The Mind is a Wonderful Thing (Most of the Time)

Hello All:

I am back again to try to put my thoughts on paper and to do that in a way that more than one person can understand.

I know the picture on the blog is from the Holiday Season but it fits into my thought of the day. It is a picture (frozen in time) thank you Heathyr, that my mind has etched in my brain. It is a quick picture I see everyday before I sleep and certainly every morning when I wake up. It gives me the strenght to make it through the night and then the beautiful thoughts of a new day.

There is no question that these images are the ones that make me think "its a great day'" It is possible for me to day dream about being with each of them each day even though I know that is not possible from a physical position. Yet as I day dream my mind can take me to each of my kids and their famlies like I was right there with them. What a wonderful thing.

Their lives are moving forward at rocket speed as my life did when I was young. The difference is they know to stop and smell the roses along the way. I didn't and I regret that now.

That is where the statement "most of the time" comes into play. When you have time to think, many of the images that pop up are images of times you may have let people down or that you didn't treat some right. I think of this often and hope those friends understand how sorry I am about the things I did that may have hurt them.

So the beautiful mind does remind me daily of the people who are important in my life, yet it also does remind me when I came up short. Later .....

I Realize How Blessed I Am

Now that time is slowing down for me, no 12 to 14 hour days 6 to 7 days a week for 30 plus years, I get a chance to reflect back and try to figure how and why I did it. Although for most of those years my work was my passion and it did cost me two marriages. That I regret, as I know that I should have been able to make them work. Many friends have been married 30 to 35 years and still are doing quite well. The last 16 years that I have been single was spent working even harder and longer then I did when I waas married. Although I believe until May 15th of this year I was married to my work. Enough said there .....
My kids and grandkids are what makes me smile everyday now. Since moving to La Crosse it has been harder to see all of them but I do try to make it happen as much as possible. I know if you asked each of the kids, now all adults and doing very well, what is the one thing dad emphasized over the years? They would all answer he never let us lose sight of the importance of family. As Jimmy says "we have a lot of broken limbs on our family tree", yet all the families get along well and still are involved in all the kids and grandkids lives. These guys and their kids have many more grandpa's and grandma's then the average family has and I believe they all are better for it.
More recently it has come clear to me that although my heart has been filled with love from friends and family I have not spent enough time on my faith. That has changed and it helps me to understand the who's, what's and where's of my life. And that is a good thing. And with that in mind it makes me understand how blessed I really am.
Most of you that know me know I have always liked sports and I often relate stories about sports when I am trying to make points. I just seem to relate to those type of examples as I try to impart my wisdom on a poor soul who has to listen to me. So with that in mind, I found an evening prayer I use that was written by Richard Cardinal Cushing. I would like to share it with you.
Prayer for the Game of Life By Richard Cardinal Cushing

" DEAR GOD, help me be a good sport in the game of life. I don't ask for an easy place in the lineup. Put me anywhere you need me. I only ask that I can give you a 100% of everything I have. If all the hard drives seem to come my way, I thank you for the compliment. Help me to remember that you never send a player more trouble than he can handle with your help ...
And help me, LORD, to accept the bad breaks as part of the game. May I always play on the square no matter what others do ... Help me study ... THE BOOK so I'll know the rules ...
Finally, GOD, if the natural turn of events goes against me and I am benched for sickness or old age, help me accept that as a part of the game, too. Keep me from whimpering that I was framed or that I got a raw deal. And when I finish the final inning, I ask for no laurels; all I want is to believe in my heart, I played as well as I could and that I didn't let you down. Amen."

Yes, I feel blessed and I am still in the Game.

Where are the Snow Forts?

On Thursday last week I drove the old neighborhoods once again after too many years. I was fascinated to find no snow forts,"King of the Mountain" Snow piles, Igloos and many other fun things that were sources for play and sometimes areas of protection from some of the wildest snowball fights I was ever involved in. Oh, the memories of the small guys attacking the older kids in the neighborhood and the numerous times with had to stop to take care of the bloody noses received on both sides. Morning to night the playtime went only to be interupted by one of the mom's call to let us know that hot chocolate was being serve.

I cetainly wonder how kids today get their exercise and also how they learn the heirarcky of the neighborhoods. In a time where computer games and other distraction leave our kids in the corner doing their thing, we need parents to get those kids involved once again in play. I believe that some of best friendships were developed in a 2 to3 square block area from my house. I certainly know the memories are fun to chat about with those friends of 45 to 50 years ago.

I recently ran into Jim Coady at a local restaurant and we laughed about the things we did. The alley was the training area for baseball and everyone participated. The street, well that was like Lambeau Field where evryone learned ti finer points of football and finally the Coady's backyard is where w learned to box. We all boxed against each other and it toughened us all up. We also had 1 small bicycle that everyone learned to ride on up and down Charles Street. Many skinned knees, broken fences and in my case a couple broken arms. But in the end all of us rode that little 2 wheeler proudly up and down Charles Street and in the end it was all good.

So where are todays kids? What are they doing? And how can I drive Clinton Street from George Street to Liberty Street without getting one snowball flying in my direction? Times are changing for sure but much of the times I look back to today took place in our neighborhood on the northside and other neighborhoods on the Land of the Rangers.