We're Waiting...

I've been talking to my wife's tummy lately encouraging our little guy to make his way into the world. He's not been cooperating.

Tomorrow I am deviously making plans to drive on the bumpiest roads in town hitting all the potholes. I'll encourage my wife to go for a long walk (I'll follow along in the heated car). Later, I'll slip a little castor oil in her raspberry tea. That should prime the pump.

It's scary that parents are so big to children. Parents take on a sort of god like role in the lives of children. No wonder so many of us struggle at times to connect with God because our role models sometimes weren't not so good.

I don't like the idea of being a god like figure in the life of my child. I am broken, imperfect and limited. Yet, I also know that as I lean into God, I will become someone who can help point him to the real God. I want him to know how great God is and all that He has done for me.

Quotes to Groove On

I've been so refreshed lately by getting out of my office at lunch. Starbucks or Beaners has been the spot for some reading & writing. I've enjoyed the latest issue of the magazine called The Sun. They have a section called Sunbeams. A couple of these quotes blew me away.

"The strength of a man's virtue should not be measured by his special exertions, but by his habitual acts." Blaise Pascal - I think of my father's habitual act of drinking that defined much of his life. Yes, he had his moments of special exertion but it is in the habitual that he was defined.

"It's a shallow life that doesn't give a person a few scars." Garrison Keillor - I tried to avoid scars by hiding from people for many years. It was a shallow life lived in fear.

"Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful." Ann Landers - Clearly Ann needs to take her own advice here. Do cats count? We have one who adores me.

"A man who looks for security, even in the mind, is like a man who would chop off his limbs in order to have artificial ones which will give him no pain or trouble." Henry Miller - Hmmm...

Future American Dictator?

Right now there's a battle between the President and Congress over his rights to authorize spying within the USA. I have a certain amount of trust that the government is indeed spying on only those who are suspected terrorists. We all want to avoid another 9/11 attack.

The President has been given extraordinary powers to protect Americans but it is all done in secret. Only a few people within the administration know the program(s). There really is no oversight from Congress or the courts.

I am not so concerned about the current situation but let's take the current circumstance and go out 2 or 3 Presidents from now. The war on terrorism will go on for a long long time.

What if that future President was not moral? What if that President used these extra powers to spy on political opponents? Surely there would be information that could be gleaned from secret wire taps that could be used to blackmail people. Or, perhaps, just insider information that would give that future President the political edge. No one would need to know how that information was obtained. And, if anyone dared to expose this kind of corruption, they could easily be arrested on the grounds of exposing state secrets or aiding terrorists.

Is this situation far fetched? No, my history books are full of this kind of thing.

Let me be clear that I am not accusing President Bush of these things.

I'm concerned about the long term implications of the current policies. Without appropriate oversight, we are trusting that future Presidents will be moral people. I don't think that's a good risk to take in the long run.

Ugly Politics

I admit to being more harsh on the political right versus the political left on my blog. I once strongly identified myself as a conservative and a libertarian. As a result, it's easy to see the weaknesses in my formerly held points of view.

But, to be fair, I'd like to bring up an example of my irritation with the political left on the confirmation of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.

On C-Span and on radio talk shows I heard people claiming the rights of women and minorities would be threatened. They talked about women having to have back alley abortions. The rights of minorities would be turned back to the 1950's.

Come on. Give me a break. In the unlikely event that Roe vs. Wade was overturned, do we really think that women will lose all their other rights? My guess is that abortion would still be legal most places so that women would still be free to get abortions. Do we really think we would go back to government approved racism against minorities? I don't think this is realistic.

It's fine if you don't agree with him or if you are concerned how he might rule. You can vote against him. I have concerns how he might rule in certain types of cases.

But, making wild accusations about the impact of his decisions is just a lot of hot air meant to get their political base riled up. People who are angry are more likely to give money or vote for their candidate.

I despise ugly political games like this.

Antibiotics Rock

I'm so grateful for antibiotics that kicked my little sinus infection in the butt.

What on earth did people do before antibiotics? Did they just work through it? Did they eventually die from the untreated infection? Were they just sick for long periods of time?

It's amazing to me the how good we've got it.

My Desires to the Basement

My boxes have made their way to the only open space left in our home, the basement. I had to take my boxes out of the room that will soon be his.

I feel that the boxes are a good representation of my desires. My desires haven't left the house. They have just been put in a lower priority. Being a good parent will often mean leaving my desires at the door and giving him whatever he needs. Getting married gave me a taste of this, but I think having a child will be a whole new world of this.

Yet, it's not easy to move all this stuff. When the boxes were neatly tucked in the closet I could forget they were there. Bringing them out of the closet reminds me of all this stuff I have. I know I want to go through them. I want a simpler life. I want less stuff. Yet, the idea of sorting it all out overwhelms me.

So, for now, the boxes have been moved. The sorting of all my stuff can wait for another day. The room is now prepared for our little guy to arrive. And besides, I know I will be far more fulfilled by laying down my desires for the sake of my son.

Blogging Anniversary

Wow, I've been blogging for a year. This idea has legs and has been walking all year long.

My goal was to have another venue to practice getting thoughts out of my head. Writing in my blog and in my journal have been great tools this past year. I am a more balanced person when I'm writing.

For those who love stats like I do:
74 blog posts
961 blog hits
1,983 page views

Thanks to everyone who has stopped by.

Daddy's Goal

Lily Tomlin said, "I always wanted to be somebody. I should have been more specific."

I love that quote. Lily's vague goal set her up to never know if she actually was somebody. Was she someone after she starred in a movie or TV show? Or, was that not enough?

Soon I'll have a baby son. I want to be a great dad. Defining what a great dad is, will be important for me. It's a vague idea that's a setup for failure.

I've seen some parents look to their kids to validate their sense of being a great parent. If the kids are good, then, the parent it Ok. If the kids are bad, then the parent is bad. It can get ugly when the parent tries to manipulate the kid into better behavior for their own sense of being ok.

Perhaps a specific goal for me would be to express love to my son every day in word and deed. In the process of loving my son this way, I will be a great dad.

Tagged Answers

I'm very impressed with the accuracy of those who dared to pick the answers they found to be untrue.

1. Yes, sadly it's true, I've never been a tattoo artist. Needles and pain are not my gig and never will be.

2. I could only watch a little of West Side Story and could never go back to it. Muscials have never been my favorite. As an adult, I'm surprised at how much I've enjoyed the Harry Potter books and movies. I do recommend reading the books first so you have more background on the characters. It makes the movie more interesting.

3. I've never lived in Canada. Even though I live very close to Canada I've been there for less than a day.

4. Perhaps my answer is not fully correct since I've never really sat down and watched an episode of Sponge Bob Squarepants. Maybe I'd like it if I watched it. Friends and Simpsons make me laugh. West Wing feeds the political intrigue and drama that I enjoy.

5. Sadly, no vacation to Siberia. I hear there's great cross country skiing in the winter if you don't freeze to death first. Thailand's cultural history makes it a remarkable place to visit.

6. Fried Worms - I know, just a little obvious on that one.

7. Imthegreatestguyintheworld.com - perhaps a bit narcissistic on this one. As a kid I followed sports and played sports all the time. These days I keep up on Nascar and the Green Bay Packers.

8. Northern Canada is not where I want to be right now. I love warm weather. Summer, come soon, please. And yet, home really is where my close relationships are. So, here at home with my beautiful wife, is where I most want to be.

Thank you to all the contestants who played this little game. Your prize is the satisfaction of knowing that you did well with limited information.

Tagged, a little different

Ok, so here's a little wrinkle to the tagged idea. I'm going to answer each of the questions. 3 of the answers will be true and one will be false. Can you guess which is not true?

Four jobs I've had:
Dishwasher
Missionary
Tattoo Artist
Accountant

Four Movies you could watch over and over:
West Side Story
Spinal Tap
Harry Potter
Anchorman

Four Places you have lived:
Iowa
China
California
Canada

Four TV Shows I like:
Friends
Sponge Bob Squarepants
Simpsons
West Wing

Four Place you've been on vacation:
Colorado
Vietnam
Siberia
Thailand

Four of your favorite foods:
Fried worms
Chocolate ice cream
Macaroni and Cheese
Pizza

Four websites you visit daily:
Nascar.com
Packersnews.com
Imthegreatestguyintheworld.com
gmail.com

Four places you'd rather be right now:
Southern California - winter is like spring in Michigan
Northern Canada - it's colder there
China - to visit old friends
With my beautiful wife, wherever she is.