Bouncing Back
Greetings. I think I’m actually close to being a full-fledged blogger again. I’ve missed being able to visit or comment on many of your blogs just as much as I’ve missed my rantings here. But I’m coming back.
Here’s a few things that are going on:
1. My parents’ kitchen is finished an beautiful and greatly appreciated. Thank you to all who helped with time, labor, tools and money. It was a great project. If Blogger will let me, I will post a picture of the finished project, though it doesn’t do it justice, especially without seeing the before picture. If there is no picture, email me if you would like to see some.
2. My Dad is home from the hospital and getting better. He’s still tired and the recovery will be long and certainly slower than he would like. He sent me a note and suggested I post it here as he knows that many of you have been praying:
To my Dear Family and Friends...
This note will have to be short and cannot possibly convey my love and thanksgiving for you. I have been home one week today and am just now mustering the energy/focus to sit down at the computer for a few minutes. How pitiful is that!?!?
It is soooo wonderful to be home. Hospitals aren't designed for 23 day stays! And, I for one, plan never to do it again!!! But some of my expectations about coming home were clearly more than a little naive...it has become very obvious this week that the recuperation/healing process is going to go much slower than I was anticipating. Bummer. But healing is happening and I am confident that I'm very slowly growing stronger.
I really want all of you to know how richly you have blessed my life with your comments of love and concern and your faithfulness in prayer. I know I have truly been "borne along on the prayers of others." There's a story there that I hope to share with the Westside Fam this coming Sunday, if I'm able. After that I would like to tell all of you as well.
Please know that the knowledge that so many were concerned for Kay and I and, most importantly, were interceding on our behalf with our Father has made all the difference for me during many moments of pain and despair and hours of darkness at the hospital. Your loving comments on these pages are so uplifting and have been such a comfort for me. Each night Kay would print off your comments and read them to me before bedtime...I cannot tell you how comforting your words have been.
We will meet with the Oncologist (apparently one of the nation's leaders on this particular type of cancer) next Friday (12/22, I think) and will learn more about what treatment might lie ahead. I do continue to solicit your prayers...I know they mean much more than you may think.
Kay and I love you all and thank God daily for your love for us.
Ron
3. I was scheduled for back to back trials this week and last week. Preparing for them (especially the one this week) consumed all of my time and most of my energy (don’t you wish you could borrow energy from someone else? Like you could pay some guy to just sit around and do nothing all day like the government does and then you could get all the energy he doesn’t use? Why aren’t we working on this technology?). Then right before the first trial was to start, the other side completely folded and the case went away. Then this past Friday, right before trial was to start today, the other side called and the trial went away. Good results for the clients, but tough on the lawyers. It’s like I’ve been practicing for more than a year to play in the championship game and right when I get there, the other team comes up and shakes my hand and says, “you know, we’re just going to forfeit.” I mean it’s good to win, but some time I’d like to play.
4. I’m back writing songs again and have 3 different ones out to various musical talents for the arranging. Everything about that makes me happy.
5. I will post something later this week on one of my least favorite things about Christmas: The Christmas Wish List or “What do you want for Christmas this year?”
6. I also plan to post reviews of Casino Royale and Happy Feet on my Entertainment blog and should be able to get out at least one sports post this week too. In other words, I have high hopes.
Hope you have a good week.
Here’s my random Christmas season observation of the day: Everyone else is better at putting up Christmas lights than I am. Some of my neighbors can put up enough lights to cause a brown-out in the Portland Metro area in less time than it takes me to get even one strand of Christmas lights untangled. Seriously, are there really magical elves that everyone else has a deal with except me. It can take me hours to put up two strands. Here’s how it usually goes:
Dig lights out of giant Christmas décor box that was once used to ship Grand Pianos – 12 minutes
Untangle the “outside” lights from the “inside” lights – 127 minutes
Clean up cuts, scrapes and bruises from untangling process – 18 minutes
Explain to children that the word Daddy used when he accidentally crushed 5 lightbulbs in his hand while trying to untangle them should never be said by anyone, not Daddy and especially not them and especially in front of Grandma.
Go outside with lights and stare blankly at the house trying to determine where and how to put up the lights – 3 hours…minimum.
Go back inside and eat 7 little mandarin oranges (nature’s perfect Christmas treat) to calm down – 22 minutes
Go back outside and continue staring at the house – 46 minutes.
Put lights up – 14 hours.
Go to plug in lights only to realize they have been configured so it is impossible to plug them in and they all have to come back off – 30 seconds (not including shock)
Shock – 45 minutes
Putting lights back up – 14 hours.
And yet, some days I go out to my driveway, shoot some baskets, chase the ball down the path to my back yard and when I walk back up, 3 of my neighbors have arranged lights to appears as famous DaVinci paintings and all put up enough lights to be seen from space. I don’t know how you’re all doing it, but if you’re working with magical elves, be warned, they can turn on you.
Merry Christmas.
Here’s a few things that are going on:
1. My parents’ kitchen is finished an beautiful and greatly appreciated. Thank you to all who helped with time, labor, tools and money. It was a great project. If Blogger will let me, I will post a picture of the finished project, though it doesn’t do it justice, especially without seeing the before picture. If there is no picture, email me if you would like to see some.
2. My Dad is home from the hospital and getting better. He’s still tired and the recovery will be long and certainly slower than he would like. He sent me a note and suggested I post it here as he knows that many of you have been praying:
To my Dear Family and Friends...
This note will have to be short and cannot possibly convey my love and thanksgiving for you. I have been home one week today and am just now mustering the energy/focus to sit down at the computer for a few minutes. How pitiful is that!?!?
It is soooo wonderful to be home. Hospitals aren't designed for 23 day stays! And, I for one, plan never to do it again!!! But some of my expectations about coming home were clearly more than a little naive...it has become very obvious this week that the recuperation/healing process is going to go much slower than I was anticipating. Bummer. But healing is happening and I am confident that I'm very slowly growing stronger.
I really want all of you to know how richly you have blessed my life with your comments of love and concern and your faithfulness in prayer. I know I have truly been "borne along on the prayers of others." There's a story there that I hope to share with the Westside Fam this coming Sunday, if I'm able. After that I would like to tell all of you as well.
Please know that the knowledge that so many were concerned for Kay and I and, most importantly, were interceding on our behalf with our Father has made all the difference for me during many moments of pain and despair and hours of darkness at the hospital. Your loving comments on these pages are so uplifting and have been such a comfort for me. Each night Kay would print off your comments and read them to me before bedtime...I cannot tell you how comforting your words have been.
We will meet with the Oncologist (apparently one of the nation's leaders on this particular type of cancer) next Friday (12/22, I think) and will learn more about what treatment might lie ahead. I do continue to solicit your prayers...I know they mean much more than you may think.
Kay and I love you all and thank God daily for your love for us.
Ron
3. I was scheduled for back to back trials this week and last week. Preparing for them (especially the one this week) consumed all of my time and most of my energy (don’t you wish you could borrow energy from someone else? Like you could pay some guy to just sit around and do nothing all day like the government does and then you could get all the energy he doesn’t use? Why aren’t we working on this technology?). Then right before the first trial was to start, the other side completely folded and the case went away. Then this past Friday, right before trial was to start today, the other side called and the trial went away. Good results for the clients, but tough on the lawyers. It’s like I’ve been practicing for more than a year to play in the championship game and right when I get there, the other team comes up and shakes my hand and says, “you know, we’re just going to forfeit.” I mean it’s good to win, but some time I’d like to play.
4. I’m back writing songs again and have 3 different ones out to various musical talents for the arranging. Everything about that makes me happy.
5. I will post something later this week on one of my least favorite things about Christmas: The Christmas Wish List or “What do you want for Christmas this year?”
6. I also plan to post reviews of Casino Royale and Happy Feet on my Entertainment blog and should be able to get out at least one sports post this week too. In other words, I have high hopes.
Hope you have a good week.
Here’s my random Christmas season observation of the day: Everyone else is better at putting up Christmas lights than I am. Some of my neighbors can put up enough lights to cause a brown-out in the Portland Metro area in less time than it takes me to get even one strand of Christmas lights untangled. Seriously, are there really magical elves that everyone else has a deal with except me. It can take me hours to put up two strands. Here’s how it usually goes:
Dig lights out of giant Christmas décor box that was once used to ship Grand Pianos – 12 minutes
Untangle the “outside” lights from the “inside” lights – 127 minutes
Clean up cuts, scrapes and bruises from untangling process – 18 minutes
Explain to children that the word Daddy used when he accidentally crushed 5 lightbulbs in his hand while trying to untangle them should never be said by anyone, not Daddy and especially not them and especially in front of Grandma.
Go outside with lights and stare blankly at the house trying to determine where and how to put up the lights – 3 hours…minimum.
Go back inside and eat 7 little mandarin oranges (nature’s perfect Christmas treat) to calm down – 22 minutes
Go back outside and continue staring at the house – 46 minutes.
Put lights up – 14 hours.
Go to plug in lights only to realize they have been configured so it is impossible to plug them in and they all have to come back off – 30 seconds (not including shock)
Shock – 45 minutes
Putting lights back up – 14 hours.
And yet, some days I go out to my driveway, shoot some baskets, chase the ball down the path to my back yard and when I walk back up, 3 of my neighbors have arranged lights to appears as famous DaVinci paintings and all put up enough lights to be seen from space. I don’t know how you’re all doing it, but if you’re working with magical elves, be warned, they can turn on you.
Merry Christmas.
Comments
If I had known sooner, I would have added your Christmas light fiasco to our list.
If you've ever watched the movie "Christmas Vacation" (a Christmas Eve tradition at my house) then I must confess I'm the "Clark Griswald" of our neighborhood. And yes, most of my Christmas Lights strands look like the "medicine ball" size tangle that Clark throws to Rusty and says, "Here you go Russ, untangle this and check the bulbs."
Your synopsis of putting up lights spells out exactly why I refuse to do it.
hope to get our single strand hung out on our balcony soon, if at all. i prefer to use the minimalist approach this time of year.
and where the neighbors use davinci, i'd use pollock.