Monday, January 02, 2006

Holy cow !

Can it be that it has been 5 days since I blogged ?

I have been busy .. uh .. away .. uh .. distracted .. uh ..

Actually, I have been busy with the holidays and several other regular life events. I have discovered, from reading other blogs, that regular life is just what everyone has, for the most part. Life away from the drama is what we seek. There is plenty of humor in that.

Unfortunately, there is drama lurking around every corner. I read something years ago that I have tried to consider in my life. It stated that, "Life usually works out best for those that make the best of the way life turns out." I try to make my lot in life the best that it can be. I understand that there are going to be hard times. There are going to be trying times. There are going to be hardships. Sometimes those will come heavy like the rain or light like rain. That is just what is going to happen in everyone's life.

There are several 'credos' I have in my life. They are significant statements made by others to which I try to hold. They are:

1 Samuel 15:17 "When thou wast little in thine own sight, ..."
This was Samuel's statement to Saul when he was telling him why God was rejecting his kingship. Saul had gone far from his humble beginnings and had in various instances usurped the authority of the priest and had even thought to second guess God and not complete a commandment. Samuel was explaining in a few simple words that Saul had gotten full of Saul and was therefore of no use to God to complete his plan.

I try to keep as much of me out of the equation as possible. I try to consider the needs of others. I don't always succeed. Sometimes it is an AAR Day (All About Ron). However, as a general rule, I try to keep the greater good in mind.
The second one is in line with the first somewhat. Sir Issac Newton said, "If I have seen further than other men, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Simply put, he says that standing on the works of the great men that came before him, he has seen farther than they did. There was another version that was related that said a pygmy standing on the shoulders of a giant can see farther than the giant. I have not trouble crediting the works of others that have led me to where I am today. Great teachers have brought me to this place of knowledge, and I can add just a bit more to the collection of that knowledge.

Between these three statements, I try to balance my life. They are not the sum of my life, but they are a few of the guiding principles.

New Years Eve is traditionally a time of reflecting back on the past year and resolving to correct the things that were wrong. I prefer to look ahead at the challenges that face us. I prefer to look with my eyes open. I know that this new year will bring new challenges and new trials. These challenges and trials can make me bitter or better. That is my choice.

Now, on to regular life ...

We busied our selves with lots of things.

Sierra and Jordan got an apt, finally.

Russ came to visit and we went singing and drinking (I did the singing, Russ did the drinking, Tammy did singing and drinking.) It was an interesting night. One lady wanted to take us all home with her.

Russ went home Saturday. He called about an hour later with a flat tire and no tire tool. Tammy and I both have 4 way lug wrenches. Well, we did have them. When we looked for them, they were no where to be found. We went to Jordan, who also has one, and his was missing as well. There is a ring of lug wrench thieves prospering in Lexington. We bought one and headed out to find the Russ. He was about 45 miles out from Lexington. His liftgate wouldn't open to allow us to lower his tire. I pulled the plastic molding away so we could manually release the gate. We got his tire lowered. We got his truck jacked up. We got the tire off. We got the tire on and Russ was able to get on his way.

Saturday night, we went out to Todd's to sing in the new year. We had fun. To be honest, Tammy and I both would have been just as content to spend the evening at home watching a movie. We do like going out, but it isn't the do all end all of our existence. We have a great time out, but we have a great time in as well. We sang and toasted the new year. We kissed at midnight. Then Tammy drank our glasses of champagne. I figured I didn't need to drink a glass of champagne and then drive home. I wouldn't be drunk by any means but would blow heavy on a breathalyzer should we be randomly stopped along our route. We made it home, but of course, not without drama.

Chelsea's BF 'little J' has been grounded from the house for a bit, since the no show at Christmas and the "Fuck her," statement to Chella about Tammy. I relented and allowed him to come to the house on new years eve day and for he and Chella to walk to the store. He was to be here at 4 pm. He was late. Chella and Beek walked to the store and she only got to see him for a short time. Still yet, that was the concession to his punishment. On our way home, via a phone call, we discovered the Chella went upstairs to 'watch the ball drop', (which is odd, since we have TV downstairs) and J was there (preplanned, I am sure). Kyle (10) tried to lie for her (not at her request) but that didn't work. Needless to say, there was much discussion and some punishments meted out.
It was late. Doors were locked and folks went to bed.

New Years Day.

Chella has to come up with a punishment for Kyle, as he was abetting her. She says this is hard. She just figured we had some sort of standard for meting out punishments. She got a look into the workings of parenting. We told her, since she seemed to know better than us as parents what was best, we were going to let her decide the punishment for Kyle. The kicker is, whatever she makes his punishment is added to hers, and it must meet with our approval. She has decided, and it has been approved, that they will clean the entire house and write an essay on honesty, integrity, and the need to follow rules. Kyle has to do a 500 essay and Chella, a 1000 word essay.

Needless to say, J is not allowed to be here for a couple weeks, minimum. Chella will not use the phone for a month, since they used her phone privileges to set up the meeting.

I am sure there is more regular news to report, but I will give my fingers and your eyes a break.

I am off today, since the holiday falls on Sunday. Relaxing is the word. I can do that now that the extreme emotional guilt of not blogging has been eased.

Y'all have a good new year now, ya hear !

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