2 1/2 men rip-off

Great joke on the show last night....






If girls with larger breasts work at Hooters where do girls with one leg work?








IHOP!

and so on...

I had children when I was still a child myself. I was unprepared emotionally, physically, and professionally for what was to come. But still I soldiered on and did the best I could.

Any emotional unpreparedness was washed away when I held my newborn daughter in my hands. Though I knew it would not be easy it no longer mattered. The path that I wanted to follow faded to be forever forgotten and the only thing that mattered was to provide for my child. I was instantly in love, and still am.

I WAS an athlete. I had gotten lazy and let myself go a bit by the time my little one arrived, but I figured I would be able to work it off in the summer. Instead I went to work in the summer and continued to slide.

I was uneducated, unexperienced, and fresh out of high school. I could not make much, so I clung to the first steady job I found; working at the plant my dad managed, and didn't let go.

And we chisled out a life. It took help from others, but we beat out an existance. And along came bundle of joy number two and any doubt I had, and lack of resolve that might have lingered was hardened as I was the first to hold her, and tears streamed from my eyes.

So I toiled on, and life happened. The wheels spun and pages fell from the calender and they grew. Then 4 became three and we three soldiered on.

Exhilirated and terrified, I tip-toed through the next year and a half and did the best I could until 3 became 5. With that, a new wife and another new daughter, this one 3 years past newborn. I did not get the fresh baby smell of her still wet hair. I did not get to feed her or change her diapers, but still my wings quickly surrounded her and I fell in love once more; and I did the best I could.

A little time passed and along came daughter number 4. Again, I held her and smelled her and locked and her "Daddy loves you". And so she grows, more like Bamboo than Oak; and still I try the best I can.

Now, I am professonally more stable. Physically I am a mess, but not without resolve to change, but emotionally I am a wreck.

I am not scared of the responsibility of being a parent; providing and such. I am scared that they will think I have done a bad job as a dad. I think it is every parent's worst fear for thier kids to feel that they did a poor job. For them to feel like they are unwanted or cast out from the group. This is my fear too.

I am the dad, which means being the bad cop all the time. I am the discipline and the "no" in the world. And while I know that it is what is best in most cases, I am fearful they will think that is all I am; that I do not care and that I am doing it not out of love, but out out of dislike. This is soooo not the case. I want so bad for them to grow up to be the best of people, that I can except no less from them.

I am the father to 4 daughters. They do not share the interest in boy things that I really have alot to share in. I know more about hitting a curve ball than where all the curves come from. I know more about who invented something than I do who called who what and who's Mom is a bitch. But still I try; and I hope they know I do and that I love them.

I am the father to 4 daughters which will hopefully mean 4 walks down aisles. Car loads of kids calling me grandpa, and 4 sons-in-law. I just hope that at that time, and each day from here to there they can look back and know that they were loved, and I tried.

I look with pride and sometimes gushing love at each of them as they grow and become the little people they are and just hope that when they become big people, they will be proud of me and the job I did and a father and look and see that I did the best I could.

The Garage of Dreams

No this is not Iowa, but if dreams were made of wood and not corn, here you would have it.

On the 26th of August, we started our endeavor and have since nearly completed the framing of what is undoubtedly the most impressive garage I have ever seen, and definitely my garage of dreams.

I say we because it has been a team effort. I would like to take this opportunity to sing the praises of my faithful crew. Firstly, Wayne and Richard have been invaluable in the process thus far. Both of these fine men have donated, freely and without being asked, more than a man-week to construction of the garage so far. They have been as dedicated to getting it done as I have and without them, I would just now be putting the floor on the second floor of a garage of inferior quality. Thanks to them I will probably make my Halloween deadline and will in turn have a garage of far better quality that I could have hoped for otherwise. I am indebted to them both.

My sweet wife Becca has also carried a load as I have been an absentee husband over the last few weeks as we have toiled on the project. Aside from that she has, without complaint, laundered some of the grungiest clothes that I have ever produced. Not to mention that depending on my school schedule I have sometimes dirtied more than one set in each day.
Along with keeping me in clean work clothes, she has kept me and my guys in good food and cold drink, and that has been as valuable to us as if she was outside swinging a hammer.

Also, to my Mom, you know what you do and I appreciate it immensely.

So to all, I write this as a very humbled and grateful man who is forever indebted to your service.

For those who would like to take a peek, here is the progress as of Sunday afternoon. We got a little further that day, and put up the last walls last night... getting close now.

Photo Challenges

This should get me caught up... Flowers and colors







Circles...

Hot Friends....

Another small town quirk

As I was driving to Tullahoma today for another of countless trips to Lowes, something very quaint and small town happened. Something that made me both feel proud and glad I live in one.

The main road that connects Manchester to Tullahoma is a 4 lane highway with a grass median separating the south-bound and north-bound lanes; speed limit 55 on highway 55. Of course most traffic travels at 60-65.

It is a lovely drive passing mostly through countryside and farm land until you hit the outskirts of either town.

Anyway, on this particular day I was one of roughly 40 vehicles heading south-bound when on the north-bound side of the highway a funeral procession came lumbering at 40 miles an hour with 25 cars in tow.

Here is the wonderful small town part. Not only did all the cars on the north-bound side of the highway pull over to pay respect and let the procession pass, but the south-bound side did as well. The 25 car procession stretched roughly a half mile and for at least 2 miles of highway in both directions, all non-funeral traffic was pulled over to a complete stop on the shoulders in respect of the deceased and thier family. Who was it? I don't know.

I have been doing this along with all of my neighbors as long as I can remember and it never dawned on me how personal this is. In big cities you don't get this. Maybe it is a southern thing, but not until the very last car in the procession had made a wide berth and passed each car did we slowly creep back into our lanes and continue our progress.

Strange and wonderful...

I hope this happens at my funeral. I really don't have many wishes as far as that goes, but I hope that happens and I hope I get covered up by my family members by hand. I fully intend to take shovel in hand and fill in the graves of my loved ones, alone if I must as I will not have them impersonally interned by power tools. Again, perhaps a southern thing, but there it is.

War Chronicles

I have tried to load pictures of my garage and for the photo challenge presented to me by my sister. However, my conmputer at home does not have the internet access fast enough to download pictures. So I loaded some pictures on my thumdrive and brough them over to my mom's. Naturally I have out dated pictures of the garage and none of my challenge pictures. This is how it goes.

I am loading pictures of my garage as of last Wednesday. We have made significant progress since then. I will post those pictures Tuesday when I return to work as well as this and last week's picture challenges.

Picture 1 is the progress after day one.
Picture 2 is the view into the garage from the garge door (front)
Picture 3 is a look at the stairs
Picture 4 is a look up the stairs
Picture 5 is a view from the second floor... yes, second floor.

We have made significant progress since then, but those pictures will have to wait until Tuesday.