Thank You, God, for a perfect moment...

On a bright, sunny day in late August, I am at the West Endicott pool with my youngest son, Kevin, watching him splash around in the water...

While running some errands with the family, I catch a moment with my wife outside the van in a parking lot while all of the children are inside and we hold hands...

A week ago, I walked around the corner to Felix Roma's to get some bread for dinner with Kevin in my backpack - he was laughing and the sun was warm and glorious on a late fall afternoon...

My oldest daughter and I drove to Syracuse for an ear doctor appointment. On the drive up there, we kept on trying to see VW Beetles and PT Cruisers before the other to get the "Punchbug" or "Cruiser bruiser" before the other...

What do all of these things have in common? They are perfect moments. It is so easy to open the news and see terrible things going on in the world. The future is always bleak - the economy is never going to come back, politicians are corrupt, the world is going to end because of global warming but that is OK, you are going to be dead from the swine flu first... Everyone has a reason to be scared and depressed. But does it really have to be that way?

I have gotten into the habit of thanking God when I have a perfect moment. I am not putting blinders on - there are still bad things in the world and I know it. What I choose to do is to appreciate the perfect moments in life, the perfect moments that happen every day of our lives; little things that are so easily overlooked in the chaos of everyday life. I believe that these are gifts from God, ways of Him showing us that there is hope and goodness and a reason to go on.

Perfect moments are not something that you can go looking for. I read recently about some guy in California who made the statement, "I went 'boarding on some nice waves in the morning and I a going to drive up to the mountains for some skiing in the afternoon - how can church compare with that?". That is hedonism, the mindless pursuit of pleasure. Thanking God for perfect moments is choosing to recognize the good in the world.

The world is so good at noticing everything that is bad. The classic newspaper line is, if it bleeds, it leads. If we are to have any kind of a future, we need to challenge that. We need to begin recognizing the good in people and the good in the world. I have heard it said that one of the devil's most powerful tools is despair. Just looking at the world today, does it look like someone is trying to sow despair? What I am proposing is hope, and not BHO's kind. Maybe hope is not the right word, maybe faith is a better word?

I want to stress again that this is not about putting blinders on and tuning out the world around you. Instead, it is taking the blinders off and seeing the entire world for what it is. There is bad in the world - we get it already. There is also good in the world - and we need to see that. If all we see and believe is that the end is near and everything is only going to get worse, we can give up, stop trying to help and make things better. If we choose to see good and thank God for it, then going out of our way to help others makes sense. Hopeful people are a charitable people.

I started doing this a few years ago. There have been times that things have been pretty hopeless - the job situation was shaky, things were not good between Mary and and me, I was having a difficult time with the children... The list always goes on. I was out with a couple of the children, I think it was at a soccer game - and the sky was blue, the sun was warm, and the children were having a great time. It dawned on me that this was a perfect moment, and I thanked God for that moment of rest and hope. This is what keeps me going, looking for the perfect moments. They never show up when I expect them - but always when I need them.

Try looking for your perfect moments today - and remember to thank God for them. They are His gift to you.

Monday's will be the downfall of the world...

Another quiet day come to an end... You know, there was a time that I complained that I was too busy. I should learn to appreciate what I have more...

I have a problem that I don't know how to fix. I am married to an incredible woman. Eighteen years ago, she said "I do" to being my wife - and has stayed with me ever since through thick and thin. The problem is that she thinks she has nothing to offer the world, that there is nothing special or extraordinary about herself. How do I make her see that she is special? How do I make her see herself through my eyes, and the eyes of those around her?

I need to think about this more - I am having a hard time focusing on what I am writing. I hate to say it, but I am sitting here watching the Family Guy - Star Wars episode with my wife. Even though she is trying hard not to show it, she thinks this is pretty funny.

I will write more later. How do I let the most incredible girl in the world know that she brings a smile to my heart like no one ever has? More later...

A nice end to a beautiful day...

Well, another day has come to an end. Mary Anne has just rocked our youngest son to sleep. The other children are getting to sleep - some of them are already there. I finished the bookkeeping, and found out we are actually in the black by a little bit. Go figure.

My daughter, Caitlin, is the luckiest lucky stiff on the planet. First off, she participates in a youth group event at church, and wins a $10 iTunes certificate in the door prize. Not bad. Then, her new boyfriend (who really seems to be decent) helps her win a scavenger hunt - first prize, a clock radio base for an iPod or iPhone. Very lucky. Then, if there is any doubt that he really likes her, he gives her an old iPod Nano 2GB that he had floating around. (serious eye roll) Like I said, too lucky.

I also managed to do a couple of other things - changed the oil on the van and fixed a light in the kitchen that one of my other children broke... It seems like my whole life revolves around fixing things.

The absolute best part of the day was taking my youngest son, Kevin, for a walk. The picture above is of the little guy when he was just a crawler. OK, the truth is out, I am being cheesy and playing around with adding pictures to my blog...

Sunday nights are always a bid weird for me. Part of it is realizing that the weekend is over, and looking at all the things I wish I had done. The nice thing about this weekend is that I actually got some things done. Another part is thinking about what the week has in store. That always fills me with a feeling of dread.

Reading the news anymore is agonizing. I am not whining - I know it must be that way for most people in the world today. It's hard, though. I don't want to be rich, I don't want to retire at 55 as a millionaire... I just want to not have to worry from day to day about feeding my family. Quick fact: I am more filled with fear and dread when an announcement comes out from my company than I am riding in a fire engine, lights and sirens, to a working fire that I will be leading the primary search team into... I think I have a screw loose...

You know, my head is not really into this tonight. Too many ideas are dancing around in my head and none of them are coalescing into something coherent.

Good night one and all...

I'm BAAACCCCKKKKKK!!!

You know, when I started this blog, I had the intention of writing in it every day. As you can tell from the date of this post, and the last post in it, that did not work out too well. It is never too late to try again...

A lot has happened since my last post. As feared, my local customer is not going to continue the contract on their tool. To make matters worse, they are going to scrap the tool out since they were not able to sell it. That leaves me sad. I ordered that tool when I worked for IBM, I worked hard installing it, and then took care of it as an employee of Micronic for the last nine years. That tool is what got me on the career path that I am on today....

There is good news, however. My company has assured me that I am not on the chopping block. There is one tool coming on line that I will be responsible for that I actually brought into the company. About two years ago, I found another company that makes a small, lab scale maskwriter. I informed my management about it thinking that there might be a patent infringement issue. There was no issue - and they were looking for a North American dealer/service agent! Taa-daa, that is us! There is also another tool coming on line about four hours away from me, and potentially a third north of me. Add to this the fact that I am going to become more involved in software support, and my position becomes a bit more stable - with the added benefit that I will not have to relocate out of the area.

So enough on the job front. The children are back in school, and so far, doing pretty well. One son is having some problems in school, but may be turning himself around. He is always in my prayers. The rest of them are having a good year so far. My eldest daughter had surgery on her ear for the third time, and this time it seems to be working.

So far, things seem to be OK. The summer and year are being a bit more financially challenging than I originally expected, but not impossible. I never put my overtime money in my budget - but I never realized how nice it is to have some overtime to do "above and beyond" stuff for the children. Hopefully, things turn around in the not too distant future.

The annual, end of the year officer election drama has already begun. I am going to be running for Captain this year, moving up from Lieutenant. I don't really want to, but I am not happy with how training is being handled and want to make some changes. It means I will have to get a new shield for my helmet, though... I have been told by many people that I am a shoo-in for the position. God is going to have to help me with this one - I still do not think I am ready. What is nuts it that I am already being told that I need to run for 2nd Assistant Chief in no more than two years!!! I am really not ready for that, and I don't want it!! I will be on the curb instead of in the house, and up to my eyeballs in paperwork. I am too used to getting my hands dirty... Maybe when I turn 55 or 60....

I truly believe that the only thing that has gotten me through the last few months is prayer and the grace of God. I have felt like the sword of Damocles has been hanging over my head since New Years Day. I can give you chapter and verse of why the world should have come crashing down around me. For some reason, it has not. Thank you, God.

I have so much more to write about - and it is late. I am going to try to be better about updating this in the future.