TGIT (that is: It's Thursday!)

Well, it's Thursday and the "end" of my work week. I know, you all are jealous because your work week goes one more day. (except for those really lucky ones among us, who are home with kids. Then their work week never ends!!) I've always wondered why Fridays are TGIF when you still have to work that whole day... You need the whole day off to actually enjoy that IF thing! Anyway, it's not like I haven't put in a whole bunch of hours, and really, I switch to a different job on Fridays anyway. It's just that it's a whole different view of the library and I really like it. It's more like playing than working. It's a job that makes me laugh. Often. Now who can say that about their jobs in general? I'm still saying, "and I get paid for this?" Wow! That is my job in Sioux City. I only go a couple times a month, really. Some days I wonder what it is I'm really doing down there, but they make me feel like it's important. Now who else can say that about their jobs? Enjoy your Fridays. It is TGIF after all.

Resoultion position mid January

Can you handle another post on courage? It's My word of the month. It's the target I'm aiming at, the action that would change me and challenge me. Indeed it does!

The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become. (Charles Dubois)

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do. (eleanor roosevelt)

Conscience is the root of all true courage; if a man would be brave let him obey his conscience (james freeman clarke)

It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows achievement and who at the worst if he fails at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. (theodore roosevelt)

Snow Days

We had a snow day here yesterday. As in, everyone suddenly has to go to the library and get books and movies because they can't get out to go to school. I'm usually glad to go home early on those kind of days, but it wasn't to be yesterday. It was extra cold, too. It all got me to thinking about how much I normally enjoy being outdoors. When I was a bit younger I insisted on being outside all the time! Indoors was pretty boring. Those were days long before interesting things like BLOGs and computers, Ipods and I tunes. So, because I had a horse, I had freedom to roam around the Illinois countryside even in the coldest of weather. My parents got me a ski mask before the start of winter season and that was enough to keep me out riding my horse every single day even when it was 20 below zero. My girlfriend and I would ride our horses for miles. Racing and walking, talking and dreaming, watching the sky turn from a bright blue afternoon to the dark of a winter night. It was always lovely even when it was cold. My dad told me I would come to hate the winter at some point, but I know I didn't believe him! Occasionally I would try new things with the horses. I thought it would be fun to have the horse pull me along on a sled over the snow. That's when I found out that Stormy had some sort of phobia about ropes. Run a rope behind him and he went wild. Really wild. Bucking and kicking. Snorting and rearing. A person can get seriously hurt that way. Sleds, when they hit you, are dangerous weapons. Hitting snow from the height of a horse's back can still be quite hard and actually knock the wind out of you.

Cousins and brothers

My wild and wooly weekend is over. They usually fly by, and when I am looking at things in retrospect, they have really flown by! Ha. I woke up unusually sore this morning. Aching shoulders and legs. Then I remembered that I'd been trying to keep up with Phinehas for a couple of hours, i.e. keep him from falling down the basement steps or sticking something into a light socket, and I knew what the aches and pains were from. Sweet! But our house was full. That's the main thing. We ate and laughed and stayed out of the cold. Perfect time to do that.

Family Daze

I've been looking forward to having my mom here for a few weeks. She got up here from AZ on her birthday no less. Greeting her was the -10 degree temps and the biting wind and ice underfoot. Sorry about that Mom! Now you remember why you moved to Sunny AZ in the first place. I only had 2 days and was bound to make the most of it! My two brothers arrived and we shared meals and games, TV and talk. And of course to top it all off there was the grandkids. They only got here for a couple of hours but they are so full of energy! I have trouble keeping up. What a riot. Isaiah told us about his visit to his Spencer grandparents, church and meals. He is not shy when it comes to talking! I got some great pictures that I will be posting after the Green Bay game tonight. But it's been too long since my last BLOG and now that things are quiet again, I thought I'd catch up.