Mortgage Monday: A Means To Reconnect

There has been an unexpected benefit to moving into our own house that we have enjoyed over the past several months. Since the day the movers unpacked our furniture and belongings at our new address, we have been able to get together with a number of people with whom we have lost contact over the last couple of years. With all that has transpired we, for lack of a better term, closed ranks for a while just trying to get through some of the tougher moments that we have encountered. Since moving we have been able to open up and reconnect with a myriad of people that have been nothing but supportive and understanding of all that has gone on.

Recently, we were able to invite our Rabbi and his wife to our new home for lunch. I personally owe this man a lot for helping me become who I am today most notably in serving as my mentor during my conversion. My wife and I owe them both a great deal for providing us with the support and guidance over the years specifically during a rather interesting Aliyah experience. We were lucky to have them close by when we were living in Israel and were able to meet with them on several occasions to help us with our difficult decision to return.

As I mentioned previously, this has also been the impetus, or at least one of the contributing factors, in motivating us to restart our family newsletter. It is reassuring to know that in future years these annual reports will always be coming from our home… there is no longer the question of from where the newsletter will be sent. And we no longer have to include a section about moving. By the way, after a few unexpected delays, they are finally in the mail!

Most importantly, over the past few months, our home has been a means to reconnect with people. As I have admitted before, I am not the best person at keeping in touch with others. This has proven to be a great way to restart long dormant conversations and a means to discuss updates with friends and find out what they have been up to. Of course, now the goal is to keep myself from reverting back into old habits and putting forth the effort, and finding the time, to have substantive conversations with friends and family that I truly enjoy talking to and with which I continue to have great conversations.  

Sunday Search: Restarting Our Tradition

Our newsletter will look nothing like this!

Years ago my wife and I would pull together a holiday newsletter recapping the previous year which was always well received by family and friends especially those that we hadn’t seen in a while. This was in lieu of a card and was usually mailed sometime between Hanukkah and Christmas each year. The last time that we pulled one of these together was in December of 2012… it has been some time since we took part in this tradition and we are determined this year to once again send out a family newsletter albeit a little later than in the past.

When we decided that we were going to restart this tradition the question that we had to answer was whether we would return to the format that we used before or would we take the opportunity to pack in three years of updates into a single, long, mailer. There certainly wasn’t a shortage of content from the previous twelve months and most people to whom we would be sending the newsletter read this blog on a regular basis. However, even given those two things we decided to go ahead and offer quick updates in a variety of categories encompassing the past three years but focusing primarily on this past year.

We had actually planned on getting this out last month but time has not been kind to us over the past several weeks which has left this project on the back burner. To be honest, this is primarily my fault as much of the content I will be pulling from and condensing from this blog. My wife has already created the template and written the sections that would simply be inappropriate for me to write so now the onus is completely on me. Thankfully, we have both been able to update our address books so that part is taken care of as well.

I know that many of you are looking at this as yet another project on the inexhaustible list of items but this is an important part of our own tradition and what we want to have marking each year as a family. Plus, for me it is the summary that everyone seems to ask for understandably not wanting to sift through the hundreds of posts from the previous year. This is our opportunity to look back on, reflect, and report to those we care about what life has been like for us the previous year. And, down the road, in addition to being a simple addition to the family history files, it will be a great reminder for us all of the things that we both enjoyed and survived in 2015.

Filling The Masonic Calendar

One of the things that I have really been noticing as I have combed through the various emails and papers for the lodge summer newsletter is all the events that are taking place in the fall. While the lodge itself has a number of things on the schedule, there are a slew of other places where brethren will be congregating. From Grand Lodge to appendant bodies, there are countless dates and times that I am having to sift through… while I would like to include everything, it is becoming less and less likely that all of these events will be represented on the calendar.

So, with the long list in hand, I have had to figure out a means of prioritizing them. First, our lodge. This is pretty self-explanatory. We need to make sure that all the brethren are aware of all the events that we have planned for the remainder of the year. This includes an open house, blood drive, various programs, and all the usual meetings and fellowship nights that we have all become accustom to seeing on the calendar. While the last two aren’t really necessary (as we all know this part of our masonic schedule), it is a helpful reminder for all of us and it demonstrates the importance of these regular meetings.

Next on my list are the variety of events of which I have received notice from the Grand Lodge. In addition to the quarterly and annual meetings at the end of the year there are also other events such as a corner stone laying ceremony in September. Grand Lodge events are a great way to meet brethren from across the Commonwealth. I have enjoyed every one of them and always encourage new brothers to do so as well. Personally, I have not been able to attend a cornerstone ceremony so I will be sure to mark it on my personal calendar along with the others.

Things are already starting to fill up the remaining months of the year. Here is when I look to the other district and family events. They are both, theoretically, close to home and also provide each of us the opportunity to bring our families to dinners, picnics, Autumn Days in Elizabethtown, and other events. I always enjoy the opportunities to share these great times of fun and fellowship with my family.

Here is where things kind of go back and forth for me when working on the calendar. With hardly any space remaining, I have to be careful as to what I can fit on the page and what has to be disseminated by other means. There are youth events as well as other appendant body events that are vying for space. Generally, I usually select those with the closest ties to the lodge. If there is a brother being honored by an appendant body (i.e. Shriners, Scottish Rite, etc.) I put that event on the calendar. If there is a youth event beneficial to those pursuing the Master Builder Award, I include those events. Other Master Builder optional events follow.  

By this time the calendar is almost certainly full. If there is a space or two left I usually put in a couple of things that I am interested in attending. It is by no means a perfect system but it seems to have served me well and I have yet to field any complaints. After all, you can easily get caught up in all that is happening in the fraternity because, for some, freemasonry only requires one night… seven days a week. We have to keep our balance, measure our days, and choose wisely when it comes to creating our own masonic calendars.

Not In The Newsletter

It is that time of year again when we take a few minutes over the summer and let the brethren know about what we have planned for the rest of the year. It is a very similar process to the monthly notice but in an unofficial format and capacity. This is the time when we have a little bit more leeway with what we include. The lodge is closed, most of us are on vacation, and communications are in the form of t-shirt and shorts rather than a tux.

When pulling this mailer together I am always surprised by both all that we have accomplished so far this year and the variety of events and activities that await us when we turn the lights back on at the lodge. It never really seems like that much when you take it month by month but when you step back it all adds up to quite the full year. And, of course, at this point it doesn’t include the things that come up right before and during the meetings… there is always and extra event or five that I hear about during that first week of the month.

However, unlike last year, I am looking back at the year so far and I am surprised by the number of events of which I was unable to participate. There have been a lot of changes at the lodge and a tremendous amount of changes in the lives of many of the brethren (including myself). I guess you could say that many of us have a completely different perspective this summer when we look back at the first half of the year and we make plans for the second half. We all have new commitments and responsibilities that impact (and in many cases enhance) our masonic experience.

Along those lines, this summer project also serves as a personal reminder of what I need to get done over the next several months (all the things that aren’t listed in the newsletter). There are so many small and large things alike with some having become a bit more complicated than they used to be. And, just as there are a variety of events that are brought to our attention each month, there are also a lot of projects that I know will be crossing my desk. Some I have a good idea what they will entail while others are definitely going to be a surprise.

Those are the things that are not found in the newsletter but are what will require my time and attention. It is something that I can’t really prepare for but I can be ready for the shift in my priority list. Those projects that fill in the limited spare time I have after family and work… another portion to be measured out in my day.

  

Let These Serve As Reminders

Even some unexpected moments can serve as perfect reminders of all that we have.

As we live our lives, go to work, spend time with family there are always reminders that pop every now and again that remind us to appreciate what we have and to remember all that we have done. The last couple of days have been accented by such reminders for me. It is both one of the privileges and trials of being involved in organizations that embrace such a wide variety of people of all ages and abilities.

The first email I received a couple of days ago was while I was working hard in Arizona completely immersed in the various meetings and classes I was attending. It was an email from the District Deputy Grand Master informing all the members of my lodge of the passing of one of our fellow brothers at an unexpectedly young age. I guess it hit pretty close to home as there is a lot more that I want to do in life and it is certainly going to take more than 15 or 20 years.

I don’t even know if all that I want to accomplish could even be accomplished in one lifetime but I at least want to give it a good shot and that is certainly not enough time to do so. It really is something that will make you think about things that you could have done differently, the time that you may have wasted, and the changes that you know you need to make but have been putting off for way too long. Essentially, why wait until the new year to make resolutions when, at this point, that means you would have let another two months simply pass you by.

Fortunately, the other note that I got was something completely different and, as a matter of fact, quite flattering. I keep this blog as a way of remembering and a means to allow anyone who wants to look into my life to do so at their leisure. I’m not the government and I am a pretty boring person so there is nothing really for me to hide. But every once in a while I will write something that has piqued some interest and that was the case today as one of my posts was reprinted in the Rotary District (7450) newsletter.

I had no idea that this was going to be done but I have also always had a standing policy that people are free to disseminate my writing so long as they give the proper credit and citation. That was the case this week and makes me think that maybe I am accomplishing some of the things that I want to do in life and maybe there is a chance that, when all is said and done, I will have made a positive impact.

Sometimes we get so caught up in going from one project or event to another and fail to see the overall arch of what is being done and the impact our actions have beyond our immediate reach. Sometimes we need these reminders, happy and sad alike, to allow us to step back and think about all that we have seen, said, and done in our lives. You may even be surprised by how far your voice carries.