Just a few questions..

Ever take the time to ponder the unexplainable things we come across in our daily lives?  I am not talking about things like how the toilet paper doesn't get replaced, but the new roll is resting on the empty cardboard tube of the previous one.  Or how when you drop toast it always falls buttered side down.  Some things just can't be answered.

No I am talking about things like if 7-11 is open 24 hours a day, why do they have locks on the door (sorry Stephen Wright for stealing your material).  I once went to a sub shop in Parker that had a sign on the door as you walked in that read "Sorry, out of Bread".  They were next door to a grocery store!  How does that happen?  You are a sandwich shop, the one thing you should have plenty of is bread!

So yesterday I went to get the oil changed in my F-150.  I mention the make of the truck so you can see it is a common one.  And I was at a large chain of oil changing shops that rhymes with "Lease Chunky".  I pull up, and the guy tells me, "I am out of oil filters", I said "You are what?"  Just wanted to make sure I heard him correctly.  He repeated himself, and said that they should have more in in a few days.  I shook my head, told him that was unbelievable, and squealed my tires on the way out of his parking lot (it made me feel better).  I went to another shop, got my oil changed, and all is right with the world again.  Then I told my buddy Mike what happened, and he said "Why didn't they send the FNG (flipping new guy) to the auto parts store on the other side of the parking lot to get a filter?"  Good question Mike, and I don't know.  It seems that kind of customer service had gone away, like naming your kid Aurthur, or Rosemary.

I am sure you have all had similar experiences, how bout you all share them in the comment section, it would be nice to see that someone is actually reading this blog!

Peace,
Woody

Just a Quick Post.. Courtesy Edition

Okay, here's the deal....  If you are in a crowded parking lot, the weekend before Christmas, looking for the ever elusive parking space, and you see:

a) a car pulling out of a space, and
2) another car waiting with their blinker on,

the space is not available.  Waving your hand at us as you steal our space does not make it okay.  "They just stole our space!", "It's okay, they waved their hand."  This happened twice, and once was by a car coming the wrong way down the aisle!!

We finally found a space, discussed Karma, and how it should be inflicted on said space crooks, and were on to bigger and better things.

Oh, and an update for anyone interested; Jambalaya was tasty, not too spicy, we watched Fred Claus, and Lauren smoked everyone in the gingerbread build.  If I wasn't so lazy, I could have posted pictures.  Oh well, maybe later.

Peace'

Woody

EDIT: Just a note, the picture I used was listed in Google Images as "women-parking-lot.jpg", whatever that means..

Anticipation

Is it bad that it is Monday and all I can think about is Thursday?  I have become one of those people that wants to enjoy each and every day, so I don't really want to slight Tuesday and Wednesday out of their just due, but come on!!

See, Thursday is going to be the second annual gingerbread decorating/ Christmas movie watching/ jambalaya eating extravaganza.  Whew!  I can't wait, the boys and Lauren are coming over, and I hope a good time will be had by all.  Around the apartment, Keara has started planning things for "when the boys come over".  It's awesome, she made special cookies over the weekend for the occasion that no one can touch.  I don't mean special as in she put laxatives in them or anything sketch like that, just that she wants her big step-brothers to be impressed I think.

So on to the plans, we will be enjoying my world famous chicken, sausage, and shrimp jambalaya.  I say world famous, because the people that mean the most to MY world are looking forward to it.  All except my wife Kim, but that's okay, I knew long ago that she eats like a 5 year old, and I take no offense.  I am making it Wednesday night, because one of the secrets to my world famous dish it to make it, put it in the fridge, and let the ingredients get to know one another for a while.  It's always better reheated for some reason.

We will be decorating gingerbread houses again, this will be fun, because I think the boys actually enjoy it.  They have done them at their Mom's place too, so they are more experienced than the rest of us, but I have confidence in my skills so they should fear the challenge.  (I think I can smell the fear already, and it's 3 days away,,,, or is that odor coming from me?)

We will also take in a Christmas movie.  Not sure which one yet, so feel free to comment and leave suggestions.  We like them all, so there won't be a bad choice.  Perhaps, Christmas Vacation, Elf, Rudolf, A Christmas Story, etc....

Did I mention I am looking forward to Thursday?

Peace,
Woody

Thought it Might Take Longer..

Wow, only a few entries into my blogging career, and I can't figure out what to write about.  I have heard about writers block, but never understood it.  I can remember not being able to come up with words to write before, but it was usually because I was under the gun to get a research paper done or something like that.

So let's see, I could write about how it seems lately that a lot of people I care about in my life are sick, or have passed.  How I don't quite know why some people have to suffer through terrible illnesses, or are full of life that is then cut tragically short.  All the while there are others that don't seem to value life enough to live it every single day.  I could tell you all about how my Mom, who is one of my heroes, exudes life.  She is in a wheelchair, and yet seems to be much more capable than I find myself on many days.  How my Dad (another one of my heroes), works harder than any other human being I have ever known, and he is retired!  How Friends of the family have recently passed way too soon, or have had brain surgery, or things like that.  Nah, I don't want to write about that....

How about I write about how difficult it is to be in a blended family, especially when it comes to holidays.  How hard it is to get Joey, Corey, and Lauren to all come over to decorate gingerbread houses with their busy schedules (Corey actually postponed coming over because there are some "Very important fights on that night")  I had no idea!  Just kidding Corey, thought it was a unique excuse.  Joey actually said "Oh Yea, I forgot about those", (like "Man, I'm glad Corey remembered so I don't miss them.")   I could tell you about trying to arrange a time to go see my parents with Joey, Corey, Lauren and Keara all in tow.  How we need to coordinate all this with Keara's Dad, and the boys Mom.  I could talk about the actual gift giving part of Christmas.  The guilt most parents feel about not being able to buy everything their kids wants is exponentially more difficult when you factor in step-children and ex-spouses.  On one hand, you want to make sure you get a good gift, but you don't want to duplicate anything, or give a gift that either overshadows the one your ex-spouse gives, or for that matter gets blown away by the gift they give.  It's a tough racket, and all the while, the only thing everyone wants in return is to spend time with all the kids.  That is the toughest part, but I will do my best to try and make everyone happy.  Nope that isn't fun to write about either.....

I know, I could write about the Broncos firing Josh McDaniels.  How I have always been on the side of the coaches in these situations.  It always seems the coach is ousted when the team is doing bad, even though they are not the ones throwing interceptions, missing tackles, fumbling, all the stuff that goes against a team when they are down.  How this time I think it's different.  I really liked the way Josh started out.  He ran the team to make sure that he had people on the field that wanted to be there, thus attempting to ensure the previous examples wouldn't lead to his downfall.  He made some tough personnel changes, and tried to make sure everyone was pulling in the same direction.  This was all well and good, then my feelings changed.  I still like Josh, but if you look at the games leading to his demise, there was a trend.  We started the game offensivly cramming the ball down the oppositions throat on our way to pay-dirt, getting the momentum, playing well.  Then the other team made adjustments.  They changed things on the fly and were able to stop us in our tracks.  Then we did the opposite, we didn't make adjustments to their changes.  That falls directly on the coaching.  So even though I like Josh, I see what happened there, and support the team I love.  No, I don't want to cover that either, everyone is talking about that right now.....

Well, maybe if I think about it a little longer I will find something to write about, until then.....

Peace,

Woody

Own It

Well, as I said in previous posts, I am in my 40’s, but I will forever be a kid.  I have learned that no matter how “old” I get, I have yet to grow up.  This is good, it makes those times when I do something “responsible” even more worthwhile.  It also allows me to do the unexpected; those times when my actions make people shake their heads and wonder how I escaped from my caretakers.

I remember how proud I made my parents at times; one particular example was my first year of college.  It had nothing to do with my classes or grades, but actually about a picture my Mom got to share with someone she met at a Denver Bronco game.  I’m not sure why, but during the game, a woman talking to my Mom shared that her child went to the same school I attended.  As women do, they went back and forth with the usual pleasantries with regard to how nice the school is, how pretty the campus, all the usual stuff.  During the conversation, the woman reached her hand into her purse and took out an envelope from the photo-mat.  She took out the pictures and started narrating the images one by one.  My Mom was undoubtedly filled with pride knowing that her little boy was going to the same school, seeing the same things, experiencing the same college experiences as this woman’s child.  Then, all of a sudden the woman stopped on a picture laughed out loud and said, “I have to tell you about this one, this is a dorm room on campus that has to be the messiest room I’ve ever seen.”  She went on about how people trekked across campus to view this room, and how they took a picture of the room, with the two knuckle-headed football playing roommates as they smiled proudly for the camera.  My Mom, while listening to this story, probably knew that this was no coincidence, that she could probably describe in great detail not only the facial features of one of the knuckleheads, but could probably describe the “mess” as well from the previous 18 years.  Well sure enough as she looked at the picture, she saw me, smiling, standing in a semesters worth of laundry, pizza boxes, “soda” cans, etc.  I hope this was the only time my dear Mother saw a picture of me and did not claim ownership.

Anyway, I want my kids to grow up the same way.  At a minimum they need to own their actions.  I am not saying that they should go through life with dirty laundry and empty pizza boxes lying around, but if they find themselves on that side of a camera, be proud of the mess you made, it was made by you!  I have the incredible privilege of having kids I am proud of.  Just after Thanksgiving, as we were heading back to Denver after eating dinner at my parents house, we stopped for sodas at a 7-11.  As we were all trying to cram back into the CR-V, Joey told his girlfriend to go to the other side of the car to get in.  Corey was on that side and said “Why can’t you move?” Joey said something back, Corey shouted back.  Joey said “Real mature Corey”, Corey responded to Joey (21 mind you), “Just stay put and eat your push pop Joey”!  (Yes he was enjoying a push-pop).  Those are the kind of kids I want to be around, because they make me laugh, and then I love them more, then I laugh more, etc…

Ok, Here’s the Deal..

That is the way I start most of my world changing, problem solving statements.  In the past some of these were influenced slightly by alcohol, that ALWAYS helps, but now it is a trigger I use.  For those of you that can remember the EF Hutton commercials, you can relate.  If you hear the words “Ok; here’s the deal”, you better listen, something very mind blowing is about to come out of my mouth.

I am in my 40’s, this makes me a seasoned expert on just about anything I choose to speak about.  I have come to notice that this is a skill that only I possess, and I take offense to anyone else who tries to duplicate this feat.

But seriously, I spend a lot of time going over things in my mind, and I have learned to cope with things that I feel face many other people.  If you read this, and find something that makes you think about a situation that you are in, and these profound words of wisdom help, I am glad.  If you completely disagree with everything I say, that is cool too, hopefully it will nurture your thoughts and help you find the answers you are looking for.

What makes me qualified to spew advice to the masses?  Do I have a degree in behavior?  Am I a Psychiatrist or Therapist?  No, what makes me qualified is that I have been through events in my life that many other people have experienced as well.  From a common man place in the world I am qualified to express my opinion.  Which brings me to my first bit of advice, get ready, here it comes..

Ok, here’s the deal, something may be happening in your life right now that makes you feel all alone, like this particular event has never happened to another sole anywhere, ever.  Although it may feel like it, it has more than likely happened to someone else and they were able to deal with it.  Does this event make you sad?  Heartache is horrible, but it can be dealt with.  I always try to find positives in my life, and whenever I would get my heart broken, I was pretty good at spinning it into my favor.  I don’t mean in a bad way like, “it’s a good thing she ripped my heart out, stepped on it, then put it back in my chest as she broke up with me, because she had really ugly toes, and I don’t want to pro-create with someone and have my kids look like ducks.”  I mean I would look at this as an opportunity to go on and find someone who truly appreciated me for me, and had normal toes (just kidding).  Although Kim has amazing toes.

I guess my point is, please read my aimless ramblings, take the things you need to make you feel better, or just point and laugh at my life and be glad you didn’t have to walk in my shoes that time.  Laughter is indeed the best medicine, those that don’t agree need more help than you and I.

Peace,

Woody

Good Weekend

Hello Everyone, hope you had a great Thanksgiving weekend.  Hope you were able to gather with family and friends, share time with those here and think about those that have passed on. 

My holiday started Wednesday night.  We went to the New Dawn Memory Care Center in Aurora.  We went to see my Mother-in-law's partner, and share Thanksgiving dinner with him and the other patients.  Let me say a couple things, first, Alzheimer's really stinks.  Plain and simple.  Those sweet patients at the center had a good time, as did we, but watching the affects of a debilitating disease like this is so hard on everyone.  Secondly, I would like to say that the staff at New Dawn do a great job, and really care about their patients.  Thanks to all of you.

On Thursday, we went to eat at a local restaurant, and it went great until Keara found a bug, still alive, swimming and wriggling in the ranch dressing of her salad.  There is no quicker way to stop an entire table of people from eating salad.  Needless to say the appetites of many at the table went away, but we got a cool story out of it.

On Friday, when Corey got off work, we all crammed into the CR-V and headed to Brush to spend the night with the parents.  Had a great time, ate a lot, and lost a few bucks playing cards and dice.  But now to the point of this entry, I will call it our first Christmas miracle of 2010.

My parents had warned me over the last week or so that they were going to pare down the festivities this holiday season, and I was fine with that.  We have spent the last couple years, kind of getting together the weekend after Thanksgiving and Christmas, this makes it possible for my sons and step-daughter to share the holiday "day"  with their Mom and Dad respectively.  And to be honest, it is kind of nice to not have to run around and eat 2 or 3 meals all in one day, and spread it out over a few days.  With the economy clobbering all of us we decided to draw names instead of buying for everyone, I am fine with this too.  Mom and Dad are butting heads about sending out Christmas cards this year, a battle I won't get in the middle of, I will let them argue about it, Mom will fill out the cards and send them, and Dad will just have to go along with it.  But there was something that didn't sit right with My son's Joey and Corey.  Mom and Dad decided they were just going to put up a small tree and not the one they had put up in the past.  Mom said there was no reason to climb up and get all the stuff out, it was just too much of a hassle.
Joey, Corey, and my Dad went out to the garage and got everything down after the boys agreed to set it all up, and be part of the post-holiday tear down crew.  So here is where the cool part comes in, we spent the next hour or two, first watching Joey work very hard putting up the tree, and stringing the lights, then seeing the happiness on Mom and Dad's faces as the ornaments were taken out, unwrapped, and hung on the tree.  There were many special ones, some that had Joey and Corey's pictures on them, there were some that my ex-Mother-in-law had crocheted, and there were even a few that hung on my parent's first tree over 50 years ago.  Watching my Mom's face as these came out was priceless and is a big part of what the holiday's are about.  Corey even hung an ornament on my Mom's wheelchair, and she said she will keep it there for the season.  It is amazing to me how that box of memories that now hangs on the tree helped set the tone for the holiday season, I am so glad the boys pushed the issue, it made it great for all involved.

I hope you all can share moments like this over this holiday season, or can find some memories of holidays past that make you feel warm inside.  I will close for now, because I know it is dragging on, take care till next time.

Peace,
Woody

Thanksgiving

Well, it's that time of year again, you know, Halloween is over, Christmas decorations in all the stores and on some of the neighborhood houses (ALREADY??), and Thanksgiving, as usual is lost in the shuffle.  It has always been an interesting holiday for me, I always felt bad that it seemed to be an afterthought to some.  Wedged in between arguably the funnest, and most favorite holidays, it never got it's own just dues.  It is the time to give thanks for the things we have, the kiddos will make construction paper hand-print turkey's, there will be discussion of pilgrims, the fact that the turkey was almost our national bird, you know all that stuff to help make Thanksgiving feel like we think about it, but all the while, we are starting to think about Christmas.

Well not this year!  This is a different year for me.  I have a lot of thinks to be thankful for, and a lot of things to reflect upon.

First and foremost, I got remarried this year.  I had someone find me, that thinks almost as much about me as I do her.  She shows me every day what I have to be thankful for, and gives me a reason to live, and that I am truly blessed.  I love you Kim, so much more than ever!!!

More recent events have me reflecting on other more somber things.  My ex-father-in-law died unexpectedly just a short time ago.  This was a man that I loved, and he loved me.  We both had a funny way of showing it, he would always greet me with some comment about how fat I was, and I would give him a hard time about being old.  But he was a great man, and an awesome Grandfather to my 2 sons, and all his Grandchildren for that matter.  I am thankful that we were a part of each others lives, and that he always treated me the way he did.  It seems when 2 people get divorced, everyone feels they need to take a side, and he never did that.  He always treated me the same way, and I have found out how rare that is.  I miss you every day Bob, I love you.

I am also thankful for my kids.  Not just my 2 sons, but my step-daughter too.  They are all three as different from one another as they are the same.  None of them probably come close to grasping how I feel about them.  They have no idea how many lives they have touched, and I just wish they would open up enough that the feelings between everyone in their lives could be shared.  I love you Joey, Corey and Keara, please take it easy on all your parents, and those they chose to be with..  Your biggest hope should be that your birth parents are happy, so let it be, embrace those around you, and feel free to reevaluate next year.  We all want to be a part of your lives, try to feel the same way back.

I am thankful for my parents, they are great, and they help me in more ways than they can imagine.  I hope that I have had the influence on my kids that my parents inflicted on me.  They are always there, good and bad, when I am trying to make a decision, or to steer me away from doing the wrong thing.  Not that I haven't made bad choices before, we all have, but they are there, and always will be.  Thanks Mom and Dad, I love you.

So here's hoping you all take a little time to reflect on a few things you are thankful for, and don't just eat yourself into oblivion searching for the best Black Friday deals to go to.

Peace,

Woody

First Entry

Hello to anyone that happens to stumble across this page,  I am not completely sure how this is going to go, just want a spot I can vent.  It seems that telling, and then re-telling all of the issues, problems, concerns, etc. in my head to the people around me is going somewhat unappriciated.

How am I supposed to get through all the difficulties I have in a constructive manner?  Start a blog of course....

So here I am, starting what may be an outlet to me, but also a space that readers can go to to escape their own realities for a while.  I promise I will try to post often, but not too often.

A little bit about me; I am a 42 year old male, I have 2 sons, age 21 and 19, both in college, both amazing human beings, and both loved by me more than they will ever know.  I am recently re-married, to the most amazing woman that I ever could find, and I am sure you will get to know her on these pages.  I now have a 12 year old step-daughter, and this is where I am truly out of my element.  My ex-wife and I had 2 boys, I helped raise and shape them, and got to know the male side of all kinds of activities.  Little did I know there was a whole other universe called a girl.  She is awesome, and I love her to pieces, but have found myself ill prepared for all things female.  Many times she starts sentences with "You may not want to listen to this", like I can close my ears as simply as looking away.  Sheesh, what's a guy supposed to do.

But seriously, I plan on using this space to share thoughts and ideas, and look for input from readers in the form of their own stories, advice or points of view.

So let's get started.  Ask me questions that deal with anything pertaining to being a parent, step-parent, spouse, ex-spouse, child, sports fan, etc. and we will see where we can go.

Peace,

Woody