Year in review

2011 was not without its challenges.  There's the perpetual job drama, which has been going on for five years over the same point of contention.  I had some concerns about my health.  While I waited longer than I should have to get them checked out, my fears were basically overblown.  I felt pinched for time quite often, but in most cases it was because I was making time to exercise, which has made me feel better, and doing things I enjoyed.

All in all, it was a pretty good year that saw it's share of firsts.  I visited New York City not once but twice and couldn't have had a better time.  I finally attended the Toronto International Film Festival and managed to see a film from one of my favorite filmmakers several months before I would have been able to otherwise.  Plus, he and the main cast were in attendance.  Although my favorite team wasn't playing, I attended a World Series game.  I saw Paul McCartney in concert


On top of that I went to my fair share of ballgames and made my annual trips to film festivals in Cleveland and Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.  On two occasions I got to see my favorite singer, who doesn't play in this part of the country regularly.  I even meet her and her husband, who she was performing with, after one of their shows.  I met and renewed acquaintances with several folks I've known online.  My parents moved to a home that is unquestionably the nicest place they've ever lived and are a solid ninety minutes closer, which makes visiting, especially at the holidays, easier to do. 

I know it is often easier to complain and focus on how things are not how one wishes for them to be.  I'm certainly susceptible to dwelling on what I'm dissatisfied with and worrying about stuff I can and can't control.  So it's important for me to look at last year and appreciate the ridiculous amount of treasured experiences it gave me.  I didn't expect a significant number of those things to come to pass.  Whether 2012 can equal or surpass 2011 is irrelevant.  I had a very good year.  Now let's see what this new one will bring.

A merry little Christmas

Christmas came and went as a small, mostly quiet holiday.  In what has been a busy December, I'll gladly take sitting around eating more than I should, listening to music, and playing cards (not at the same time) over some big to-do.

My brother, sister-in-law, and nephew checked in via Skype from their vacation in Germany.  My other two brothers were here. Without any request my mom made monkey bread for this morning's breakfast.  She also made rolled cookies that had been her mother's recipe (I think).  I remember these usually being made around Christmas when I was a kid and had considered making them myself because it's been ages since I've had them.

In a day without anything scheduled except for church at 10 a.m., it was odd how packed the day was.  My time here for the holidays is more than half over.  It's zoomed by.  But I suspect that's a good thing.

Hope you also had a good Christmas, whether it was a big production or little more than time home with family. 





  

Black Friday

The appeal of diving into the mess of day after Thanksgiving shopping eludes me.  Fine, there are deals to be had, although I wonder if they're often as good as they're perceived to be.  Camping out a couple days for one of them strikes me as absurd.  Even doing it once "for the experience" doesn't interest me.  To each their own, I suppose.

That said, I did use this Friday to stock up on something I needed: rest and relaxation.  There was more football and basketball to be watched on TV after a day spent also doing much of the same.  There were cards to be played with my family.  There were naps to be taken.

Shoppers, you have it your way, and I'll have it my way.

Unplanned hiatus

There I go letting the daily blogging streak end last month.  Look what that led to: not blogging most of this week.  I couldn't even drag my sorry behind to the blog on 11/11/11.

So what's the deal?  Mainly it's just been trying to keep my head above water.  Work occupied a good share of my time this week.  Then I had to go into scramble mode to clean up my apartment as my brother and his almost one-year-old flew up here a day earlier than expected.  (My brother is in town to attend a wedding.)  I was particularly concerned about how much of a hazard my place is for a baby, especially one crawling around.  Then they got here.  Simply put, there have not been enough hours in the day.

The upsides in all this are that my apartment is straightened up (somewhat), I found my missing checkbook, and I got to see my nephew again (even if I did lose some hours of sleep during his stay).  But what a crazy week this has been.  Or is that the theme for the year?

Baby, water gardens, birds, tacos

Babies are shameless, especially ones who are related.

The Fort Worth Water Gardens seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen.  Pretty though.

Especially in a secluded spot like this one.

Looking out at downtown Fort Worth, Texas.

I could not believe how loud these birds (grackles?) were, let alone the number of them.

Yeah, I had to eat here. That logo!

Food and family

I could write up some thoughts about things I observed or pondered today, but this photo pretty much summarizes it all.  This was a travel day--I'm now in between Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas where my brother and sister-in-law live--and it's been marked by the food I've eaten and the company I've kept, namely my nephew.

The last time I saw my nephew was at Christmas, about a month after he was born.  We got along famously, and I showed him off to my parents via Skype.

I've been doing a good job of eating sensibly...but not today.  In addition to some airport barbecue in Memphis, I had my first visit to the fabled In-N-Out Burger.  I enjoyed a double double animal style (but without cheese), fries, and a Neapolitan shake.

It was quite a busy day but a good one.  And just think, I still have a World Series game to attend while I'm down here.

Blink of an eye

It's no secret that the experience of time is relative, yet it can be weird to recognize that every once in awhile.

I've been at my parents' since Saturday--four whole days--and will be returning home at some point on Wednesday. Since I spent most of last Thursday and Friday away from home, you could make the case that I've basically been out and about for six days. I don't feel like I've been gone that long.

Today is a perfect example of how the hours dissolve while you don't realize it. I slept in and finished off breakfast by the time my parents' visitors arrived at 10 a.m. A mother and daughter who had been my mom's parishioners came over to see the new place. The daughter is also a hairdresser who has been dying and cutting my mom's hair, so her professional duties figured into the visit as well.

I sat around listening to the conversation and posting things I've needed to get online for awhile. Eventually I ended up in the chair getting my hair trimmed--I could use it--and then it was time for lunch on the back porch.

The visitors left early in the afternoon, my mom took off for a doctor's appointment, and my dad elected to take a nap. I decided that I might as well go see the new Planet of the Apes movie, especially since I had nothing to do and the theater is five minutes or so from their home. After the movie was supper, watching the Reds game, and then hey, wait a minute, the day is basically over.

It's not as though I did a lot or that the day was filled with excitement. The time just disappeared. That's kind of how these last six days have been. I haven't been in a hurry for much of the time, yet it's gone very quickly. The speed with which it is vanishing is somewhat disconcerting. Maybe it'll grind to a halt a bit when I'm home for a few days, but I sort of expect not.

I need this time off to recharge and steel myself for what's sure to be a hectic fall. So far, so good, but let's slow it down a smidgen.

Family time

My dad wanted me to join him for his church's men's breakfast this morning. I didn't really have any desire to get up early, early, early, but I decided to make him happy and go. And now I am dead tired at a time of night that I'm usually still bright eyed.

The day was otherwise uneventful. After I suggested bowling but found that the lane in town isn't open Sundays, Mondays, or Tuesdays, my parents and I ended up playing two games of miniature golf. I played pretty well the first time and won but had a terrible front nine the second game and lost to my mom by a stroke.

As for now, I'm struggling hard to stay awake to make it through the end of the Reds-Rockies game on TV. Nothing fancy for the day, but it usually isn't when we get together. That's OK. Just don't ask me to start another morning before 7 a.m.

Trick play

'Twas a very hot day for attending a baseball game, although after you were in it for awhile, it wasn't so bad. (Keep in mind that it was somewhere in the 90s.) A nice breeze tended to come down, and by the end of the game, our seats were in the shade. Which isn't to say I didn't sweat a lot.

With the way the Reds are stinking it up, it was probably just as well that my dad and I met in Cincinnati for only two games. Of course, as I realized last night, it was nice that we were able to meet up for even one. This wasn't something that either of my parents could do with their fathers when they were my age now. My mother was in college when her dad died. My dad must have been in his twenties when his dad passed.

I don't bring this up to bum out the room or myself, although it's certainly a bittersweet thought and not the sort of awareness one wishes to get while trying to fall asleep. (Yep, that's when it occurred to me.) If anything, I am now able to appreciate more the time I have with my parents, even in those instances when they get on my nerves. They never really had an adulthood with their fathers. I've been fortunate to have one with both of mine.

I've always been on good terms with my parents and never really had the sorts of major issues with them that I sometimes hear other people having. It's what I accepted as normal, just as I reflected that my dad must have done stuff like this with his father...except wait, no he didn't. To a certain extent I imagine that such a relationship might mean I take them for granted. How I was raised and get along with my family is more or less how it's supposed to be, right? Perhaps, but it doesn't necessarily turn out that way in many families.

Funny how what was supposed to be a short overnight trip to see a couple ballgames and which featured probably more talk about the team than anything else--such a cliché--gave me a greater perspective on how I relate to my parents.

Lazy Sunday

Church.

Lunch from the grill.

Baseball on TV.

Nap.

Shoot and edit a short video with my parents' dog.

Games on Kindle.

Breaking Bad.

Blog post.

Home away from home

I met my brother at my parents' new home and used his help in carrying in my old 27" standard definition television. Their second TV was damaged during the move, and I haven't turned this old thing on since I bought a high definition set. So it was a win-win. I got rid of something I didn't need and gave it to someone who could use it. While it's no match for the HDTV we bought them for Christmas two years ago, it will serve them well when they have split interests in what to watch. (Also, that old TV is heavy. I think I strained every muscle in my arms getting it from my apartment to my car.)

My parents were picking up some last possessions still at the parsonage and attending to some other busy back there, so I had to give myself a tour of their new place. True to what I knew, if this hadn't been a foreclosure, they never would have been able to get this much house for their price range. There's no question it's the nicest house they've ever owned or lived in. Good grief, there's a golf course right out the back door.

They're in a suburban development, which is new for them and a little weird to me. Sure, I've lived on my own in the suburbs for a decade and a half, but I've lived in apartments, one with more of small town surroundings and one with more of a city feel. As I went outside late tonight to move my car from the road into the driveway, I was struck by how alien it was. The street is quiet, and there are all these other houses nearby. Where am I?!

My other brother who lives just a couple miles away also came over for supper, so the experience had this odd feeling of seeming like old times when everyone was under the same roof. The marked difference, of course, was the fact that my siblings left to return to their homes as the day wound down.

I think this house is a terrific fit for them, and it should be a good place for when most or all of us are here at the same time. Eventually the novelty will wear off and I'll feel more like I'm in somewhere I've known than an unfamiliar building I'm a guest in. Plus, with all this space, I think everyone can breathe easier.

Home is where you make it

Tomorrow I'm headed out of town to visit my parents for a couple days. It's probably about time considering I haven't seen them since a shortly after Christmas. I've been busy. They've been busy. This weekend works well for me and probably is what I need to unwind from a summer that has been busier at the office than I anticipated.

My parents bought and moved into a new house a little less than a month ago, so this will be my first time at the place. It's also the first house that I expect to feel more like a home than the last two places they've lived over the previous ten(?) years. My mother's last two pastorates meant that she and my dad lived in parsonages. Sure, they decorated as they wanted and made the places their own, so to speak, but in a sense--and in reality--these were temporary living quarters. They would not be occupied when the job ended.

This isn't to say that I felt uncomfortable in either of those houses, although the last one left something to be desired with its lone bathroom. (This did not cut it at holiday time with up to seven people under one roof.) Still, there was no sense of being rooted, which is what I think of when I think of home. In my mind, going to wherever my parents live is going home. (I distinguish this, though, from where I'm from, which is locked in time and place as where I grew up.)

So I'm curious to get a look at their new place, the building they own, for a change. From what I understand it has a lot of room, more than either of the two homes I lived in as a kid. (It's also 60-90 minutes closer than the last place they lived, which doesn't hurt, especially at wintertime.) I won't be there long, but it will be nice to get familiarized with the new family base.

Changes

It could be quite a year of changes.

My mom is resigning her position, and my parents will be moving. (They're waiting to hear any day now if the house they're interested in will be theirs.) They'll be near where two of my brothers live, or at least that's the plan. While she's calling it her retirement, the possibility of a job exists.

One of those brothers, the one who's been working out of the greater New York City area for about six months, is keeping his options open for another job, which would likely necessitate moving away from where he's called home. (It's only coincidental that this arrives at the same time that my parents will be getting closer, for what it's worth.)

While I don't expect a really big change at work, one that would put things on high alert, the way things have been means not ruling it out either. Some things have been stirred up again. Who knows what that means. Regardless, other changes are going forward that will be significant. (My main concern is that there's not the most significant change: looking for employment elsewhere. That doesn't appear to be imminent.)

Turn and face the strange, indeed.

Tidbits

At the risk of an All About Me! entry that may or may not interest you, some stuff that's going on...

-I've not been entirely sure who's living in the apartment next to me since I returned home after Christmas. One of the young women in the loud apartment resided there before, but I don't know if it's just her in there or if someone has replaced her roommate. It certainly sounds like they're down a couple dogs. (They had at least three, plus a minimum of one cat.) I'm assuming two departed with the neighbor with the loud car. I'm also assuming that she was the one more likely to listen to the sound system at louder volumes. Yes, it didn't come down some after I knocked on their door, but it's not been as intrusive since it seems she moved out. Or maybe it's just temporary. Who knows?

-My parents may be moving before the season is over?!?!

-Oh yeah, you saw the woman knitting on The Office tonight, right?

A different world

Assuming that the weather doesn't scuttle my Saturday plans, I intend to head back to my old stomping grounds to take my great aunt to an early dinner before I go to a college basketball game. (I hope that snow and ice don't interfere or else I'm eating the cost of the ticket.)

I was trying to think if there's anything online that I'm involved with that I might want to print off or take to show her. Then I realized how difficult it might be to explain what any of that might be. This is someone who does not have cable television, a DVD player, a computer, or even an answering machine. Her phone line may still be a party line. (If it isn't now, it used to be. She and her neighbors, some of whom were relatives, shared it.) The newest technology in the big farmhouse may be a VCR.

This led to thinking about how foreign my life would be to her. What she knows of today's technology mostly must come from whatever is gleaned from broadcast television, especially now that my parents don't live within an easy drive's distance. How incomprehensible must it all be? I'm not suggesting that she never gets out, although I don't think she goes out much.

I was just struck by the fact that she is, in essence, living in a way that wouldn't be terribly different from forty years ago...or more. What is that like?

One missed call

I missed a call to my cell phone from my mom around 7:00 p.m. tonight. No message was left. I returned the call to her mobile and home numbers but didn't receive a response. No big deal, right?

Chances are it probably wasn't, and in this case it wasn't. Nevertheless, I've noticed that when I miss a call from my parents at a time when I wouldn't expect to receive one and don't get a message, part of me wonders if--and this is going to sound terrible--one of them has died or is being admitted to the hospital.

They're both at retirement age, so I suppose the news wouldn't be entirely unexpected. Still, neither of them are ill or in any state that would give me reason to jump to such a wild conclusion. It is purely my overactive imagination? worrisome nature? something else? I don't know that I grant such speculation any real seriousness, but it seems to me to be a bad impulse to have at all, especially because there's no evidence to merit it whatsoever.

As it turns out, tonight's call was an inquiry about getting audio and video from a computer to a television. I don't know why both of my calls went to voicemail--maybe they were on the line with another brother--but time was of the essence so my dad could watch a basketball game. Color me relieved and somewhat mortified where my mind meant. You can bet I didn't tell them what conclusion I leaped to.

On the way out

Up late trying to figure out how to pack everything in the carry on bag and messenger bag. I'm returning with more than I brought, and I even mailed some stuff home. Looks like maybe I should have sent another package to be safe.

Anyway, while I prepare to hightail it out of Texas on an early morning flight, here's a picture of my nephew bundled up to go out on a chilly night. And yes, he's wearing a hat I knit for him. I've been told these fit him better than any others.

The focus of attention

Hotel to condo, condo to hotel. That's pretty much been the routine since I've been down here. That was broken up today by a trip to church for my nephew's dedication.

Basically, though, what I'm saying is that I'm not doing anything worth writing about or having more than a couple free hours at the end of the day to do any heavy duty blogging.

So a photo of a not quite six-week-old will have to suffice.

Christmas in Texas

While it's tempting to write about the dysfunctional aspects of the holiday and the circumstances surrounding this one in particular, I'm going to resist the impulse. I could be less than charitable about some things surrounding this whole trip, but it doesn't feel proper to do so on this day of all days.

All in all, it was a good Christmas, if somewhat confining. On the scale of Christmas drama, this one would have to fall toward the bottom end. For those who know me, though, I do have some stories to tell, though.

I hope you've had a safe and merry Christmas. Now could someone bring the sun out down here in Texas?

Into your arms

Sleep acquired, ears popped. It's amazing how much better I feel after eliminating the lack of those two things.

Today was mostly spent at my brother and sister-in-law's condo. The main item on the agenda was holding and playing with the baby. My nephew is about a month old, and as the first on my family's side, he is certainly going to get a lot of attention. After all, he's the primary reason why we've all made the trip this holiday season.

I get the impression that my sister-in-law is surprised that my brothers and I have not shown any hesitancy to hold or play with the baby. Sure, none of us have any significant experience with infants, but who wouldn't want to have fun with a cuddly little one? (Yes, I know some people don't want to have anything to do with babies.)

My nephew was remarkably quiet all day long, perhaps because he had a fresh lap and set of arms ready for him when whoever had him was wanted or needed to give him up for awhile. He slept most of the time when I held him yesterday, but today he was alert and responding. Of course he's adorable. My mom keeps talking about how cute he is. As if she'd say otherwise.