Heroes

Last Saturday, my son and I got a great opportunity.  We left the girls at home with mom and took some stuff that we weren't going to move with us to our church run thrift store.  While there, the local fire department brought a firetruck and ambulance to do a presentation for the customers.  It was scheduled, we just happened to be there at the right time!

The lieutenant firefighter giving the presentation asked Sam if he could drive.  Without missing a beat he said "Yeah!" so he was allowed to sit in the drivers seat of the firetruck!

After that, he started to get distracted as the presentation went along.  It was hot and bright out.  It was also getting closer to lunchtime.  As part of the demo, a lady firefighter suited up in her gear.  This got Sam's attention.  He was nervous but interested in meeting a person in all this gear.

She asked him his name.  He said his name and she replied, "My name's Sam, too!" (I asked the lieutenant why she was the one that suited up and without missing a beat he said she was lowest on the totem pole!)

Afterwards, we got to see some of the tools firefighters use and got to look at and in an ambulance.  It was a great experience.  I have been intending to take the kids to a fire station.  I read that kids will run away from firefighters trying to rescue them from a fire because they are scared of the uniforms.  My idea was to take them so they can see them wearing the outfits so as to not be scared during a fire.  Before leaving, I did ask about giving that chance to my other kids and the lieutenant said to bring by the station any time.  As long as they are there, they would take the time to talk with the kids and show them around.

I have respected these unsung heroes for a long time.  Having the chance to meet our local crew was something that I won't forget.  Hopefully my son will remember them also!

My sincere thanks goes out to the firefighters at the North Lauderdale Fire Station 34 for the time they took with my son!

Trailer

When we decided to move, we looked at the options for getting our stuff up there.  Out of the choices, we decided to buy a pickup truck and trailer.  We bought the pickup last fall and now we are on the search for a suitable trailer.

Our criteria is pretty limiting.  We would prefer to get an enclosed trailer but they are typically out of our $1000 spending limit.  New is also out due to cost.  To try to cut down on trips, we would probably need a larger trailer but we are limited by the power of our truck and our storage options.  It has to be big enough to transport our king size bed and yet small enough to store it in the garage until the move.  (Our garage is long but standard one car width.)  Our ideal size, as near as I can guess, would be about 6' x 10'-12'.  I've been investigating options and have found a utility trailer typically fits into these requirements.  I will have to customize it a little so as to be able to transport our stuff without it falling out, getting wet, and hopefully reducing drag (for better gas mileage).

In searching for a trailer, I have resorted to looking at Craigslist.  I find the prices are generally better than many on Ebay.  We also don't get a newspaper so buying a paper just to look in the classifieds seems a waste.  I have found several good options, size and price wise.  Just need to decide which one and buy it before someone else does.

Our idea is to either buy the trailer for the move and then sell it later to make at least some of the money back or keep the trailer for other purposes later.  I can see the logic with both options but I am starting to favor keeping it and modifying it for camping purposes later.  I have had the idea for a while that while I love camping, my family is not so much into sleeping in a tent, getting wet and/or cold.  A camper would be a great solution but are well out of our price range (excluding a camper/topper on the pickup bed).  I have been inspired by all the examples online of other people building their own camper trailers, some of which are simple but extremely well done.  I've really been inspired by the examples of vardo (gypsy style wagon), teardrop, and airstream-like trailers.

As my wife says, though I have the know-how (or can get it), the tools, and the drive, I lack the time!  Aah well.  Story of my current life.

My Montage

I realize that my style of dress and presentation of myself is not the most attractive.  Think Mr. Mom before the clean up montage.

I would like to dress a little nicer even for everyday stuff.  I don't remember seeing my grandfather in a t-shirt until after he retired.  Even working outside, he always seemed to favor button down, light weight shirts and slacks.

My intention for awhile now is to wear a better hat than the typical baseball hat that I wear everyday (along with up scaling my clothing choices).  I've bought a couple of hats to try over time.  I got a great felt cowboy hat one winter in Texas but here in Florida, it gets to hot.  After trying that, I got a straw cowboy hat that works great but its cheap and starting to look beat up. 

My latest idea is to try a porkpie or a similar style fedora.  I found a black felt one at Target and tried it on.  I liked how I looked in it but I couldn't find one that fit.  They were either to large or small.  I bought the large one and tried to make it shrink with instructions I found online.  I completely botched it.  So I decided to check at a higher class store.  We have a Macy’s with a men’s section.  Figured I would start there before going online.  I found a fedora (officially a teardrop crown fedora with an upturned brim) that is close enough to what I wanted.  It is dark khaki polyester and fits just a little loose.  After prior mishap, I didn’t want to ruin another hat so I looked and found online that you could add a little padding under the sweatband.  I added a couple of folded index cards and it fits well.

It's different than what I've worn in the past and what most people are used to seeing.  I'm seldom one to care what others think of how I dress and I tend to prefer to be somewhat different.  I’ll have to wait to see what the Mrs. thinks of it though!

Helpmate

And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. - Gen. 2:18 KJV

God put Adam in the garden in Eden to take care of it.  In His wisdom, He knew that it wasn't good that Adam was alone.  The Bible doesn't describe this person as a companion but instead as a help meet. Help meet is defined as "a suitable helper".  A synonym for helper is assistant which is defined as a person "holding an auxiliary position; subordinate."  For the purpose of this blog, a helper would be your lieutenant or second in command.

In my situation, I have struggled with how to be leader to my family.  I sometimes feel that I am more of a helper for my wife rather than the leader with her helping me.  I have to honestly ask myself, do I do everything I can, as a leader, and then ask her to help or do I follow her lead and wait for her to ask me to do something?  I ask this because the last several days, I have been busy with the kids and exhausted at the end of the day.  Meanwhile, my wife will wash a load of dishes and a load (or more) of clothes in the morning/evening.  These have been on my chore list for a while now.  I just haven't been getting them done regularly as of late.  It may not be true but I get the feeling that she's doing this because of frustration that I hadn't done it before.  Top this with the aggravation she occasionally gets when she's running late for work in the morning. I know the chore issue is just a matter of time management and organization, the same with getting to work on time.

I find that as time slowly moves on, my children are getting slower to obey me and I have to raise my voice more often just to get them to focus on me.  My wife is not the type to keep things from me but she is more frequently doing things without consulting me and just telling me after the fact that she did them.  I just question how do I go from a housekeeper/manager of the house to a leadership role as a husband and father yet still get these things done?  What choices am I faced with that as a leader, I should be deciding?  How do I get my family to respect me as a leader? 

Wife's Rules #4

This time is a gimme but I figure I better list it for my son to learn from when he's old enough to read.

4. Put the seat down.  Every guy should know this even before they move in with a woman.  You may have a mother or sisters' wrath to deal with if you live in a house with them.

There has been only one time that this ended badly.  I figure that this is the reason urinals were invented (so we don't have to worry about a seat being up or down).  I find it also helps (a little) to hide the look of the toilet if its in need of cleaning.  (What am I saying?!?  Go clean the toilet.  Right now.)

Son, learn from the mistake of countless men and save yourself .

Back Pain

He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.  Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. - Psalm 107:20,21

There have been several times in my life where I feel a touch of God was involved.  Maybe not notable enough to consider miracles like raising the dead. More like events that I feel need to be praised and publicly announced because I think God helped in some small way.

The first, and most recent, that I'd like to give praise to God for is my back pain.  Several weekends ago, on a Saturday night, I pulled a muscle in my back while taking a shower.  I managed to finish the shower, get out and get dressed but every move seemed to tweak my lower back.  Even laying down hurt.  My wife gave me Sunday off from the kids and chores (thank you, love) during which I laid in bed the majority of the day.  By Monday, I could walk and do things but everything still caused my back to hurt, albeit less than Saturday night.  Over the next two weeks, I would have good days where it only felt sore and bad days where it would really bother me.

This past Sunday, after I shifted in the seat several times during the sermon at church, my wife encouraged me to talk to an elder after the service and ask for prayer.  I made my way to an elder and told him what was going on and asked for healing for my back.  The elder called another over, anointed me with oil.  Both of them laid hands on my shoulders and prayed for me.

My back pain was virtually gone the next morning (a little soreness at the beginning of the day).  You might say that after two weeks, my back finally got the rest it needed or something similar.  I attribute this as a small healing on His part and I thank and praise Him for it.

Let me explain so that you understand why this means so much to me.  I grew up during a time where preachers were on t.v. and claiming to do fantastic miracles like helping lame people walk.  Then, later, they were also found cheating on wives, squandering money, or any number of other dishonorable acts.  I also spent most of my life with a more scientific/analytical mind, e.g. I have to see it for myself to believe it.  So, while I do believe in God's ability to heal, I am wary of what people may claim as miracles in their lives.  Now, when I see or experience an extraordinary act, I credit God for having, if not a hand, at least a finger in it.

Thank you, Lord, for this act of kindness to me.

Priorities

Our pastor commented once in a message in regards to people arriving late to church. His statement said that if you make being at church a priority, you would make extra effort to get there on time. This might mean leaving earlier, getting up earlier, planning the night before or any number of other things.

My wife is facing this type of situation with going to work. She takes my daughter to preschool, to which she has to be there by 9:00 am. She has a specific set of things that she has to do in the morning that she can't do before. If she gets up at 6 or 6:30 am she can easily get them done. The problem lies with two events that may happen and could cause her to have to rush. She may stay up late the night before watching TV, blogging, or working on stuff for her work or association she's a member of. She feels she has to get her sleep so she'll stay in bed until the kids get up at 7:00 which is the limit. The second problem will come about when she does make it to bed early but plan too much in the morning. For a few weeks, she tried to have prayer time and exercise time before she got ready for work. This combo often went well over on the time allotted. The result of either infraction causes her to stress about getting both herself and our daughter ready for school.

 I try to help out since I don't usually have much need to get ready first thing. My only hindrances are taking care of the other two kids and pets. Everyone either needs to eat or potty/have a diaper change and can take a lot of time in the morning.  Frequently, comments will be launched mentioning how I don't help much in the morning due to my forgetfulness or that I just don't seem to care.  It seems that I will have to make sure to get up at least 30 minutes earlier just to get my things done before the others wake up.  Breakfast will have to be planned on a prior date so that I can get up and prepare breakfast for everyone.

I haven't been the best at prepping in the past.  I hope I can get this under control before our oldest gets to kindergarten.  Our life would be so much easier.

Easy Path or Hard Path?

I came across this poem via The Art of Manliness.  Thought it would be good inpiration for any man going through hard times.

The Quitter

By: Robert Service


When you’re lost in the Wild, and you’re scared as a child,
And Death looks you bang in the eye,
And you’re sore as a boil, it’s according to Hoyle
To cock your revolver and . . . die.
But the Code of a Man says: “Fight all you can,”
And self-dissolution is barred.
In hunger and woe, oh, it’s easy to blow . . .
It’s the hell-served-for-breakfast that’s hard.

“You’re sick of the game!” Well, now, that’s a shame.
You’re young and you’re brave and you’re bright.
“You’ve had a raw deal!” I know-but don’t squeal,
Buck up, do your damnedest, and fight.
It’s the plugging away that will win you the day,
So don’t be a piker, old pard!
Just draw on your grit; it’s so easy to quit:
It’s the keeping-your-chin-up that’s hard.

It’s easy to cry that you’re beaten-and die;
It’s easy to crawfish and crawl;
But to fight and to fight when hope’s out of sight-
Why, that’s the best game of them all!
And though you come out of each grueling bout,
All broken and beaten and scarred,
Just have one more try-it’s dead easy to die,
It’s the keeping-on-living that’s hard.