I'm sure this comes as a shock to you.
Others have been so patient
With your constant blathering.
Not wanting to offend
They sit and smile.
They offer little in response
When you pause
And come up for air.
Undeterred
You launch into soliloquy.
Expressing your views
On politics.
On the price of petrol.
On the barman's watered down drinks.
Never once
Catching the pained expressions
Or the deafening
Wall of silence that greets
Yet somehow fails
To overpower your
Self-absorbed infatuation
With the sound of your own voice...
5.1.08
Battery Park
Charleston, SC
Yes, I'm dragging out the anniversary thing a little longer. Can you blame me? Twenty years is a long time. Seems like I've been married forever. Then again, it doesn't feel that long at all. It feels like we are just getting started.
Twenty years ago I married the dark-haired beauty of my dreams. We were young. We were clueless. We were in love.
We had plenty of naysayers predicting doom for our marriage. Friends (so called) who were convinced I wasn't capable and that Juli had lost her mind. "Wise" adults who counselled us that "love" isn't everything. We were both stubborn and weren't listening to any of the negativity. The interesting fact is, they were right. I wasn't capable of having a long term relationship. I'm still convinced Juli must have lost her mind to be willing to marry me. Love isn't everything and it definitely isn't enough to build a life around. The good news is that God is enough.
Thankfully, we started this journey with God as the center and he has blessed us every step of the way. We've had plenty of challenges over the years. Many days where we didn't really enjoy each other's company. Many days where it seemed we were walking on sunshine. We've experienced sickness. We've experienced health. We've seen financial ups and downs. We have the two best kids in the world (yes, you should be jealous).
Twenty years later...
We are still very much in love.
More so than ever.
We have plenty of challenges still ahead of us.
We still have a great deal to learn about building a healthy marriage.
Fortunately, God is still walking with us.
J...
Thanks for being mine...
We are just getting started...
The only cycling for me today is happening in Paris. Final day of the tour is on the telly and the coffee is already in the cup.
Will be doing my best to crank back the mileage this week and relax in preparation for next weekend's ride. For those that don't know, Lenae, Gretchen, Chris and I have signed up for the 21st Covington Century Bike Ride. http://covingtoncentury.org The bicycle ride offers route options of 30, 50, 80, and 100 miles and is well known for being the fastest ride in Georgia.
Apparently they put out a pace car at 25 mph for the nuts who want to try to ride a sub 4 hour Century. We will be riding the Century but will most definitly not be shooting for the sub 4 goal. We will be shooting for a 15 mph pace and a 6 hour finish. I've been so focused on training to ensure I could actually finish, I had forgotten how crazy this ride sounds. Feels very much like the marathon David talked me into signing up for a few years ago. Due to a blown knee, I never made it to that marathon. I'm very excited about finishing this ride.
I will of course be taking along the phone and posting photos and updates from the ride. You can follow along on Twitter or Facebook if you are interested.
Wish us luck. Or more appropriately, say a prayer for us (several of them actually).
So...I'm a little behind in my writing again. Surprise, surprise.
Father's Day at our house is fairly low key by my own request. I'm not one to request a day on the couch watching sports (unless the Tour de France is on). I don't need to go out to lunch with everyone else in the city. I do want to hang with the fam' and do whatever comes along. The kids went in together and got me the new Elvis Costello CD "Secret, Profane and Sugarcane". Great stuff, but not what this post is about.
No seriously...Great CD...you need to check it out.
So, if this isn't about music, what is this about? Hats, parenting and attitude. That's what this is about.
Included in a card from my lovely daughter, Jess, was a "Dear Dad" letter. She has this uncanny talent for touching my heart and inducing tears. The fathers in the room will understand. In amongst the mush she reminded me of one of the encouragements I've passed along in her search for her identity. "It's not the hat that looks good on the person, it's about the person looking good in the hat."
Sounds cryptic, I know. Oddly enough, I shared it about a straw cowboy hat she had to have but refused to wear in public. She didn't feel confident enough to wear it out. She said something about it not looking good on her. Harumph. Thus the comment, "It's not the hat that looks good on the person, it's about the person looking good in the hat."
Yeah, I know. Doesn't sound like much. It really had nothing to do with the hat.
It had to do with having an attitude of confidence. An attitude of not necessarily caring what anyone else thinks of you. It's about wearing a loud shirt, or goofy shoes or that hat that not everyone could pull off. It's about being yourself and not giving in to social convention and being anything less than who God created.
So...what's your hat?
...and when are you going to put it on?
Ok...so it's Friday night. Chaos in Maysville as usual, then...all of the sudden...nothing. Found myself all alone. Home alone on a Friday night. How the heck does that happen.
Then, as quickly as it came...it went. The college-boy returned from nowhere with others in-tow. The storm blew in and the teenage daughter called. She was damp and in need of a rescue.
Just when I was settling in for a quiet relaxing evening, it was over.
Looks like I've been ignoring my writing duties again. Going to have to get busy and start being creative again. I suppose I could always write about food again.
One of the benefits of living in the south is the early arrival of "deck season." Got home from work to find my eldest, Brett, home from college and sitting on the deck reading John Piper's "Desiring God."
Of course this lead to a deep theological discussion that lead even further to...
Yeah well, you don't need those details. Sufice it to say, it was a very good start to deck season.
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