weekend

i had the grandkids on friday night/saturday as per usual. we went swimming A LOT. they enjoy it and despite the rule about sunscreen ALL the time, they are each getting quite tan, especially christopher.

the local church came to pick up all the sofas in my living room yesterday. we were unable to find a way to get them to mexico and they were doing absolutely NO good sitting in my livingroom. if more are needed at the orphanage, we'll find a way to collect more. but there musts be a guarantee that they will be taken down there.

so it was good to get them closer to the hands that can really use them and as a bonus, i got my space back.

i've been using this time that w's been traveling to sort through stuff and debulk. it's amazing the piles of "stuff" that have built up over the last 6 months. i don't know why i haven't done it before, except of course, my sheer laziness which has reached epic proportions as of late. things are beginning to look much better around here with a couple of rooms untouched. my garbage has been full for the last 3 pickups.

i got up early, early this morning to go join a group that feeds the homeless breakfast on sunday mornings at 6:00 a.m. at a corner in south phoenix. what really surprised me was the amount of people that weren't filthy, smelly and crazy. so many looked like just another man in the crowd. about 99% were men from the nearby shelter. most had good manners, i was surprised at the amount of food that ended up being thrown away. they obviously were NOT raised by my mother. next week i'm going to take some t-shirts that my son cleaned out of his closet. i'm sure they will be snatched up. it's easier for them to get a new used shirt than to have to wash what they have. and they all requested more water and showers.

more water we can do. showers? we're working on that.

catch up

had a great visit with the CO grandkids. we took christopher with us so he could play with his cousins. it was a long drive, but having him along with me help pass the time. w rode his motorcycle up there and then continued on for his trip. i was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable it was to just spend some time with christopher. he's a good kid. we talked, laughed and just had a really nice drive back. he slept a couple of different times. very relaxing.

and then it was back to the reality of the cold, cruel work world. :-) the project that was neatly under wraps before i left, totally unraveled while i was gone and i returned to a boatload of emails to untangle and straighten out.

sigh.

i had to drop out of my training class to return to the office and work things out. but it is better now, my stress level is back to normal and all is right with the world once again.

so i'm looking forward now. focusing more of my attention on next steps.

i'm using this time that w is traveling to catch up on some of the things that have been building for quite some time. with my extra time i've been sorting through "stuff." throwing things away, getting stuff out of my house and in to the hands of people that can use it. i have a hard time throwing things in the garbage that can be useful to someone else. my problem is that it's difficult to find the time to actually get them to the appropriate people.

our new focus is going to be helping the homeless in a larger way. we are looking in to providing a homeless business center. a place where the homeless can go to search for work. have a place to clean up, get a fresh set of clothes for an interview. give them an address to receive correspondence and a phone number to hand out for them to receive information. right now it's in the thought stages. with enough planning and information, it will become a reality.

so any thoughts, input or suggestions are welcome.

new stuff

i'm going to begin getting involved with the homeless. my work with the orphanage is good, but it's very difficult to get things down there on any kind of regular timetable. the distance is a tough one and there is need very close to home.

i won't give up my work with the 2 orphanages, but supplement that work with this new endeavor of working with the homeless.

i like the group. when i inquired about what was needed, the woman told me to show up, find a need and fill it. it's all really quite simple. and that's the thing, isn't it? how hard is it to feed someone that's hungry, cloth someone that has none.

it's not pretty, and i need to really think about that. homeless people are generally that way because they are addicts or mentally ill. . .or both. i'm sure the sights and smells will be horrendous and take some getting used to.

and yet, i'm excited. i'm excited that i have been shown this opportunity to give back to those less fortunate. we're not talking catered meals and designer clothing. this is sack lunches and used clothing. it may not make a difference long term, but it will make a difference for that one meal, for that one person, on that one day.

it's about reaching outside of your comfort zone, about extending a hand to someone that is hungry or thirsty, about acknowledging that they exist. it's about accepting someone who isn't quite the same as you.

it's what i hope Jesus will do for me one day.

money, honey

woohoo, got that big, fat, stimulus check!

did you know that it's illegal to put that sucker in the bank and not put it back in the economy? such is the claim of my younger son. well, who am i to do any research or not believe him???

i'm gonna spend it like it's water! in fact, i think it's already been spent 6 ways to sunday. let's see, after paying for w's SPOT, i think i can afford the gas to visit the CO grandkids. and then that's it.

ah well, at least it covers that much. something about looking a gift horse in the mouth.

Happy Father's Day

to all you dad's out there. i'm thinking of mine today, and how much i miss him.

i bought w a SPOT. that's a satellite personal tracker same as the one's that lost hikers or skiers carry. i figured since he will be out of cell range a lot, it's nice to have an emergency beacon. it actually does a whole lot more if you want it to. you can have it track where you are and then send a link out to people on a distribution list. it links to google maps and sends out a location update every 10 minutes. kinda cool, if you want more info.

jr. and austin are coming over for father's day breakfast. i made bacon and we'll have eggs and pancakes in addition. there will also be the opportunity to have some homemade hashbrowns and roll it all in to a tortilla.

note: victoria (turned 2 in dec.) just came looking for us. when she toddled in the room, she had 3 bananas in her hands. she proceeded to dole one out to each of us. now think about that. . .this little girl figured out how many of us there were, and brought the right amount with her to the room. not 2, not 4, but 3. these little ones continue to amaze me. she asked me to "open" hers. HA!

we've already been in the pool and out and it's just 8:00 a.m. the things i do for a little curly headed child.

grossest thing on the planet. as victoria darted out of the pool and on to the patio, she turned, looked at me with that "i'm pooping" face. i tried to get her to stop pushing long enough to get her suit peeled off her and take her in the house. no go. as i'm peeling her suit off her, this dough ball sized poop rolls out the back of her suit and plops on the patio. before i could blink, brutus (the pug) runs up, snatches that moist ball and swallows it whole.

oh. my. goodness.

my stomach still ties itself in a knot just telling the story. how much more disgusting can an animal get?!? i had to lift her in the air to get him to not finish the job with the leftover still stuck to her bottom.

argh. dogs are massively disgusting.

reward

i've been hurting so much for so long, and the recovery is going to be grueling. so to keep myself balanced, i'm going to plan a reward trip.

i'm thinking germany, next summer, a moto trip of epic proportions, or maybe alaska on the adventure bikes. we had planned on doing that this summer, but my back would never have made that many miles on that type of terrain. by next summer, this pain should be a thing of the past.

and i'm trying to work up interest with a few of the people at work to take a baja jaunt. we have a few adventurous souls that i do believe i can motivate. it will have to be next winter, but baja is good in the winter as well, probably better!

7/30

that is the date for my surgery.

so there it is. now i have a date to be the focus of all my moments in time until that date. a specific point in time that i can worry to, obsess on, plan for. gosh, i'm tired of it already.

and i just hope it works. my life has become increasingly smaller. can't ride the dirtbike, can't take walks, can't keep up with the grandkids, can't, can't, can't. that's not a word i take kindly to. so i guess i should look forward to the surgery instead of dreading the loooong recovery time.

i think that shift in thought is going to take some time. ;-)

but happier times are still ahead, i can feel it. next year i want to moto through germany in a celebratory trip. now that sounds like a goal, eh?

wish me luck!

searching

i'm searching for hobbies. something to do while i'm "incapacitated" by my back surgery.

i'm considering joining netflix so i can have some fresh movies to watch. i'm also going to get busy and work on a website for one of the orphanages that i help. i don't think either will last me 8 weeks, much less 12 - 16.

so i'm open to suggestions here. i have to be able to do whatever hobby it is with little movement, especially in the beginning. i would prefer to have something tangible as a result, but it's not a "set in stone" requirement. maybe i'll learn a foreign language. ;-) rosetta stone is your friend.