Tag: Men

Are We A Family?

What is a Family?

What does a really good one look like? Is there such a thing?

I surely don’t have an answer. And yesterday, as I was minutes from leaving my house for the airport, I quietly wondered if I even have a clue.

The car was packed with my carry-on suitcase and small backpack. I was all set to drive to Orlando International Airport for a business trip to Niagara Falls.

“Goodbye Mom and Dad”.

My Father-In-Law started to cry after he shook my hand. He never cries. “What’s wrong”?, I asked.

Next thing I know we had a 20-minute conversation about life and the physical hardships of getting old.

They are 83 and 86, and when I get get back home today, they’ll be back in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

They’ve been visiting us for several weeks, to witness our Son’s First Holy Communion.

To make a long story short, I am challenged to know what to do, what to say or when to do it or when to say it.

Mother Theresa said something to this effect, “The way to create World Peace is to go home and Love your Family“. Humbly, jeff 🙂

Slept with Stan Last Night

My son and I spent the night at the Orlando Science Center. We were there with our Church’s Cub Scout Pack. There were other Packs and even some Brownie “Packs” there too.

Checked in. Dinner buffet. A presentation called “KA-BOOM”!!!! Private admission to cool exhibits. But wait, there’s more.

We capped off the night with two really unique experiences. In fact, I had never done either in my fifty years.

We used two very powerful telescopes to view the Moon and Saturn.

The Moon? Astonishing to be on earth and see what we saw with our own eye.

Saturn? WOW!

Saturn last night was 857 million miles away. To say this another way, it was almost a billion miles away. Billion. Ya with me?

While it was tiny, we all knew we were looking at the real deal. Not a photo. Not a TV show. Not a DVD program. The real thing.

Saturn is about eighty times bigger than Earth, by the way.

To be able to see something soooo big, yet so far away, and it shows up as a tiny, but absolutely crystal clear image, is, well, almost indescribable.

Afterwards, we all slept in “Dino Digs“, a huge and very well done Dinosaur exhibit.

My son and I slept direclty beneath “Stan’s” enormous jaws. Stan is a T-Rex, named after the archaeologist that discovered him. What made “Stan” famous is that 70% of his bones were found; more than any other T-Rex.

We had a great time and have some great memories. In the big picture, that’s about as good as it gets. Carpe diem, jeff 🙂

Lord’s Prayer every morning?

At the beginning of April, I decided to see if I could develop a new habit.

Habits are easy to start if you’re not trying, especially if they are something that sounds like this:

“The easier it is to do, the harder it is to stop“.

So it also works this way:

“The harder it is to do, the harder it is to change“.

Don’t believe it? Then try to wake up and kneel by your bed, for just a minute, to say a few prayers. “Dude, if it were easy, you’d already be doing it”, is what I say to myself.

Made 26 straight days, until this morning. I’m forgiving myself though. Know why?

I woke up in at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge – Kidani Village, in a spectacular room with a spectacular view. Disney Vacation Club’s newest offering opens May 1.

I later said the three payers in the car as I drove to downtown Orlando, to do my civic duty as a Juror.

Good luck tomorrow on whatever it is you are trying to do or stop doing. I know first hand the challenges, and rewards, for not giving up.

Get started and never stop. Carpe diem, jeff noel 🙂