It's Time For Reflection and Resolution

It's a balmy 1 degree outside and there is lots of snow.  As I sit here with an egg nog drink (perhaps spiced with a bit of Captain), my heart is happy and my brain is light.  I have my health - even recently had an interesting colonoscopy experience along with a wellness check up.  The doc said I could stand to lower my weight and my bad cholesterol, and the colon doc said I have to go back in three years because the two polyps that were found need weren't cancerous but should be monitored.  My knees hurt, but the meloxocam and occasional tylenol so far have kept me from giving up officiating and umpiring, even though my basketball playing days and running ultra distance races are likely behind me.  I'm getting older...it happens...but I've gotten a lot out of this 51 year old body, and there is still a lot of gumption and pride left to push it even further.

I seem to listen and watch for life messages as I get older - movies, songs, experiences, books - so maybe that's another "age thing".  If given the opportunity to reflect my official "status", I truly am very fortunate.  My life has been far from error free, far from heartache and loss free, far from perfect.  I have regrets, maybe even more regrets than other folks. 

What I do have left in the years of my life, as far as I can tell, is an opportunity to help others.  Husband, father, step-father, (soon-to-be step grandfather), son, son-in-low, brother, brother-in-law, uncle, cousin, friend, teacher, coach (for a few more months), official, umpire, neighbor, colleague, parishioner..those roles are filled with opportunities to help others.  I have a lot to offer before my time is up, whenever that is.  And if it's tomorrow, I pass on believing I have helped more than I have hurt.

My resolutions are simple.  Drink more water.  That's doable, and will help my health on a lot of levels.  My other resolution is a bit more complicated to explain...continue to strive to find happiness and joy in the roles of my life (those above and any others that I've failed to list).  Work hard to somehow try to find the "glass half full". 

Now I'm off in a bit to Kourtney and Pat's New Year's Eve party.  Bring on 2018!

So Much To Be Thankful For!

It's the day after Christmas, and there is much more peace in the world - well, at least in my little sliver of it. 

#1 - no publications stress --  I knew life would be simpler without the sleepless nights and battles against students to complete the school newspaper and yearbook, but crawling our from under the load of that burden has just allowed me to be a little happier too.

#2 - volunteer coaching -- The wallet has suffered a lot, but volunteer coaching in football and basketball at Sherrard has been a great learning experience.  I'm on the downhill slide of my coaching career, and this likely could be the "last hurrah", but I'm amazed at how much can be learned from others late into our careers.  The seasons haven't exactly been "story book" journeys, but working under Scott Monson and Brian Hutton has been fun, and seeing Cole develop and grow has been enjoyable.

#3 - white Christmas -- Snow arrived on Christmas Eve this year.  It's currently 0 degrees outside, so our snow will be sticking around for awhile.  Christmas is always just a bit more beautiful with snow.

#4 - end of the semester before holiday break -- WOW....it is nice to have no essays or assignments to grade.  In fact, all my exams have been graded and grades have been finalized.  I have no "school hangover work" to accomplish.  Our break started late; in fact, we had school all the way up until the 22nd, but now it's refreshing to be all done for the semester.

#5 - Christmas is completed -- day before Christmas, Christmas Eve morning, Christmas Eve night, Christmas Day --- all were Christmas celebrations this year.  The logistics of blended families is hectic, but there definitely is a lot of celebrations and traditions to enjoy.  I was especially happy to have all the children and step-children together at our home for our Christmas on Christmas Eve morning.

#6 - Xmas shopping survived -- I'm going to be officiating a lot the next three days, and with the income from those days, I believe I will have endured Xmas shopping 2017.  My budget was very tight this year, so gift giving was minimized but maintained.  Everyone on the list got a "little something" .... I tried to give gift cards or "as needed" gifts, and I think I succeeded.  I find myself getting more and more frustrated with the "commercialism" of Christmas; maybe I'm just getting old.

I could probably add more to this list, but I have run out of time!