Rant on

[Daddymem]

Ok I got a rant here-well more like a brag.  It's about my beautiful bride of 10 years.  Yeah we just hit 10 years this Thursday.  It has been an unbelievable journey.  We have been through so much pain and heartache and so much happiness and joy.  I couldn't think of another person in this world I would rather have spent this last decade with.  I have watched her grow from the little girl I fell in love with at the pizza shop to this beautiful woman, this loving wife, caring mother, extraordinary chef, incredible friend and just all around the kind of person you wish you could surround yourself with.  I envy everything that she is that I am not.  If you can't tell, I am head over heels in love with this woman and not ashamed to admit it.  My life is so much fun with her in it, I can't imagine a day without seeing her.  I know I do not deserve her and count myself lucky to have somehow fooled her into marrying this lucky guy.  It still impresses me all that she did building this house.  I've heard some stories where couples building their houses together end up him building alone-well ain't I the lucky one, there wasn't a single day that she wasn't out there swinging the old hammer right along beside me!  Everyone I know told me how I couldn't do this-everyone but her that is.  I look forward to growing old with her.  I know there is nothing I could do to show her just how much she really means to me but hopefully she'll get just a tiny glimpse.
Who couldn't love this?

[Daddymem]

The back story. Don't read if you don't want to be bored but I'm in love and I don't care.
I was going to school out in Amherst Massachusetts and my friend worked delivering pizzas at Superior Pizza.  He was living with us for 1 semester and when he was close to leaving he got me a job there too.  The first time I came in I was in the back room talking with the boss when this cute girl came walking by and she tripped over my feet.  There was something about her that took my breath away.  Over the weeks we worked together but I didn't think she could possibly want anything to do with me.  We talked a bit and she off handedly said I should cut my hair.  You see I had very long hair, about 1/3 the way down my back.  She wanted it, so I did it.  The look on her face that first day with my new 'do!  One night she said I should go to Mike's Westview because that is where she goes.  I told my friends and they egged me on to go and they decided to be my wingmen too.  I showed up, and again I got that look from her.  We sat down and hung out, it was so much fun.  Then the clutzies took over and she somehow managed to dump a beer in my lap.  She was mortified!  But being the incredibly lucky guy I am, I have very swift thinking buddies (one of them is literally a rocket scientist now), so he grabbed the nearest ashtray and told her "don't worry" and dumped the ashtray in my lap thus negating her embarrassment.  What a great bud, huh?  I'll say we were pretty good doobies the first night and leave it at that, but I can tell one story.  We were alone and I looked into her eyes and asked her "can I kiss you" and she said back "I've been waiting all night."  But she was lying-we both had been waiting all our lives for that kiss.  After that, she and I have been attached at the hip.  Besides a few unavoidable business trips we have spent every day together.  I do so miss working next to her at the pizza place and my biggest dream would be to open a pizza shop with her and work by her side.  She makes the best pizza, calzones and subs-it's like she puts a bit of herself in them.  But I digress.  On to the courtship.  Boy it was a whirlwind and probably went too fast but not a few months into it she asked me to marry her-yes she asked me.  We set the date for a year away to make sure that this was real and of course it was.  We had the funnest wedding-people always tell us that.  We have two beautiful children after losing a few in between and wouldn't you know it super lucky again-one boy and one girl. Then there's this incredible house we built but ya'll know that story.  Here's to making more stories with this loverly gift I've been given.

[glenn-k]

Very mushy, Daddymem.  You two deserve each other.  The house was a major accomplishment.  Sassy just mentioned how fast it went yesterday - even though it probably seemed endless to you two.

While I love the picture above, you should post an anniversary or housebuilding picture of the happy couple or something.    

The only girl I remember asking me to marry her was ....   nevermind -- it's too scary to think about.

[Sassy]

How sweet, Daddymem  

[Daddymem]

Now that you mention it Glenn, we didn't get any pictures of the two of us together building that I can think of!  :-/  Either I had the camera or she did.  Gotta get some pics of us together with that spiffy new camera coming soon (I hope).

Anyways, more rant.  Do you know how incredible this woman is?  She lost her mother to cancer when Mommymem was just a tweenie.  And here she is giving back to the hospice program that helped her out.  She is an angel, befriending people on their way out of this world.  Helping them and their families get through horrible sickness always knowing what the ending will be.  She is the youngest Hospice volunteer by a mile.  I know with my situation having lost my little brother that I probably would be useless to someone else in the same situation, but I am not a great person like her.  What kind of person can go in, make friends with and ultimately end up taking care of a perfect stranger knowing they don't have much time left?  A truly amazing one.  Lucky me.  8-)

[glenn kangiser]

That is a hard and noble cause.  

I had an old buddie die of leukemia while I was the only one at his side.  He wanted to stay so badly - so many things he hadn't done and wanted to do.  I had to tell him it was OK - I would take care of checking on his daughters and letting them know, before he would finally let loose and quit struggling to stay.  They were quite a ways away and didn't really bother to show up except to divide the spoils.  I couldn't handle a steady diet of it.  I'm more of a wimp.

It's rough and takes a special person.  Sassy also deals with similar situations at the Veterans Hospital on a daily basis.  Many people and families have thanked her.  Special people - these ladies.    I couldn't do it.

You need the Gorilla Pod to go with your camera - then anything becomes a tripod.  Set the timer and get in the picture.    A friend gave me one, but I don't use it often enough.  Works great though... and reasonable.

[Daddymem]

That is one of my biggest life regrets.  My best friend was my best man for our wedding.  A few years later when we came back home to buy our house, we just got out of touch somehow.  I always did mean to get back in touch with him-then he went and died on me.  He had aids from transfusions received as a hemophiliac.

[glenn kangiser]

I worked for this friend at the Trout hatchery - he put up with lots of crap and booboos from me but was always there.  He got me interested in electronics as he also was a phone co. repairman and was in communications at Lompoc AFB during many of the old rocket launches from there.  

His leukemia was brought on by contact with something either at the AFB or solvents etc.  they told him.  Radiation? Maybe.

From the time he got it to when he went was about 6 months.  There wasn't time for much more getting together.  I flew up there to be with him the last couple days.  His wife was an extreme alcoholic and mentally unstable so drove him nuts.  Offered me his guns while he was listening.  I told here that wasn't why I was there.  She accidently set her house on fire in about 6 months and burned up.  They were into social drinking - Elks - etc, but she was out of control - probably close to the edge the entire time I knew her but lost it in the later years.  They were still both great people.  Hate to see that happen.  

I often think how much he would enjoy the underground complex.

[benevolance]

Death is never something that anyone ever gets good at dealing with... :'(

Looking after someone you love and watching them slip away day by day was the hardest thing I ever had to go through....

Years pass and you always catch yourself talking to them in the back of your mind and you hear their voice or remember the way they laughed and then you want to cry...

This is why I tell my wife that I am going to retire early...And she is too....Life is short and we are not waiting until we are 60 to travel or experiment with living off the land.... If there is something that we want the time is now...

Far as any of us know there will never be another chance on this planet...

Which is why it is awesome to see people building their dream homes while they are young enough to enjoy them....Not waiting and later regretting not getting the chance to do it...

This site the building the devloping skills for independent thought and lifestyle is amazing to me...At least...Something I have tried hard to make part of my everyday rountine

[benevolance]

BTW

Daddymem cool story....I could tell you the story of my wife but it is sappy and you know real men only chug beer and watch porn!

[Daddymem]

Wow!  Just so you know I am not being all that sappy about Mommymem's hospice accomplishments, let me tell you about last night.  
Hospice volunteers go through a training program and graduate from the course.  This year they decided to have a banquet for them and Mommymem was invited.  They kept asking her if she was going but we thought nothing odd of that.  She was going anyways.  Well now we know why they wanted her there.  She was used as an example in the training.  She was held up as an example at this banquet too.  It appears that noone else has gone to the lengths that she has.  She has been cooking with her patient because her patient was losing that ability.  She'd cook her patient's recipes with her for her boyfriend or recipes that were her mother's that she could no longer do on her own.  It has meant a lot to her patient and evidently she has been telling that to hospice.  What a thoughtful giving woman.  Man am I lucky or what?

Bah, drink beah and watch pron?  Why not drink the beah and make your own pron with the one you love?  Love is neither feminine or masculine.  There is nothing wrong with being sappy about the one person in your world that means the most-whether you are a man or a woman.

[glenn kangiser]

All that and she can build a house too.  Great that she was recognized - I'm sure that was not why she did it.  It's just the kind of person she is - not caring about making points - just truly wanting to help.

[benevolance]

Daddymem

As for your wife getting honoured...I think that people who care are people that are consistently going to go a little further to help people...And Glenn is correct in saying that this example is likely just one of many that tells about the type of person your wife truly is.

To do the job properly it takes a tremendous amount of effort to teach or be a nurse...To nuture and care for so many people...To give so much of yourself selflessly to someone else.... to do more than the minimum all the time...

When my wife gets home from School most days she is too exhausted to even speak...She just finds a spot to collapse.
Same type of thing...My wife teaches in a school where there is not a lot of money....So for young kids that are interested in Music...My wife teaches several children how to play the piano for free... She drives to the kids houses after school a couple days a week and gives them an hour long lesson and because she knows they have no money and likely got the piano for free through the church....She has not asked for a dollar

I tell her I am proud of her....As christians I believe that we are supposed to know what to do....We are not supposed to wonder... This is just not a christian thing... IF you had parents that brought you up correctly and you have a strong moral conscience then when you have an opportunity to help someone and you see someone in need...You know that you are supposed to help them. There is no gray area either...It is black and white...You know what the right thing to do is.

We all want more money and a better car....But we are very fortunate and we have many things to be thankful for...It is important that we remain humble and willing to help others who have less than we do.

The older I get the more I appreciate the difference of knowing I am fortunate even with the aggravations and frustrations in my life...

It is very comforting to know that there are good people out there...I mean if you watch the nightly news or the local news in the morning you will be sick...I cannot eat sometimes after watching the local news....Stabbings child rape it goes on and on.....

I think you were a smart cookie for latching onto your wife for the rest of your life! I know I was a smart cookie for latching onto mine as well!

just do not tell her that....

[John Raabe]

Honors and blessings to all the care givers!

They aren't respected or paid nearly as well as they deserve. It is a bit of a testament to humanity that there are so many selfless and helpful people willing to step up and share their humanity with others who may be losing theirs.

Not everyone wants or needs celebrity, great wealth or fame.

Thanks to all the human beans who work to make this planet a place for shared human experience.  

[fourx]

""The older I get the more I appreciate the difference of knowing I am fortunate even with the aggravations and frustrations in my life..."" Says it all, doesn't it?
If you can be payed to do what you love doing, what you know you were born to do, and what other people recognise as something you are very very good at, be that building houses or teaching or anything else, that beats any fancy Eastern guru's fast-track to Nirvana.  The concept of Teacher Training, while usfull to help you fill in the forms and avoid putting yourself at risk of a child-protaction issue by a disgruntled parent who's kid you have had to pull into line, is nonsense, I think.
Teachers are born, not made, and anyone who treats teaching as a job, not as a calling- or a destiny- or Karma, whatever you call it, has no place in a classroom.