Posts Tagged ‘Hope’

Day 264 and counting… A Day in Jayhawk Country

Posted: June 2, 2013 in Love and Marriage
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

 

Saturday, April 30, 2011

We spent the day in Jayhawk country today.  Rachel, the daughter that my wife gave up for adoption and who recently came into our lives, lives in Lawrence, KS and is a student at KU.

Today, we drove up there and spent the day getting to know her a little better and seeing where she lives and the places that are a part of her life.  Lawrence is a very cool college town and we had a great day walking and driving around, seeing the sights, and catching up on the last 20 years.

I’m so glad that this is all happening after we fixed our marriage, not while we were going through our mess.

Day 258 and Counting… Our First Grandchild

Posted: May 28, 2013 in Love and Marriage
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Last night, we became Grandparents.

It definitely wasn’t the way we’d have planned it.  It’s not our oldest, who has been married for a while now.  It was the youngest, who is still in high school.

She called and told me she was pregnant around the time we got back together.  I haven’t pretended to be happy about it, but it’s important that we be in the baby’s life regardless of the circumstances.

He was born last night in the same hospital his mother was born in, and they named him Carter.  My wife made a baby blanket and we sent it, but we didn’t go out there to western Kansas for the birth.

Day 251 and Counting… A Late Christmas Present?

Posted: May 20, 2013 in Love and Marriage
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Today, Ceecee finally “got” one of her “12 Days” gifts from last Christmas.

It wasn’t given late, it was actually just given way early.  It was two tickets to the musical, “Chicago,” which is probably my wife’s favorite.  She loves the movie and the soundtrack, but had never seen it performed in the theater until today.

I bought the tickets last Christmas because there was no way I was going to take a chance on them selling out.  That’s happened to us before, and this one is too important to her to risk it.

We went to a matinée show this afternoon, then I bought stuff to make a seafood dinner not too much different from what we had for Valentine’s.  I figured it worked then, so don’t fix what’s not broken, right?  Life is too good right now!

Day 249 and Counting… Being a Kid Again

Posted: May 19, 2013 in Love and Marriage
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

Friday, April 15, 2011

 

Yesterday was an even more stressful day than usual for Ceecee at work.  They tend to get that way the closer to the end of the school year it gets.

I knew she needed something to pick her up and I came up with an idea as the day went on.  She’s a kid at heart, so I decided to let her get out of her “grown-up” responsibilities and just let her be a “kid” for a while.

During my free period on the afternoon, I ran over to the dollar store and picked up some sidewalk chalk, bubbles, and a coloring book and crayons.

After work, we went to this little hole in the wall place downtown that has the best greasy sandwiches in town (yes, we’re not supposed to be eating that stuff) and got orders to go.  then we walked to a nearby park where I gave her the things I bought and let her “play.”

The park is adjacent to the local Double A baseball team’s stadium and we saw that they were getting ready to have a game, so we walked over and bought tickets, purely on spontaneity.  It was a great afternoon and evening of fun, and it just came out of loving her and knowing her so well.  It was simple and inexpensive, but it made memories and reinforced my love and the idea that I will always be there for her.

Day 247 and Counting… Employment Changes Coming?

Posted: May 17, 2013 in Love and Marriage
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Hard to believe I’m still at Macy’s.  This was a “summer job” that I took in July of last year while Ceecee and I were separated.

It wasn’t that I needed the money, it was that I needed to show her that I was committed to doing whatever it took to provide and be a leader in making sure she could be secure if we got back together.  It turned out to be a very important step, but I never planned on keeping it for this long.

Ceecee is looking to make a change in her employment, too.  She’s been working as a paraprofessional at the same school where I teach.

She works with the behavior disorder students and it’s a really tough job.  They are hiring a full-time library aide for next year and she has applied for it, so we’re hoping.  As much as she loves books and reading, it would be the ideal job for her.

 

Day 244 and Counting… Training and Pampering

Posted: May 12, 2013 in Love and Marriage
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Took our bikes down the South Creek Trail today and enjoyed the nice weather in the early part of the day.  This is one of the places where we go to train and it’s a pretty ride and a great place to run.  We also brought a picnic in backpacks so we can eat in the park after our ride.

Later today and tonight, some severe weather is supposed to move in and my wife especially still gets quite scared when there is even a chance of tornadoes.  I know this, so I got us some movies and some foot cream and I’m going to set her up in comfort for some pampering tonight to help her relax and keep her mind off the weather.

Day 241 and Counting… Busted for PDA

Posted: May 5, 2013 in Love and Marriage
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
0

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Too much stress this week at work and now a hilarious twist.

We’re giving the MAP test this week, which is Missouri’s mandatory annual state testing.  That keeps everybody on edge, and the schedule is completely disrupted, which gets the students all out of kilter, so it’s a bad combination all the way around.

So today, I get called into the principal’s office.  This usually isn’t good and I don’t know what I did, so i’m running through possible scenarios in my mind as to what the nature of the offense could be.

Did something regarding my administering of the MAP test happen?  It has before and I don’t want a repeat of that, so I’ve been extra careful to cross all my t’s and dot all my i’s.

Could a parent have called with a complaint about something?  Did I neglect some part of my duties or fail to fulfill some expectation that I’m not aware of?

No, it turned out to be none of those.  In fact, I’m quite sure I wouldn’t have been able to come up with this one no matter how hard I tried.

I was called in for PDA.  That’s what we refer to in the student conduct section of the handbook as “Personal Display of Affection.”  That’s the student conduct section, not the teacher’s handbook.

You see, Ceecee and I work at the same junior high, and apparently it’s a problem that we are, to borrow a line from Elf, “In love and we don’t care who knows.”  Yes, I got busted for PDA with my wife at school.

Now, it’s not like we’re making out in the halls or the classroom.  We do hold hands when we walk and we sit close at faculty meetings and assemblies, but I’m pretty sure that’s the extent of it.

In all fairness to the principal, he seemed extremely uncomfortable with the whole conversation, as if he realized how silly it sounded, especially after he admitted that he sometimes gives his wife, who works in our district office, a kiss when she comes to have lunch with him.  I promised to be more “professional” in the future and it’s all good.

I can’t help wondering who reported us, though, or why?  An unhappy person, I suspect, who is not experiencing the kind of happiness we are.

Day 236 and Counting… 8 Months

Posted: May 1, 2013 in Love and Marriage
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Eight months.

I moved into the old loft with Ceecee to end our separation on August 2 of last year.  She has become so much more than my treasure.  She truly is my queen.

My love for her continues to grow, and my commitment to learn to be the best man I can be for her and for my Lord continues growing as well.  We’ve learned so much, come so far, and overcome so many challenges in these past eight months.

Things aren’t perfect, nor can they ever be, this side of heaven.  They are better than I could even have imagined, though.

I’ll never have an answer to the question of, “Could we have gotten here without going through the things that we did, but I would never go back to where we were, and forward is the only option for where we go now.

Day 235 and Counting… Feeling The Emptiness of the Nest

Posted: April 26, 2013 in Love and Marriage
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

Friday, April 1, 2011

Taylor graduated from tech school yesterday.  We didn’t go down to visit, like we did when he finished basic, but it’s still kind of a big deal.  It means he’ll be leaving the US soon and heading for Korea.

Today, my wife was taken by surprise when a group from the army ran by our parking lot and it brought her to tears thinking about Taylor.  That was no April fool’s gag, it really hit her hard.  They say it’s much harder on Moms that it is on Dads and I suppose that’s true.

It’s also true that a lot of marriages struggle when the nest becomes empty.  I don’t know how much of a factor that was in our situation, but it definitely couldn’t have helped.  I’m so thankful to be where we are now.

Day 229 and Counting… City Museum: A Wonderland All Its Own

Posted: April 25, 2013 in Love and Marriage
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Today was our monthly day trip to St. Louis and we went to the City Museum for the first time.  We’ve often heard about it and people have told us to go for quite some time now, but we never did until today.

It’s unlike any place I’ve ever been and I can’t really even begin to describe it on here.  Let me just say, it’s not a museum.  At least not in any sense of the word that I’ve ever known.  It’s essentially a huge indoor playground for people of all ages in a huge old downtown building.

It’s made out of all sorts of recycled materials and found items.  It has a 10 story slide, a huge man-made cave area that you can literally get lost in, an arts and crafts area, a human hamster wheel, two bars, a vintage clothing store and I could go on and on.

On the roof, which was closed today due to weather, there are climbing areas and I’m not sure what all.  There’s also an aquarium inside that guests can visit for an additional fee.

Today, we had an unexpected snow, and we watched it from inside the museum.  It was beautiful, and it turned St. Louis into a beautiful wonderland just for the day.

Older Entries
Newer Entries