I finally updated Brenden’s page with the latest news from this summer. He turns 3 on Saturday! I’m working on an update for Jonathan, too.
Author Archives: Andy
Time for a Break
I’ve worked a lot so far this month, but I’m finally on a six-day break, and I intend to enjoy it. We don’t normally do a big summer vacation, largely because the flights are so full. So instead we’re staying home and doing a variety of things that I often can’t do because of work.
Friday – We’re having lunch with my side of the family at my parents’ house. Then Jenny is dropping Brenden off on his own mini-vacation at her parents’ house in Midlothian. He’s been talking about it all week. Jonathan is spending Friday afternoon and night at my parents’ house. It’s rare these days for either side to get time with just one of the boys, so this will be a treat for all concerned – including me and Jenny, who are going on a date!
Saturday – I’m planning to run the Sizzling Summer 10k in Arlington at 7:30am. Due to the heat, even at that hour, I won’t be trying for a record time, just a good run in the race environment that I enjoy so much. They’re expecting 500+ people combined for the 10k and the half-marathon. Saturday night, Jenny and I will play video games. I married well, in case I haven’t mentioned that lately.
Sunday – Our friend Randie is a trained opera singer who is singing a solo at her church, White’s Chapel United Methodist Church in Southlake, so we’re going to visit and hear her that morning. Then we’ll go back to our regular church that night and see our people.
Monday – Brenden and I have a tennis date right after breakfast. Then the four of us will do something fun together – maybe a bounce house or water park – before it gets too hot.
Tuesday – Jenny gets the day to herself while the boys and I hang out. I hear a Girls’ Breakfast is on the agenda, followed by whatever she feels like doing.
I might blog a bit if I get inspired. I hope to get plenty of rest. A movie or two and some man cave time are also likely. Time off is good.
Validation
I have a confession: I am a “Like” whore.
Whether we admit it or not, nearly all of us want to be validated in various ways. It makes us feel better about ourselves to know that someone else appreciates our efforts, agrees with our opinions, or thinks we’re funny / hot / smart / interesting / extraordinarily tidy. I certainly do. Some people sit quietly and hope others take the initiative to validate them. They want to be appreciated and liked, but they don’t want to seek it out. Others actively pursue validation, perhaps by fishing for compliments (“Do you think I’m fat?”), constantly joking around to make people laugh (“Shut up, Beavis!”), or flaunting their accomplishments (“That’s what we always did when I was at Haaahvard”).
I run a blog and post stuff on Facebook. Yeah, validation isn’t the only reason or even the main reason I do those things, but it’s certainly one. I love getting “Likes” on FB. Sometimes I post links or statuses with broad appeal largely because I know they are likely to get “Liked”. (don’t hate – you probably do it, too!) It’s a nice little boost to the old ego every time one of those comes in, like a thimbleful of Five-Hour Energy for my self-esteem. For the same reason, I try to Like my friends’ posts where appropriate. I love getting comments on here that tell me people actually read what I post, even if they disagree. It takes effort and time to respond instead of simply reading my post and moving on, and I appreciate the gesture.
Mark Twain once said, “I can live for two months on a good compliment.” Maybe I’m greedy, but two months is a long time. And even though I’m a very independent person with a pretty solid sense of self-worth, it’s always nice to get positive feedback from other people. It helps make up for all the mistakes I make, the times when I’m reminded of my flaws, and the times I’m tempted to compare myself to others.
Want an easy way to make my day? Click the “Like” button on your right and follow me on Facebook. =)
Do you consciously or semi-consciously seek validation? From whom? Does it usually work? What kind of validation is best for you?
Your Favorite Posts?
One of the most liberating and difficult parts of having a general-purpose personal blog like this is the sheer number of possible topics to write about. It also doesn’t help that I’m interested in many, many different subjects. So I need your help, faithful readers. You keep coming back because something about this blog makes it worth your time. What are your favorite topics? What should I write about more often? You can post whatever you want in the comments, or vote in the poll on the right.
Rocky Mountain High
I’m not officially adding this to my bucket list quite yet because quite frankly, I don’t know whether I have what it takes to finish this thing. But I found a race perhaps like no other: the Pike’s Peak Marathon. Even non-runners have heard of the big marathons like New York and Boston, but this one is much smaller and MUCH more difficult. It starts around 6300 feet at the foot of Pike’s Peak and climbs to the summit at 14,115 feet and then back down. That’s about 7800 vertical feet in a span of roughly 13 miles before you reverse it, a grade of roughly 11 percent.
Sweet. Holy. Moly.
They say you can estimate your time to the summit (roughly a half-marathon) by adding 30 minutes to your normal full-marathon time. At the summit there’s roughly half as much oxygen as you have at sea level. The winning men’s time is usually close to four hours, compared to just over two hours for the world record on a flat course. The course limit is ten hours.
I might never get to try it, but if I did, I’ll bet it would be one of the most memorable experiences of my life.
One Minute There, Then He Was Gone
By now, some of you have already heard about the Texas Rangers fan who died Thursday night. He fell over a railing while trying to catch a ball, probably for his son, and died at the hospital shortly thereafter. He was at the game with his son. Still conscious for a time afterward, he asked the people helping him to look after the boy since he was still in the stands by himself.
This sad story got me thinking. The same thing could happen to me. As a husband and father, I try to be more careful these days than I might have been as an invincible youth. But weird stuff happens, like falling over a railing trying to catch a ball at a baseball game. What would happen to my family? I’ve made arrangements so they’ll be fine financially, but what about all the other facets of life? Will Jenny feel free to remarry if she meets someone special? Who will take Brenden to play tennis? Who will teach Jonathan how to charm the ladies? (okay, he already has that one down, but you get the point)
But I don’t want to dwell on unpleasant thoughts like those. Instead, I’d rather treat this as an important reminder to treasure the time I do have with the people I love. Maybe to spend less time screwing around on my phone and more time building soon-destroyed block towers with the boys or talking with Jenny about subjects beyond pottytraining and dentist appointments. More time really living and less time just getting by.