On the way back to work, we somehow got on the subject of a store selling drinks made from tiger urine.  That morphed into drinks made from Tiger Woods’ urine.  Don’t ask me how we got there.

“What flavor did you get?”

“I got gonorrhea.  Yum.”

My 3-year-old then asked, “What?”

Knowing he had no idea of what we were talking about, I replied ,”Gonorrhea.”

“Oh, I get it,” he said and started to laugh.

So, Sunday we had the bright idea to let Bubba watch some NASCAR on TV.  (Yes, his nick name is even Bubba.  I don’t know how that happened, but if that doesn’t scream future race car driver…)   We figured he would like to see how fast the cars were going and hear the roar of all the engines.  We turned it over just as the race was about to start.

As soon as the green flag was waved, Bubba was transfixed.  He stood in front of the screen and stared.  Then he would jump up and down and yell, “Go! Go! Go!”  Every time it cut to commercials, he would say, “I want to watch the cars.  Turn the cars back on.”  He watched the first 25-30 minutes without losing interest.  Quite a feat for a 3-year-old.  Even after that first stint, he was in and out of the room, playing with cars and watching the race.

When all was said and done, I ended up watching my first NASCAR race from beginning to end.  The only other race I had ever watched even a part of was the Daytona 500 in 2001.  I was flipping channels and stopped on the race just in time to see the crash that killed Dale Earnhardt.

None of our other kids have ever been so interested in anything at that age as Bubba is to cars.  It is fun to watch.

There is a lot of course, when I stop to think about it.  I am thankful for my wonderful wife.  I am thankful for four beautiful, funny kids.  I am thankful for my parents, for my siblings and the love and joy that always fills my heart when I get to spend time with them.  I am thankful for a job I enjoy and for the friend that led me to it.  I am thankful for my recently completed degree.  I am thankful for the many opportunities that I have had to spend time on stage.  I was able to be in four productions this year (one of which opens on Saturday), and I was also able to perform with an improv troupe that I highly respect throughout the year.

I hope Thanksgiving was as good to you this year as it was to me.  I hope you all can find something to be thankful for.  Now if next year I can add being grateful that the Cubs won the World Series, then that would be the best.  Just sending that out to the universe.  Let’s see what happens.

As one daughter put it, “I mean, who puts onions in macaroni and cheese?”

“I do,” my wife said.

“Oh, you made this?”  My daughter’s mental wheels started to turn, but she was caught with no where to go, no turning back.

“What,” I asked.  ”Did you think it just fell out of the sky?”

“I thought maybe she bought it from someone.”

I guess I will be enjoying the leftovers all by myself.

One of Buddha’s chores is to dust his room.  The description on the card reads, “Use a rag and Pledge to dust all surfaces.”  When Buddha first looked at the card he started laughing.  When asked why he was laughing, Buddha raised his right hand and said, “I pledge to dust all surfaces.”

He thought it was very funny we were asking him to promise to dust all surfaces.

She is a great photographer.  You can take a look at a sampling of her work, listen to some cool tunes, read some praise from clients, and contact her about booking your own session.  You won’t be disappointed.

lifeinmomentsphotography.com

It may sound cliche… okay, it does sound cliche, but it is the truth nonetheless.  I cannot picture my life without you.  You are my meaning.  You are my motivation.  You are my happiness, my joy, my everything.  I love you.

Cheesy?  Sure.  Sappy?  You bet.

True?  One Hundred Percent.

It should be no secret that my family’s existence over the past few years has been financially unstable.  This year has been the worst, as terms like default, repossession, you’re fired and foreclosure have made frequent appearances in our vocabulary.  The stress has impacted my relationship with my wife and the repercussions have been felt by my children, one of whom broke down in tears because Mom and Dad never used to fight.

So, no, I wasn’t excited for Christmas when my friend asked.  However, I have thought about that question every day since it was asked.  I have followed it up with one of my own.  Why?  Why was I not excited for Christmas, a time my character in A Christmas Carol calls, “The happiest time of all the year.”  It may sound trite and even a little cliche, but my criteria for what makes Christmas something to be excited for was askew.

As this year has come to a close, many blessings have presented themselves to my family.  Two separate groups have stepped forward to help provide a better Christmas for my family.  Help was not asked for, but they gave it anyway.  How humbling it is to receive help of this kind.  What can we say other than thank you?  The fact that these people made such an effort to think about others is just astonishing, especially during this time when we are all feeling the economic crush.  You won’t read this, but I thank you.

Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t thank my parents.  They have been the official sponsors of Santa Claus for years.  Without the help we have received from them every year, the Santa part of Christmas would have never happened.

Also, God has answered my prayers by leading me to a new career opportunity that will help my family immensely in the years to come.  I start my new job with the new year and hope it will truly be a new and different and blessed year for my family.  Thanks also go to a friend who helped me every step of the way during the hiring process.

So, as I have pondered being excited for Christmas, I would like to change my answer.  I am excited for Christmas.  I am excited for a Christmas that has shown me that God hears and answers prayers.  I am excited for a Christmas that has shown me that truly good, decent, Christ-like people still exist in the world.  I am excited for a Christmas that has given me hope for the first time in a long time.

When I returned from serving a two year mission for my church, I was trying to go to school and needed money.  Grant gave me a job in his print shop.  I don’t know if I ever properly thanked him for that.  He really didn’t need my help, and in the end he kept me on longer than was financially smart for him to do so.

I really enjoyed working with him.  I miss the smell of the ink, and the sounds and rhythms of the offset presses.  I miss the trade shows.  I miss the lunches with Grant and my Dad.

But, most of all, I’ll miss Grant.  I’ll miss his kindess, his patience and his laugh.