My Granddad...

...is dying. I guess most grandchildren experience this time in life, but no matter how expected it is, it is never really expected. I knew that he had been taken to the hospital a couple of days ago. He had hurt a toe and an infection. It didn't seem like much, but...

That's the way I started this blog a few days ago. I guess I really didn't want to finish it. So, when I was distracted, I left it alone. My Granddad died Friday evening.

I got the call from my folks in the late evening. I'd been expecting it since Wednesday, when my Dad called my cell phone twice in ten minutes, then later several other times. I was in meetings and couldn't answer, but I suspected that something of this nature was afoot. I got my family together and went to be with my Dad. After all, it was his Dad.

While we sat together, the kids played in youthful innocence. They really don't comprehend what is going on. And I am thankful for that. There is time enough for the realities of living and dying to impact their lives. Plus, I thought it was appropriate for my Dad to see their play and to see that life goes on, that there is another generation that needs him too. And that there is still much in this family to thank God for. I also spent some time reminiscing about my Granddad and the ways he touched my life. I'll share some of those thoughts here.

When I was a boy, it was sort of a routine that my brother and I would spend the weekend with my grandparents. They lived close, so this was relatively easy. It seemed like it was more of a summertime experience, or at least I remember the summer experiences more vividly, or maybe they just touched me more deeply. Anyway, there were three things that we did then that I do or enjoy to this day and at least one more that I want to do someday.

My Granddad was a baseball fan. He was a football fan too, but it was the baseball that brings me the most nostalgia. In the evenings when the game was on, and that is most every evening in the summer, he would flip on a little AM radio and listen to the call. I really came to associate listening to the game with being together with my Granddad. In some strange twist of fate, I now work in an office located in Ameriquest Field. My desk is next to a two story glass wall in left center. I see a lot of baseball games. But, I still would rather turn on the radio at my desk and just listen. There is nothing like the anticipation of the call; that slight delay between the pitch and the play always has me hanging on every work. It is exciting. To me, it is the best way to enjoy the game. I think my Granddad would agree.

My Granddad was also a fisherman. He bought a house in a small community on the north side of Lake Lewisville before I was born. We just called it the Lake House. My Mom and Dad lived there for a while. And when I was born, I lived there for a while. After my brother came along, we moved and it became just a weekend get away. My grandparents moved up there after they retired, planning to spend their remaining years in a place of great memories. Being within walking distance to the lake wasn't a bad deal either. It gave us lots of opportunity to fish and boat and we did. We always seemed to be looking for this sunken Christmas tree, or something...a fishing hole. We didn't have any fancy electronics like I have on my boat today. No, we just putted around looking at landmarks and guessing. It was great. I always got sunburned and we never seemed to catch much, but it was great. We fished and boated a lot in my younger years. The Corps closed that side of the lake about the time I was a teenager and a lot of the fishing and boating stopped, but the die was cast.

After moving back from West Texas a few years ago, I bought a small boat and started to enjoy fishing again. I wanted to take my Granddad out on the lake, but I never got the chance to. That's ok, though, my love for the sport started with him and I hope to pass it along to my boys as well.

The third thing I will always remember my Granddad for is the riding lawn mower. You see, the Lake House was on a half acre lot and it had a lot of grass to cut. My Granddad bought this little Sears & Roebuck riding lawn mower to tackle it with. When I was old enough to drive the thing, he was more than happy to let me. I tore all over that yard. I made tracks and patterns, I went fast and I went slow. I mowed in the morning, evening and midday, it didn't matter. I just wanted to mow.

Now I live on a one acre lot. I also have a riding lawn mower. When my Granddad would come over for a visit, he would always ask me, "Mark, how big is this place?" "Oh, about an acre," was my reply. "You got a riding lawn mower? That sure is a lot of yard to take care of." "Yeah, Pop, I've got a riding mower, you want to see it?" And so it would go. We usually had that conversation ten or twelve times in a visit; he was already showing the signs of the brain degeneration that was to come. But I always answered him like it was the first time. I owed him that dignity. I still enjoy mowing the grass. I guess it makes me feel like a kid. When my boys ask me to mow, I tell them its a privilege and they have to earn it. My oldest is ten. It won't be long now before the tradition is passed on.

Finally, my Granddad was a gardener. He and my Grandma had several gardens. The had some flower gardens, but mostly, they had vegetable gardens. They had two large gardens out in the back and shared a communal garden with several other neighboring families in a large lot across the street. When we were boys, my brother and I would work in the garden with them picking, weeding, cleaning. They grew all sorts of things. They had potatoes, corn, carrots, tomatoes, green beans, peas, avocado, squash, beets, lettuce, cabbage, onions...I can't remember what else. We seemed to spend hours out in the gardens. Now I have the space to garden. So far, I have not. I want to though. Maybe someday I will.

You know, these are just a few of the ways I have been changed and influenced by my Granddad. I am sure that there are many more. Some people don't have the privilege of knowing their grandparents. I did and I am thankful for that. My Granddad was a great man. I know that in many ways I am who I am because I knew him.

I love you, Pop! I miss you too.


The picture at the top is of my Granddad holding my son. I took a picture of it yesterday while my brother and I were moving some of my Granddad's furniture out of the assisted living facility. It seemed to capture him well.

Reprise:

I’ve been thinking about eulogies. I guess I’ve been thinking about my eulogy in particular. Above, there are some great memories of my Granddad, but ultimately, what matters most in both life and death is our relationship with the Living God. His name is Jesus Christ. As you read these words, examine your own life. I have, and I want my life to be marked by love, peace and joy. When my children and grandchildren look back on my life, I hope that they say, “Not only did my dad teach me to hunt and fish, to play ball and music and to love family; my dad loved the Lord, and he loved me. He loved me so much he showed me how to have a relationship with Jesus Christ.” That would be a great eulogy. What will your eulogy be?

Have You Considered Lent?

In today's incredibly busy world, slowing down and taking time to focus on the Lord seems to be a very difficult task. Most of the youth I teach on Sunday can't ever seem to find that time. Honestly, I find it hard as well. My time for seeking the Lord in study and prayer comes early in the morning, before my family is awake. That works well, so long as I maintain the discipline to get up. But, really more to the point, do you find it difficult to seek the Lord throughout the day, or is He somewhat of an afterthought? I'll admit that most of my days seem to be very fast, consumed with the things I am responsible for. I find little time for reflection or prayer during the day. In an attempt to correct that situation, many Protestants find that fasting is a wonderful tool to refocus the mind on Christ.

Other church traditions also contain some form of the fasting tool. It was used in Jesus day as well. In fact, Jesus fasted. I am not going to get into a lengthy explanation of the theology here, or recount Jesus works. All I want to do is ask if you have ever considered Lent?

I am not advocating that simply giving up some trivial thing for forty days is going to bring you closer to Christ. Nor am I advocating that if you do not have a relationship with the Living God that sacrifice of any size will impress Him. Only a saving faith in Jesus Christ will do that. However, if you do have that relationship, taking something out of your life that consumes a portion of your day, whether food or activity, will give you cause to pause and consider something else in its place; namely Christ.

Take a moment and think about something that takes up your attention on a daily basis. For me, habitually cruising the internet is one such activity. I am choosing to forgo any internet activity other than that required for work, or reflection during Lent. I am choosing to pray and meditate on Christ during that time. I encourage you to take a look at what you could forgo so that you might also spend the time in prayer. In the end, our relationships with the risen Lord will be stronger.

Have you considered Lent?

Sick -N- Busy

Sorry for not posting for a while. Our family has been exceptionally busy and to top it off, at least half of us have been sick. Nathan, in particular, has the flu. That's not good. He has been up and down, but keeping him down to rest has been hard. The doctor prescribed Tamiflu and let me tell you, that stuff cost us $75! We had to cancel his b-day party today and reschedule for next week.

In other news, at Nathan's guitar lesson yesterday, I spotted drum head silencers at the music store. Cool! I bought a set for Pierce's kit and installed them. They work well. The heads are still able to be tuned well, but the silencers cut out the resonance of the drum nicely. That cuts down dramatically on the noise and produces a tight sound. Not a bad enhancement for $44.

Here's a water leak update. The total bill was over $910. After working with the City and applying the leak discount, we are paying about $700. The City was nice enough to allow us to split the payment over two months. Awww, sometimes I'm really touched by their kindness. I wonder what the wholesale price would have been...

Last week, I had to fly to Amarillo for a pre-proposal meeting. Of course we scheduled the flight to leave at 0800. That meant I had to leave the house at 0600 to get to the airport by 0700. The flight left on time, but when we arrived over Amarillo, the conditions on the ground were unacceptable for landing. The visibility was less than 800 feet with freezing fog. So, we circled for 45 minutes before heading to Lubbock. Once we were on the ground in Lubbock, the meeting in Amarillo had already started, so we decided to head back to Dallas. Four hours of standing in lines later, we were able to get on a flight to Dallas. I got back around 1630. All day on an airplane or in a line, no meeting, I just went home. I also had to go to Longview, and I might tell that story later.

OK, last item. If you were wondering about the picture at the top... I have seen this person several times on my way to work. BG and I have laughed about this license plate since the first time I saw it. So this time, I quickly grabbed the camera and snapped this pic. Sometimes seeing is believing!

Please Help Me, I Went to Cabelas With My Wife and Kids!

To some of you hardcore hunters, fishermen and general outdoor enthusiasts, traveling to the "Worlds Foremost Outfitter" with the wife and kids in tow would simply be insanity. I know, I know, some of you have wifes who give a trip to Cabela's a WAF (Wife Approval Factor) of 10. But most of you don't and a kitchen pass is in order.

Now, my wife is a good wife, and I would go just about anywhere with her. Just to prove my case, when she worked a Victoria's Secret and they remodeled the store, the ladies thought it would be a good idea to have all the boyfriends and husbands come up and help restock. No, there weren't any "trying-on" sessions; it was work. These chicks had us guys practically go through a class in order to learn how to fold a bra the Vici's Secret way! I learned, I folded, I stayed almost all night. That's dedication! So I feel like I earned an unlimited pass to places like Cabela's; I don't care if the folding session was almost fourteen years ago! So, she let me go, and I insisted that she come along.

Now, my kids are, well, kids. They had managed to get in trouble before we even started out on the trip. Yea, it takes better than an hour in the car to get to the store. We implemented a new discipline routine just recently and this trip would test it to the max. It works like this. The kids want an allowance and we want them to think about things before they do them and to obey. So, we give them the allowance, but instead of earning it through chores alone, the amount is placed in a cup in quarters. Each time a disrespectful word is spoken, or minor obedience infractions take place, a quarter is removed from the amount. Heh-heh, sometimes that can add up quickly. Scenes from the Breakfast Club pop into my mind... "Are you finished!? No! Do you want another!? Yes!," you get the picture. The trip went like that. On the bright side, I made back a couple of dollars and we weren't even there yet!

Once we arrived and made it into the store, ooooooh, look at that setup for turkey huntin'. I was mesmerized. Suddenly, the kids playing hide and seek in the rounders and playing with the vests faded into the din of the store....it was a hunters paradise. "What the hell was that?!" I was suddenly popped back into reality as one of the junior hunters obviously mistook me for some large game animal, perfectly placing a head shot through the ear with an extremely loud pop gun. "Put that thing down'" I shouted, not realizing that I was so loud over the ringing in my ear. "Guys just stay put and let Dad look at this stuff, OK?" It was of little use. Eventually, I just tuned it all out again.

We went over to the archery area. I needed a few miscellaneous items and the new Gobbler Guillotine turkey broadhead by Arrowdynamic Solutions. If you haven't had a chance to see this thing yet...please let me describe it with a classic Keanu Reeves line, "Whoa!" Follow the link to the Arrowdynamic Solutions web page, scroll down and watch the video. Heads are definately rolling. Short of my 12 ga Benelli with a Patternmaster choke, I don't think I've seen anything stop a turkey like these will. Now, if I can adjust my setup and make a neck shot...

They also had a try-before-you-buy turkey call table set up. Cool! I had to check it out. With the boys working every call they could get their hands on, I'm sure the other shoppers thought a whole messload of sick and dying turkeys had just been knocked off the roost. Through it all, however, I heard one that sounded really good. I shooed the boys away and had a better listen. Yep, that one sounded really good. I put it down and started looking at decoys. I needed to add a few to my flock anyway. Someone else took up the challenge of the try-before-you-buy calling table and there it was again, a call that really sounded like a hen. Soft purrs, raspy locater yelps, I really wanted this thing by now. So I started looking. The display wall was full of every kind of slate, glass, metal friction-type call imaginable. There it is...the Woodhaven Custom Legends Series...SIXTY FREAKIN' DOLLARS! That has to be the most expensive call in the store! Well, almost, the same call in a camo pattern is $80.00. I didn't manage to get it into the cart...yet.

Remember wife, BG, love of my life...she had had enough and had proceeded to the check out lane without me. When I arrived, she announced that that she had already payed for the items in the cart and anything left in my hand would have to be purchased separately. "WHAT? I guess your ready to go, huh?" I may have been dejected, but there was no going back into the store. She was ready to leave.

In the end, I got most of what I came for. We all had a good time, at least I think we did. However, I can't say that a Cabela's trip is looming anytime in the near future. But I'm stoaked for turkey season and its right around the corner!