  Today the Lions suffered their FIRST defeat at the hands of Rollins, the current #5 ranked team in the NCAA Division II (national) poll.  Lindenwood had the lead and control over the majority of the game, but lost by one goal in the final two minutes.  It was a heartbreaker.

But we did get to see Steph, and she was one of the featured players on the program today (see the picture….bottom left)  AND we were able to get her supplies and take her out to dinner.  So the other picture is of Steph and Mel and Ben at Outback Steakhouse where Ben told our waitress (Kayla) that his cousin had the SAME NAME as her…….and that she was a girl.

But that was not his biggest feat tonight.  You may notice some writings on his forearms.  It was autograph night at Hunter Field and the team held an autograph session where they signed their season poster.  AND TONIGHT they also signed Ben.  He is a big hit with all the girls and he and they had a blast doing it.  It was far cheaper than a real tattoo artist too.

So this has been an eventful and fun day.  A win would have been better, but as an old coach and athlete I know you do not win them all.  It makes me no less proud.  Steph plays for one of the best teams in the country (see THIS ARTICLE in Laxmagazine.com Lindenwood Setting the Stage for NCAA II Contention  And ALSO this article about tonight’s game Rollins survives scare from Lindenwood)

But I am proud to be here rooting them on.  They are a great team and I have a great daughter.  And one more year of watching and then who knows………maybe I will step back into coaching again.  Lord knows I miss it!!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

I begin with yet another gratuitous picture of Ben, but the picture is unrelated.  Today has not been a good day for me, in fact it has been awful…..for sometimes even in what appear to be the calmest waters there can be storms.  And today was such a day.

What bothers me the most is that I look at life an really do have a lot of hope for people, but some days they really let you down.  And yes, sure, that signifies a much deeper issue for me, but I assure you I keep at it and work hard to try and make this world a better place.  I have dedicated my life to it in fact.

But today has been more than a disappointment for me.  No, I need not go into the detail other than to say that I ask you prayers for people to live in the ways that God intended for them to live.  We are not animals without reason.  We are not hedonists who are just concerned about our own pleasure or satisfaction.  We are instead children of God, called to live into that reality and reflect it with our lives.

I pray this day for the people not only in my heart, but for those who cut it and try to wound it as well. We can do better and we should……yet all I can do is pray and begin with me.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Okay, this is sort of old news, as this picture was not taken today, but yesterday.  I did however see it on my phone today.  AND all I have to say is THANK GOD FOR THE BOOK FAIR.

Why you ask?  Well, quite simply because this picture was taken yesterday….the day I did NOT come to pick Ben up in the Challenger (a rental…see prior posts) and to be very honest he was very PUT OFF.  But it WAS the day of the book fair, and like any other 5 year old with his priorities in order, he picked a book that had a TOY…..3D glasses, so he was not willing to be put off that long.  He instead wore the glasses in protest (see picture) and the dog was cropped out as he was in the back too, but just seemed too damn happy for any type of negativity.  (He was not allowed in the rental car)

The highlight however was the trip home.  The glass company swept the truck out as there was glass EVERYWHERE (including in my clothes…although I swept that myself).  But I offered to pay them to do that, but it was just part of what they did.  Regardless however, with a 5 year old, I re-swept it myself.  I did find some glass and was glad to find it without crisis.

BUT………after I picked up Ben I turned on the defroster……and guess what?  YEP…glass shards everywhere.  So we headed to the car wash to sweep the crisis out and then home to my Rigid Vac to get the rest.

HE HOWEVER kept the glasses on the whole way.  He is such a Prima Dona…… but then again, isn’t everyone who hits the Book Fair?

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Okay, I am now CHALLENGERLESS, but I do have my truck back and am pretty damn happy to say the very least.  It is raining like mad right now, and my basement is a mess, but I just had it WATERPROOFED, so there is not a lot that will bother me right now.  In fact life is good.  I have had A LOT of trauma these past few weeks, yet I am doing very well, and more than that….. I am a Chicago Cubs fan and I am sure they will win the WORLD SERIES this year, so everything is marvelous.

Oh yeah, but with all that has happened, Amanda and I are still fielding questions….and I understand that.  In fact I am VERY BLESSED that people are concerned about me, but puzzled that they ask my wife how I am doing over me.  To be honest, if my wife REALLY knew what was going on she would be married to someone else.  But that doesn’t take away the honor of feeling cared about.

But it has been a GREAT DAY.  Because as I said I turned the Challenger back in as I was able to get my truck back just before noon!!  And what was even better was that Viper was SO VERY HAPPY, as he could not ride in the rental car, but gladly hopped back into the truck!!

Anyway…..here is a picture of me PRE-stroke and pretty dang happy.  I am post stroke now, a bit heavier, but just as happy……I just cannot find my phone to take a picture!

Go to bed!! It is late!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+