Kids Journal - 08/13/03

August 13, 2003

Hello my children,

Well, today was the first day of school. DC, you're entering 5th grade and Gabe, you're entering 1st. This morning, before you left, I sat down with each of you and discussed the year ahead.

DC, you can often fall into a "wounded duck" mode, or "woe is me" mode, which drives your mother and I nuts. That's because, at home, you are so funny and smart and self confident and I expressed that you needed to let those things show this year. I explained that how you act the first week of school will determine how people treat you the entire year. So, I hope you take that advice to heart.

And Gabe, I explained that you had a big year ahead of you and that expectations were going to be high. First grade is a big step in the learning process and that it may get hard some times.

You looked at me and said, "Dad, you know what's gonna be really hard?"

I asked "What?"

With a wave of concern on your face, you said "College!"

I laughed and said "Let's just get through first grade, okay?" You agreed.

Then, for fun Gabe, I had you call Mommy into the bedroom and I explained to her that she had a big year ahead of her with the kids school and her school, house projects... she just looked at me and said "you're an ass."

It was funny.

Anyway, it's off to school! Another new year! Another exciting year!

It makes me so proud to see you leave the house chanting "First day of school! First day of school! First day of school!"

Love,

Dad

Faith or Faith & Works

I was reading about the poor and tragic events that occurred in Pennsylvania where a deranged man shot and killed three women in a fitness class. One of the statements reported from his blog was the following:

"Maybe soon, I will see God and Jesus. At least that is what I was told. Eternal life does NOT depend on works. If it did, we will all be in hell."

That must be the most extreme understanding of the difference between Faith and Faith & Works I have ever seen. As most people know, the Catholic Church believes it is Faith & Works that are required for Christians to live their lives according to God's teachings and, after the split by Luther, the Protestants determined only Faith was required for salvation.

Almost all Protestants I know take their Faith and convert it into Works (missionary work, evangelical work, bible studies, prison ministries), they just don't call it that. However, this disturbed murdered took something so completely out of context, ignoring reliance on Jesus, on loving your enemies, on loving your neighbor, on offering your sacrifices to God, on carrying your own cross... it's sad that someone could have misinterpreted something so obvious to most Christians and used it to ease the weight of his own evil actions.

The older I get the more I realize that context is often more important than the content.

Bathroom Finale

Okay, we're pretty much done with the bathroom. We have some sealant work to do on the shower grout which we'll do this upcoming weekend, but for the most part, the bathroom is done... THANK GOD!

Here are some picks.

Shower

Floor

Vanity and Toilet

New Vanity

I hurt, I have scraped, cuts, pulled muscles and stretched tendons. It'll take a week or so to fully recover.

But, at least we're done... almost.

Making Progress

Well, after many 'o hours of work and toil we've finally made a lot of headway on our bathroom. We have the tile up in the shower and the grout done in most of it. We have the vanity, sink, mirror and new light done. The floor tile and grout done. All we have left is the fan and the toilet.

We went with the white subway tile
because we liked the look and they were cheap.

It's been a long, long job, but Dea and I have learned a lot. She and I have enjoyed spending our time together. I would often think of mom and dad working on their house in Tewksbury or John and Irene working on their house in St. Pete.

We hope to have everything done in a few more days. Travel baseball starts in a week, so we have to be done by then.

Kids Journal - 04/21/05

April 21, 2005

Gabe and DC,

It’s been a while since I’ve written. Last night a very funny thing happened and I had to share it.

DC, you’ve been going through quite a bit of changes in your body. Puberty can be a tough thing. Hormones, emotions… tough stuff. So, last night, after your shower, you came out saying you really needed to talk to Mommy, who was out with her friends Trish and Tonia. You call her and it turns out you appeared to have a yeast infection. This is pretty common, but very scary for your. So, I held you in my arms and you cried for a few minutes. It was nice to know that I could still offer you solace during an uncomfortable time like that.

After you cry your fear out, you go back and get changed for bed. When you return you ask me a question: “Dad, who do you think has it worse with infections, boys or girls?” I didn’t understand the question, so I asked it again. “Who do you think has it worse? Boys with infections or girls with infections.” The one thing I’ve learned when discussing sexual topics with children is to never assume they know more than they do. Always ask to explain themselves or you could find yourself explaining topics this child was never interested or even knew about. So, I asked you “what type of infections do boys get?” Embarassed, you said “you know… down there!” “Where?” You replied “Dad!” I asked “the pee-pee?” “Yes!” you answered.

Now I was really confused. What type of infection happens to a pee-pee… and why does my daughter know about it and I don’t. Remembering my own advice, I assume she knows nothing and ask you to elaborate. “What type of infection would a boy get?” “Dad, you know, when the boy gets an infection there. It gets bigger.” Ewww, I thought to myself. An infection that gets bigger? Down there? Ick! Now I’m confused, intrigued and disgusted at the same time. “What type of infection gets bigger?” “Dad, the nurse said that boys get infections there and it gets bigger.”

Then it hit me and I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself.

“Honey,” I replied, “boys don’t get infections, they get erections.” “Oh, right!” you replied, suddenly remembering. “So, which is worse?” you asked. “Definitely girls have it worse with infections.” “I thought so!” you replied like a victorious martyr. Then you started to return to your bedroom, but stopped and said “And the nurse said that, whenever the boys get bigger, to never laugh at them.”

“Now that is advice you should remember for the rest of your life!” I replied and you happily and still innocently walked back to your room to go to bed.

There are sometimes in your life where you never imagined you would have such discussions. They never prepare you for this when you become a parent. It’s something you just have to know can happen on occasion. It ended up that you didn’t have a yeast infection, you were just going through changes. You were very relieved about this.

Love you,

Dad.