December Madness
Holy cow, haven’t posted in over a month. December is extra nuts at the Williams house. Nathan turned 7 on the 12th. Kate will be 11 on the 20th and I’ll be 48 on the 27th. Then there’s that little thing called Christmas and New Year’s too, and it makes for a blur of activity.
Nate’s birthday goodies were a big hit, and included a set of poker chips. Poker chips? Yes, he and I and sometimes Kate play a lot of Texas Hold ‘em. It is a lot of fun, unpredictable of course and makes the kids think about risk, reward, bluffing and reading people.
He got a dartboard, and is quickly kicking my fanny in Double in, Double Out. After playing with a 3 dollar mini nerf football in WalMart a 100 times, we finally got him one. It’s the small one that looks like an arrow is stuck in it. Much easier for him to throw a spiral with. I had plenty of balsa wood planes as a kid, and got him one with the propeller and rubber band. They still fly great! Available with hundreds of other nicely priced gifts on Main Street in Ephrata at the Fun-Est Toy Store Ever. http://www.thefun-esttoystoreever.com/catalog/index.php
As a surprise we took Nathan, his friend Trent and Kate to go swimming at the New Holland Rec. It’s very nice there, but 5 minutes after getting in the pool they had to get out because the staff discovered someone had pooped in the pool. Doody!!!! They closed the pool for 24 hours. We got a refund and free passes too. Excellent customer service on their part!
Sadly, though predictably, Nathan learned the truth about Santa this year. I think Kate learned in 1st grade too. There’s always some know-it-all brat in school that has to ruin the fantasy. Nathan asked Lori about it one day after school, and she had to tell him the truth. He cried and was pretty upset for a little while. Though by dinner he was over it, and had already figured out the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny were bogus too. Sigh.
For the 2nd year we passed on the Elizabeth Farms Christmas Tree experience. It’s fun, but 80 bucks for a tree is nuts. Norka was short on Fraser fir, so we went to the old standby, Frysville Farms. I think it was 35 bucks for a tree they cut down like 2 months ago…oh well.
Kate is suddenly hooked on Justin Bieber, whoever that is. All she wants for Christmas is a cell phone. We’ll see.
Trick Or Treat Night
Here’s a photo of Kate and Nathan before going out Friday night for Trick or Treat. We were tearing up rags to make Nathan’s Mummy costume only moments before. Less than an hour in the neighborhood filled their bags with a ton of goodies.
Where’s Brian Been?
Man oh man, I haven’t posted anything since the Ephrata Fair and that was weeks ago. And it was just Flip clips.
Been oh so busy. Lori too. God bless my Rotary pals. A plea for anyone in need of part-time help turned into a 2nd job for Lori. The hours with Scott Eaby work out great with her hours at Ephrata Hospital and all she does on the homefront.
Nathan succombed to arm-twisting by PawPaw to join Cub Scouts. It meets every Monday night at 7, so long school is in session. A parent is required to be there for each meeting in the first year. Right now I’m racing from Kate’s soccer practice to get there on time.
On the soccer front, Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays, the “Girl Force” (G-Force) is 2-3. We either get crushed or do the crushing, no nail biters.
Tuesday nights is of course, Rotary. Thank God I’m no longer the President!
But the big picture my friends is the realization a couple months back that it will take longer than expected to carve out a profitable niche in mortgage biz on my own here in Ephrata and Northern Lancaster County. Thus I began seeking additional opportunities. For anyone who has been displaced from their work (or is displeased with their work), you know what a frickin joke it is to find a decent job. Good grief, and Lancaster County’s employment picture is supposed to be better than most in the country!
I must admit, this cock-eyed optimist has sorely needed lasik surgery to correct and balance his vision. Heck, even The Boy Who Cried Wolf and Chicken Little both told me to shut the Fu## up with the ”We’ll be all rights” and “It’ll get betters”. We will be all right and it will get better, but right now the Williams family is like a million others, just trying to get by and survive. We last saved for a rainy day 10 YEARS ago, and you know how much it’s rained in a decade.
This blog is for friends and family and clients and people who stumble upon it. I don’t have “tracking” software to let me know who saw it, so if you did, let me know, and pause to share a thought with a comment. I write this to let the world know I’m challenged, and I’m okay with that. Life is like the disclaimer that comes with investing in a stock or mutual fund, “past performance does not guarantee future success.” Brian
A Less Than Poignant Memory of 9/11
Many have posted on Facebook their moving recollections of that fateful day 8 years ago. My story is different than most.
Like many I first heard the drama unfolding on the radio…on Howard Stern. I arrived at the offices of Home Team Mortgage early that day, before 9, because I wanted to square away whatever files I could before the entire office was to leave for a golf outing.
The banks we brokered with were shutting down operations almost immediately, and we all had 2 choices. Go home and watch tv coverage all day, or go play golf. We played golf.
Look, at the time my brother Jim worked 2 blocks from the World Trade Center. I tried numerous times to reach him on his cell, but couldn’t. You’re damn right I was concerned. But what could I really do? I constantly preach to others not to worry about things they have no control over. And in this case, clearly there was nothing I could do.
I chose to enjoy that postcard beautiful September day while hoping and praying for the best. And as I strode down the first fairway, Jim called to say he was okay. I was greatly relieved.
Should I have gone home, locked the doors and CNN’d all day? There was plenty of time for that later. That’s my story.
I’m a P-I-G!
But of course you probably already thought this! Actually, I’m referring to Kate beating me in “Horse” on our driveway hoop. We often play “pig” so it goes faster. She was nailing everything and knocked me out fair and square!
Tonight we played “Monkey IN The Middle” with Nathan, and the super huge beach ball Kate won in VA. We’re just squeezing in as much outdoor play as we can before school starts. I start coaching Kate’s U12 soccer team next week, and that will limit our weeknight playtime.
Nathan Breezes Through
Nana brought Kate & Nathan back from VA LATE on Thursday night. Lori & her Mom had them out all day for back to school shopping on Friday, into Friday night. By Saturday afternoon Nathan was off to OCNJ with his buddy Trent and his family for a full week.
We couldn’t possibly deny him a chance to spend a week at the shore with his best bud, but we miss him already, and it’ll be a long week without him. It’s live we had a visitation.
Kid Free: Yabba Dabba Doo!!!
I took Kate and Nathan down to Nana & Papa’s in VA Thursday. Taught them how to play darts, and in so doing started to trash the wall the board was hung on…even from 3 feet away they each managed to assault the wall.
Saturday Lori dragged me on a 5 mile walk up and down the streets of Ephrata Saturday morning. I was so tired, I went back to bed after we got home. It was good to rest, as we had a party to go to later. The party was 5 couples and their kids, except ours! As the night wore on we had a battle of the sexes playing charades, using words from Pictionary…For Kids! Hilarity ensued, as several Coors Lights and the thrill of competition will make adults do anything.
Sunday we slept in. Lori went to work as I went to open houses in Ephrata. We skipped our respective diet plans and went to Friendly’s in West Lawn. Then, I’m embarassed to say, we went driving through the twisting turning roads of Wernersville to find the Jon & Kate Gosselin house. We found it! Not a bad little shack. Makes you want to have sextuplets…almost.
Lawnmower For Sale: You Can’t Afford it
Nathan's Priceless Lawnmower
While cutting the grass last night Nathan had HIS lawnmower out. He was sitting on his swing on the swingset, just kind of holding onto the lawn mower. For the last couple years, he would occasionally mimic me as I cut the grass…you know, a boy pretending to do as his Dad does.
Before he said anything, I could tell he had cut his last blade of grass with that mower of his. He’s my little man, but not THAT little. It wouldn’t be cool to be seen walking around with a toy mower. Not anymore.
Most times these gentle shifts and changes in my kids go unnoticed, as they transition from one thing to the next repeatedly and effortlessly, but this little moment tugged at my heart. My buckeroo continues to grow up, darn it!
I kind of choked up relating this story to Lori.
Nathan was not so moved. As I turned my mower off, he said, “Dad, I think I’m gonna sell this (his mower), I could probably get 3 bucks for it.”
I’m thinking the price may be a million times higher.
Another Visit With The Doctor…
And it’s good news!
3 months ago I went in for a routine physical and bloodwork. Cholesterol levels were borderline high so Dr. Calusic prescribed a “statin,” which is I guess the generic term for cholesterol inhibitor.
Cholesterol wal 231 and borderline high. High is 240+. I’m now at 156!!!
Triglycerides was borderline high around 150, it’s 62 now!!!
HDL, the good cholesterol is steady at 43.7, with high risk at ,40 and optimum at >60, so there’s work to do here.
LDL was 140ish and borderline, I’m at 99.9 now! Just inside the “optimal” region.
And I lost another 5 pounds from my last visit! Makes sense. I am very deliberate with excercise, working out 6 out of 7 days, which according to the book Dr. Calusic prescribed, Younger Next Year, is what I must do for the rest of my life! So be it. Lately I’m on the Ephrata track 3x a week. Trying to run that 6:30 mile I had to run 30 years ago for football. Sadly, I can’t break 9 yet! But I will.
Working harder on the nutrition. But it’s been 4 weeks since I’ve been to the Golden Arches. I can’t believe it. Did have a burger at Friendly’s…but no fries! Loving the whole grains, and eating more fruit than i already was, and I love fruit.
I’m feeling healthy. I’m ready to go for another 30 years, at least!
If you are a male 40 or older, or love one that is…check out the book Younger Next Year: