The rumors of this blog's demise...

...have been greatly exaggerated.

I've been away from the blog for a couple of days, distracted by life events.  All good things, but by the time the evening rolled around, I've chosen bed over writing an entry.  My energy around this blog was waning, too.  I think the lack of feedback (except from my wife, and from Julia...thanks a million, ladies!) was sapping my enthusiasm.  Then this morning I remembered that, really, this blog is for me.  It's a place to keep tabs on my energy level, my health, and to keep myself enthusiastic about the journey I'm on.

So...I'm back :-)

I'll start with a story.  My children like the movie Shrek.  They don't watch it all the time, or even often, but it's in the top twenty.  In the movie, after the credits, there's a great segment called something like "Shrek's Karaoke Dance Party" - a medley of all kinds of popular songs.

So tonight, we're in line at the ice cream parlor after dinner.  I'm talking to the young man behind the counter, placing our order, when my (nearly) four-year-old son tugs on the leg of my shorts.  "Daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, d..."

"One second," I say to the ice cream man.  "Yes, William?"

"Uh...who let the dogs out?" he asks, all smiles.  The inflection was pure question.

I couldn't control the laughter.

Readers of Julia's (wonderful!) blog will recognize a trend here.  :-)

OK, on to current events.  This morning, after Yoga (aaaahhh), I arrived at the office to find that the cleaning crew had knocked one of my plants off the desk, shattering the pot.  It was a mistake, and they left me a very nice apology note, but the poor plant was in bad need of some soil, water, and a place to call home.  So, I shuffled a morning meeting to later, and went off to the local nursery.  I found a nice new pot, some organic potting soil and fertilizer, and a pretty new deskmate to sit beside the beat up victim of last night's de-shelving.  A little elbow grease later and the two plants are happily ensconced.  I had to trim off all of the foot-long leafy tendrils that had grown from the old plant (on the left).  Several had snapped off, and the others were bent and bruised.  So, the little plant's spent several hours with an exposed root ball, had a severe haircut, and a re-potting.  We'll see how it does.  I've got my fingers crossed.

Yesterday afternoon the sun was shining when I got home, and the kids had already finished their afternoon chores and homework.  So, the girls got their helmets and grabbed their scooters, and off we went for a nice fast walk/scoot, with my 3.9-year-old son in the jogging stroller.  OK, he's too old for a stroller, but we were going to go FAST.

I'd worried a little about the girls keeping up with me, but shouldn't have.  They were always WAY out in front.  I gave them some simple guidelines (don't go so far that I can't see you, don't cross any streets, and watch out for cars coming/going from driveways) and they did a great job.  After a few road crossings with Daddy in command, I gave them the helm, letting them make the call as to when we should cross.  Flawless.  They were very, very careful and kept a weather eye on traffic from every direction.  I'm very proud of them.  And, with the days already turning comfortably warm around here, I've just discovered a new way for all of us to get more exercise.  Happy, happy Daddy.

Sunday was Mother's Day.  The kids made some presents and cards for my wife, and I wrote out a longish note saying "Thank You!"  We have a great life, and my wife is a big part of making it all happen.  She leads both girls' Girl Scout troops.  She volunteers at their school on the fundraising committee.  She shows them, by example, how to plan healthy and tasty menus that keep us (mostly) out of restaurants and the processed food aisles at the grocery store.  She spends time with the kids baking bread and planting (and harvesting!) vegetables.  And really, even all of that is just the tip of the iceberg.  We have a good life, and because of her guidance and example, our kids are going to grow up knowing how to make a life like this for their children (our grandchildren...yikes!).

Yes, these things are all important to me too.  And yes, I help out a lot.  I'm no slouch in the kitchen, for instance.  But Sunday was the day to focus on her, and she deserves praise, and thanks, and loving hugs for all she does.

On Saturday we drove a couple of hours North, for our nephew's First Communion.  The Mass was beautiful, the party afterward lots of fun.  I spent an hour or two in the pool getting soaked and jumped on by the nieces and nephews, then another few hours catching up with my sister-in-law's family.  They're great people, and I always enjoy seeing them.

It feels good to be back at the keyboard, writing this blog. "Welcome home," he said to himself.

Food log (today):

Breakfast: oatmeal, with dried cranberries, dried coconut and pecans...just a little of each.

Lunch: an enchilada with tomatillo sauce, a small handful of cherries, one square dark chocolate.

Snack: an orange

Dinner: the insides of a pulled pork and cole slaw sandwich from a local BBQ place, and a Diet Coke.  I've given up soda, but forgot my water bottle tonight.  Oh well.

Food log (previous days):

Who remembers?  Missing a day or two's worth of food log is too bad, but not a big enough deal to wrack my brain too hard :-)