Tuesday 29 March 2016

Milestones

How do you deal with those major milestones in your life, and specifically, in your kids' lives?  Milestones are great of course, but they can be bittersweet too.  How do you preserve the positive memories and not linger on what is now over?

As our third child is just a few weeks away from arriving, my wife and I are busy getting our house in order to make sure everything is ready.  Yesterday we were given bunk beds by some friends (thanks Dave and Wendy!).  Last night was the first night our boys have ever slept in the same room, and the first night our youngest son has slept in a bed instead of a crib.  It was two milestones, and two birds with one stone.  A great moment to be sure, but as my wife and I walked out of their room after putting them to bed, we exchanged a look of "Oh this is so great!...but I'm a bit sad at the same time..."

Sad only because your kids grow up so fast.  We took pictures and videos, and we'll remember that night.  But how did it come so quickly?  I find myself asking that question more and more lately.  I try to take distinct mental notes, clear mental snapshots, to make sure I remember those moments.  Even with those though, the memories begin to fade with time.  That's why the pictures and video are important.

A friend told me that perhaps a good way to deal with the quickening pace of life is to look forward to what's coming.  Instead of being sad about what's now over, look forward to the big moments (first day of school, first girlfriend/boyfriend, graduation, etc) and celebrate when they arrive.  It's good advice.

As I write, my wife has just texted me to say both my boys had a great sleep.  On to the next chapter :)

Wednesday 2 March 2016

Resolutions

Here we are, two months into the new year.  How are your New Year's resolutions coming along?  Still going strong, or did you forget about them on January 2nd?

I've made a few resolutions this year.  I haven't called them resolutions because that has too many connotations associated with it. These are just things that I've just decided to do this year.  With some I've done great, others I need to be a lot better.


  • Be healthier (specifically, go to the gym).  I'm proud to say that this has been a great success so far.  Since the beginning of January, I have gone to the gym between 3-5 times every week (except for one week when I was sick).  It's taken a lot of determination, a shift in mentality, and some re-arranging of our family schedule, but it's worked.  And I'm surprised to say...I actually enjoy it now!  It's become a habit, and I hate missing a gym day.  I never thought I'd be that guy, but surprisingly, here I am.  (P.S. for aspiring gym people, having a goal really helps)

  • Be more generous.  This specifically has to do with food, believe it or not, lol.  Money a little bit too, but mostly food.  My wife and I are frugal and don't eat out a lot or get a lot of junk food, so when we do, it feels like a special treat.  And to give part of that away...it's tough sometimes (don't judge me!).  So I've been working on being more generous, and generally speaking I think I've been doing a better job of this.  I can still improve, but I'm better than I was.  It's a work in progress.  I feel a bit like Joey...




  • Do daily devotions.  This...still needs a lot of work.  Life gets busy, kids get in the way, etc, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah...you know all the excuses.  I just need to be better with this.  My wife and I talked about this the other night and decided to tackle it together.  So we're going to try to both be better, tag-team it, and encourage each other.  I know we're two months late on this, but better late than never.


  • And a resolution I've just added...be better with blogging.  I'm horrible with this (as you may have noticed, before this week, my last post was in November).  However, I have blogged for three out of the past four days...and I hope to continue.  Granted, it won't be this often, but the plan is to be a lot more consistent.

In the end, resolutions are all about bettering yourself.  Some you may be great at, others may take more work.  But the great thing is that is never too late to start, and you can ALWAYS get back on the horse and keep trying when you mess up (see yesterday's post).

Happy resolution-ing!


Tuesday 1 March 2016

Finish strong!!

I was inspired today.  Inspired to be the best I can be.  To push and never give up.  To keep going despite all odds.

This race was from 2008, but I just saw it today for the first time.  This is Heather Dorniden, running a 600m race (3 laps).  In the lead on the second lap, she gets tripped...and then...well, just watch  (skip to 1:08 if you don't want to watch the whole race).







The guts, determination, drive, heart...(I could go on)...that it takes to do this leaves me speechless.  The word "inspiring" doesn't do it justice.  It's beyond words.

We all get knocked down in life, often unfairly, but it's how we rebound that matters.  Heather didn't give up.  She said later that all she wanted to do was finish the race, but then she heard the crowd and got a surge of adrenaline.  The result is one of the most amazing finishes of any race I've ever seen.

Let's be realistic, we can't win every race.  BUT, we can at least finish the race, and it's up to us how we finish.  Heather has inspired me to finish the best I can.