Wow, this day just seemed like it would never end. Why is it that almost everyday is an event destined to test the boundaries of time itself within a single day?
Today I got up earlier than normal because I had to hit the bank to get cash (that is for a whole other post let me tell you), go to the store, get home, get the groceries put away then get on the road to work. After work, a day that saw me not get there until almost 9:30 so saw me leave until about 6:00, I hit the road to get home and head out immediately to the library to get new library cards and a gang of books for kids. Then we hit up the Burger King because it was almost 8:00 and we hadn’t eaten dinner yet. We grabbed some burgers and hit the house just in time for me to get to my room for a client meeting that was supposed to start at 8:00
Now there was one blessing in all of this. That client meeting that was scheduled for 8:00 got pushed back because my client and I both were getting ready to sit down to dinner at the time of the call. So I agreed to call back a half hour later, which meant we would be on the phone until about 10:30. Which meant the day was going to be that much longer.
All in all though it was a nice day to be alive. Even if things are hectic and haywire at least I am alive to experience it. I have to tell myself that on occasion. Sometimes because I need perspective and sometimes because I just need to hear the lie.
A friend of mine sent me a link to an article outlining the story of a Woman burnt to death after setting her own car alight in road-rage incident. And I have to say I was more than a bit shocked to read it. Granted, this woman more than likely was suffering from some serious mental issues. But the thought that someone would lay into their accelerator on their car so long as to disintegrate their tires and run their rims 50mm into the ground before shooting enough sparks into the engine compartment to ignite the car AND THEN telling people to F*ck off as she waves a fist at them when they try to help is just unfrickingbelievable.
It takes a special kind of anger to make a person want to run their car into you to begin with. It takes an ever stronger anger to want to inflict pain upon you by revving the car while it is in gear.
But the part that gets me is the part in which she gets mad at people that are trying to help her. I mean, how do you not know that a car in which you are sitting and happens to be on fire is going to kill you? My heart goes out to this woman and to her family. Trying to understand this is probably just as hard as learning that your loved one essentially killed herself out of anger directed toward someone else.
In today’s political world it is very easy to be swept up in the hoopla and hype that comes from politicians opening their mouths. Moreover, America today is vastly different than it was just a decade or two ago. The one constant we have faced over the years is change.
So I find it rather puzzling that we would be listening to a collection of politicians, some looking for the highest elected office in our land, talk about the need for change. Maybe talking isn’t the right word. Observe:
I actually found this video by way of Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council. He made a stop by church today and delivered an amazing message of change and how the message of the church has always been, and continues to be, change.
Jesus was preceded by John the Baptist whose message was “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”. Jesus’ first message was the same message. And the message He gave the disciples when going out to minister was “Repent”.
However the more I look at the message of repentance that Jesus taught the more I realize that the message of change that we are seeing now is not anywhere near repent. It is more of a “Close your eyes, hold on tight and hope that if you elect a candidate of change that things may work.”
Mr. Perkins made a very good point about the message that is being “preached” to us from our politicians: change is not elected it is invoked. Change starts at home, in the heart, and can affect the world when shared in the proper manner. It is this proper manner that many Christians struggle with as they appear sometimes to take ought with people as opposed to principalities. Inasmuch as Christians are supposed to embody the compassion and love that Christ personified we have, as a collective, largely failed to do that opting instead to pick on people as opposed to the ideas that some people have that might clash with the notions of the church.
It was a lot to take in, but it was presented very well. Mr. Perkins has a way of conveying his message that makes it very easy to understand and follow. It was this gift of speech that allowed me to really take to heart what he was saying. And the more I think of what it is he was saying the more I realize that our politicians have it so wrong. There is nothing that they can do as people that will make this nation change except change their hearts in a way that makes people want to follow.
When you have something that someone else wants they will follow you to get a piece of it. And so far all of the candidates have dropped the ball in this area in my opinion.
Ok, maybe not the longest day of my life, but man it sure felt pretty long to me. But before we get into this longest of days I should step back a bit and get to the cause of it all.
The past few days have been somewhat rough on me because of this stupid cold I have had. Fortunately I go better pretty quick due in large part to the efforts of my wife and kids in taking care of me. Well, that type of effort seldom goes without punishment as the caretaker often takes on the symptoms of the one being cared for. So was the case with my wife. She got what I had. And she got it a lot worse than I had it.
She started showing signs of illness late Wednesday night and as of Thursday was pretty well in the heat of getting he butt kicked by this bug. What that meant for the household was that she would not be able to be a mom on yesterday and she asked me if I could take care of the Friday activities for her.
I was not able to miss work yesterday because of a meeting that has been planned for the last two weeks. What that meant was that I was now thrown headlong into the role of a single parent getting his kids to school for the day along with getting other of his kids to a place outside the home because my wife would not be able to do anything for the day. So late Thursday night I set out to make sure that Friday was taken care of. Here is what ended up being set up for Friday:
Wake up the kids, feed them, dress them and get out of the house by 7:30 AM.
Get to grandma’s house in Newark by 8:00 to drop off the younger three children, one of whom was staying the night and needed a night bag packed.
Get to Hayward by 8:30 to drop off the older two for school.
Get to Concord by 9:30 to prepare for my 10:00 can’t-miss meeting.
Now there was a little more to it than that. If you look real close at that list above there is no provision for getting my kids home from school. See that was a little more complex because their school does not start until 9:30 and it is against the rules to be at school and not be in a class room. So what I set up for the kids was:
Get to school at 8:30 and go to the early math class room. Sit there quietly until it is time for their classes to start at 9:30.
Go to class at 9:30. Learn like champions.
After school find a particular parent who was going to take them to her house.
Wait at this particular parent’s house until another parent comes by to pick up her kids and my kids, then take my kids to yet another parents house from where my kids will be brought home.
When all was said and done I was able to get all of the morning activities done and get to work a little after 9:00. I met with my boss who helped me set up a very aggressive schedule that pretty much commits me to a single project through mid-November (which I am ok with but hope I am not setting myself up for dropping the ball). I spent the rest of my day working on the project and got out of work a little after 5:00 PM.
I got on the road and found a message from Adriannah on my phone that she wanted all of us to come pick up the younger kids from grandma’s because there was cake that she made and she wanted all of us to share some of it together. So I went home, picked up Sandi, Sarah and Bekah and hit the road to grandma’s house. We had cake, mingled a bit and picked the kids up and headed home.
We got home at a little after 8:00 at which time I put some hotdogs to boil, fed the kids, ate dinner, prayed for us all and put us to bed. At about 9:30 or so I was finally able to sit down, take a breath and realize what had happened in the day.
What a day. What a long, long, longest of days. I am glad I am able to rest a little today. I totally need it.
Today is my daughter Adriannah’s birthday. She turns eight years old today. Another birthday (and thank God the last of the year for our family) is upon me and I could swear that is was January 1st just a few weeks ago.
I don’t know about you but it seems that the years are beginning to move a lot faster than they have in the past. It is already almost month 10 of the year 2008. Uh, huh? Not only is already October practically, it already 2008. Wasn’t it just last week that we were worrying about the Y2K scare?
Anyway, I will spend time later trying to figure out where the heck my life has gone over the last eight years. For now I have a little more pressing of an issue… wishing my daughter a happy Birthday.
Happy birthday to you;
Happy birthday to you;
Happy birthday dear Adriannah;
Happy birthday to you.
Sometimes a person can show just what love is. Not kissy, touchy feely love (not that there is anything wrong - I’d be the first to tell you get it while the gettin’s good) but the kind of love that shows you are meaningful enough to someone for them to make sure you are taken care of to the point that they themselves would put their needs on hold if for just a time to see to it that your needs are met. Yesterday my entire family stepped up to that plate and showed what love is all about.
All day long all I heard was “Is there anything I can get for you?” “Is there anything you need?” “How are you feeling?”. Even my daughter Alaynah got into the mix when she brought me sliced peaches in bed while I was resting at lunch time. I was half awake and told her that I was so thankful for the peaches and that they looked delicious. As she walked down the hallway I could hear her tell her mom “See mommy I told you he would like them.”
I gotta say when someone takes care of you when you really really need it it can mean the world to you. At least it did to me. I feel a world better today. I am still feeling a little weak and wobbly so I am working from home today, but I feel a lot better than yesterday.
And I might have a task ahead of me… my wife is starting to feel like I felt a few days ago. That means that showing the love needs to come from me now instead of coming to me. I hope I am up to the task. My wife and kids certainly gave me a great example to follow.
I stood home from work today to rest. That might not mean much to most folks but to me staying home sick is an unacceptable solution to a far too easy to manage problem.
I have never been one to stay home just because I am not feeling well. To me it was always a matter of being to be just as sick at work as you would at home. But for some reason today was different. I woke up and felt like I seriously needed to go right back to bed. I haven’t felt like this in a long time.
And it seems to come at a time when I am being tested in every way imaginable. To be open and candid, I am going through one of the most difficult times in my life right now. If you have followed my blog at all you might recall me mentioning that I am taking my masculinity and leadership position back in my home and family. I knew that would have consequences when I did it.
I have also made a stance, spiritually, in my household that we, the Gonzalez family, are no longer going to be slapped around like some spiritual weakling without arms to defend ourselves. We have a very real enemy that has very real intentions to destroy us. I know that, my family knows that and we are in the midst of experiencing that right now.
Everything that could possibly be going wrong is. My car needs a new motor (at a cost of $2000 no less, and that is a deal), my bank account is overdrawn beyond measure, my other bank account, the one I use to pay rent and other stuff, just got zapped my soon-to-be-defunct bank to offset the negative amount I had in my other account. I have income taxes that I need to pay for that I have no money to pay with, I have fuel that needs to be put into my family vehicle that I cannot afford to buy, I have six other people in my house that need to eat and no money to feed them with, I have a TV that just decided to stop working and now I have a battle against a sickness that I really do not want. And you know what? I knew it was all coming. And you know what else?
I am going to kick the devil’s ass by the time this is all done.
I am a child of God
I am a child of a king
I have dominion of all the earth
I have dominion of angels and demons
I am strong and courageous
I am victorious
No weapon formed against me will prosper
With God all things are possible
These are things that my entire family speaks daily. It is part of my recent identity discovery and something I hold very dear to me. I really need to hear them now. I am going through a rough patch, exacerbated by a freaking cold I really cannot afford to have at the moment at a time where I really cannot physically handle anything else on my plate.
Lord, take this cup from. Nevertheless, let your will be done.
I think I know why yesterday was such a trial. I have come down with something. Not to stake a claim to being sick but I am feeling like hell today. My head hurts, my eyes hurt, my chest hurts, my throat hurts and my ears hurt. I feel tired, warm, lethargic and generally not well.
My coworker feels the same way. So much so that he took off early to go to a doctor’s appointment. Two other coworkers of mine were out yesterday and one still is. What gives? Why do I have to be sick now?
I supposed it is always bound to happen. I get sick about once a year. Usually it is a chest/ears/throat related thing that sidelines me for a few days, leaves me with a seal bark type cough for almost a month then moves on as though it was never here to begin with. I hope this one doesn’t go that way though. I really cannot stand to be sick right now.
Just to make sure I get better faster I am heading out. I need the rest and I am fading fast.
Dude, for some reason I cannot seem to manage to get my get-up-and-go going. I have no idea why but for the life of me I cannot find that trigger that says “Git up off yer rump and wrangle that steer.” What the crap?
I am so so so so tired today. I cannot find energy, motivation, desire… nothing. Will this funk not pass from me?
Anyway, try not to feel to sorry for me. But if you have to, send me money. I need that pretty big time right now .
Way back when I ran across a comic at xkcd.com that outlined the funny things that can happen when developers forget to escape input:
This brought a tremendous amount of laughter to everyone that works in my department (since many are database people and a few are developers) and from that point on I had the lovely nickname “Little Bobby Tables”.
In an effort to try to rectify that I found a LOLCAT picture that sums up a little better what my position is on the name “Little Bobby Tables”:
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