Firearms Friday: Returning To The Work Bench

Try as I might, it has been extremely difficult to find the time to spend at my workbench. Whenever I thought that there would be a little bit of time to spend in the basement there would be something that would come up requiring my time and attention leaving the dust to collect for another week or two below the kitchen floor. That is just how things go sometimes when trying to juggle a variety of commitments at the same time while also dedicating time to family. However, every once in a while I am able to create the time to wipe away the dust and resume putting the pieces together.

Over the past couple of weekends, while the air conditioning was being overhauled by my brother-in-law in the basement, I was able to carve out some of that time. As the pieces were being put together and secured to the studs, I was busy at my work bench trying to find some semblance of organization and attempting to get a few of the smaller planned projects completed. While I was little help with the air conditioning and duct work, I am in my element when I have my bench, my tools, and the parts and pieces with which I am familiar.

There were many moments when we were both intensely occupied by our own tasks pulling tools, hammering pieces together, and watching each of our respective projects come together. Piece by piece, minute by minute, we each took a simple collection of parts and pieces and created something functional. It has been rather relaxing to just focus on the process and each step necessary to complete a fully functional firearm. It is somethings that I can do rather quickly but I am intentionally slowing things down and focusing on each screw, pin, and detail.  

Eventually I will resume the more involved projects but, for now, I was just enjoying the few days of working with my hands on some of the most basic tasks that I have been putting off. But, the important thing now is that I have been able to take the organization to the next level and I am now fairly comfortable with how everything is set up, what has been checked off the list, and what I have yet to start but that is stored away in boxes like adult Lego sets. I don’t know when I will be back down there, there are a lot of other things that need to be accomplished, but I can now, more than ever before, get to work right away should I find that little bit of time.

TMI Tuesday: I Want My Playroom Back!

When we first started this round of renovations we tried to hold off on disturbing our son’s playroom for as long as possible. As work progressed that was no longer a possibility and our son was not happy about it. Obviously, as the doors were being worked on, even the door in the playroom, we were able to keep things relatively normal but as the flooring got underway the toy boxes began to vanish and the bookshelves disappeared.

It was tough for a few days as our regular routine was completely out the window as the carpet came up and the subfloor shown throughout the first floor. Thankfully we do have a playroom upstairs but it simply isn’t the same and our son let us know about it. While he was at “camp” during the day, when my wife brought him home he wasn’t quite sure what to make of the chaos that permeated the house. And with everything in disarray we had to further throw him off by making sure that he had his shoes on and carrying him from one spot to the next more than we usually do.

Even meal times we a bit of a challenge as he would stop every once in a while, point to the floor, and let us know that something just wasn’t right. Toward the end, the babbles were more along the lines of “when the heck is this going to be done already?” But, somehow, we managed to make it through the tantrums and the screaming and now our son is getting reacquainted with his playroom… the same as it was before but also a little different.

So far our son really enjoys the new door at the end of his playroom as it is much clearer and brings a lot more light into the room. The carpet is something that he seems to like as the different colors and softer feel are rather interesting at times. The hardwood floors are, by far, the biggest adjustment but he does seem to enjoy running around from room to room with seemingly more confidence than when he was running from one surface to another and back again. But, most of this doesn’t matter as all of his toys and, more importantly, books are back in the room and he can, once again, spend better quality time with mommy and daddy now that the work is done. That being said, the next round of renovations should be interesting.

TMI Tuesday: Hey, This Isn’t Camp!

Given the length of time that our son had been away from daycare, my wife and I decided to send him to camp this summer. This chaos that ensued during the spring took him away from the classroom and his friends so we thought it only right that he enjoy a few weeks this summer with others and, more importantly, outside of the house. Of course, it also helps that my wife gets a little respite as she has been caring for him and taking him to various places and get-togethers constantly these last few months and that is a lot to ask of her. There are also a few things that need to be scheduled and having the flexibility during the day is more of a necessity rather than a luxury.

The first few days that we restarted the routine our son seemed a little thrown off but went with it as he is always looking for an excuse to go for a ride in the car. Although he did give me quite the interesting look the first couple of days when I said that he was "going to camp" (see picture above). As he has readjusted to the routine, he is less enthused about possibly going somewhere new and now simply looks forward to “going to camp” every morning. Of course, he does give me a look as if to say, “You’re not fooling me daddy. I know that this isn’t camp. It’s the same school I was going to before.”

And part of this routine is that he is really tired when he gets home at the end of the day. Don’t get me wrong, he still insists on staying up so that he can see daddy but, if he had the choice, he would probably go to bed at around 6:30. But this seems to be getting better as well. The longer that we have had him going, the more that he has adapted to the schedule and he is getting a lot better at staying up at the end of the day.

I guess the important thing to note is that, like countless instances before, we can’t simply fool our son. He knows where he is going, he knows the routine, and he knows the daily schedule. Sometimes he doesn’t like it (especially if he didn’t sleep well the night before) but he, for the most part, accepts it. And, for mommy and daddy, while there are difficult moments, it has allowed us to get a lot more done around the house and has given us, my wife in particular, the flexibility to make some appointments during the day.

Fellowship… With Horseshoes

It was nice knowing that when I arrived at the lodge last night that there were no emergencies, no meetings that needed to take place, and nothing that needed to be completed that night. It was an opportunity to go to the lodge and enjoy the fellowship while casually discussing topics that happen to come up in conversation. What I didn’t expect was that those conversations would be happening over a game of horseshoes in the back yard.

I honestly can’t remember the last time that I tossed a horseshoe across the grass in the hopes of hearing it ring on the post. It has probably been at least fifteen years since I flipped the steel from my fingers so there was quite a bit of relearning taking place throughout the evening. Of course, the last time that I recall playing was simply as a fill in while one of my uncles took a break so there wasn’t much of a technique to be found in my past either.

The most important part of the whole evening was that fact that we could enjoy the fellowship with our brothers without an agenda to be mentioned and we were able to get to know one of our newly raised brothers a little more and in a relaxed setting. While we have had conversations in the past and I have spoken with him at great length, there is something to be said about seeing a person’s personality during a casual competition. Safe to say, more so than I was before, I am glad to have this new mason as my brother.

It is this type of environment that I would like to see constantly fostered and built upon as we move forward. This is a return to the way brothers used to interact with one another all over the world not just at lodges here and there. This is what we need if we are going to see our lodge and our fraternity as a whole thrive in the coming years and decades. Brothers of all ages and experiences simply going to lodge to enjoy the fellowship found in our fraternity.

Nights like this are part of why I decided to become a mason. It is not just about learning something new and striving to be better men, it is a brotherly bond that you share with your fellow mason, with whom you truly enjoy spending time with at the lodge and beyond the confines of the building. This is certainly something that I have to improve upon and embrace as I rarely see the brethren outside of a masonic setting. I guess I have another goal for the summer.

Last Extra Meeting Before The Break

With the conferral of degrees now having been completed for the month, the summer has now officially started at the lodge. Two new master masons will now have the opportunity to spend the next couple of months reflecting on the life changing process that they have just experienced. It has honestly been too long since I have been able to write those words but I am glad to be able to commit them to this blog once again.

While there are still a number of events that are on the calendar throughout the sweltering season including the final district visitation of the year, the Quarterly Communication of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, and a month of instructional classes just to name a few, this is the time of year that I try to dedicate to masonic reflection. A practice that I encourage all brothers to undertake during these months absent of meetings. It is this season when we make the personal decisions that determine the path we will take on our masonic journey.

Three years ago these were the months when I had to give serious consideration to run for the office of Secretary. The following year was all about making the additional efforts to bring the lodge a few steps forward. Last year, I dedicated a lot of deliberation as to whether I wanted to continue as Secretary or if I would remain and see things through a difficult and stressful time, personally and fraternally. This year, there thankfully has been a change from the thoughts that lingered with me last summer.  

This time around I am focusing on what I can do better as Secretary. Basically, there are a lot of ideas that float in and out of my head that I would like to give greater consideration rather than the limited attention they have received as fleeting thoughts. While doing this, I would like to focus on planning out the remainder of the year not just with regard to meetings and the routine tasks that are required of me but also so that I can meet the requirements for the Master Craftsman Award. Heck, if I can earn the Master Builder Award, I can earn this one too.

Lastly, I want to take the time to reach out to many of the brethren that have parted ways with the lodge for one reason or another. Whether it is simply someone that I haven’t seen in a while or those that have been suspended in recent years. I want to make sure that all my brothers have the same opportunity to enjoy the progress that we have made as a lodge and experience what the fraternity has to offer them. Most importantly, I want all my brothers to know that they are welcome anytime no matter how long they have been absent.

Looking Back On Independence Day

There is one day more than any other throughout the year that I miss being in Israel and sharing in the joy that the people of the country has to offer… Yom Ha'atzmaut. Every year I can’t help but think about all the people that we met and others that we got to know through the internet during our Aliyah experiment. Many of those people I am still in contact with to this day, nearly five years after the fact, and I enjoy seeing the lives that they have built for themselves in our homeland.

The images of that time remain vivid in my mind. While it seems but an instant in our lives, the moments are more ingrained in my being that many other that have happened before or since. I can recall the uneven stones along the sidewalk as we walked to old city. The warmth radiating from under our feet as the sun disappeared beyond the ancient hills.

I recall many of the moments of getting lost in the alleys and streets both in the daylight and well past the setting of the sun with only the faintest of sounds echoing between the buildings. However, most enduring are the moments when we were welcomed into the homes of others and into the community around us. While we didn’t fully process the companionship that was shared with us during those moments and meals, it is something that remains with me to this day. Only in Israel can you be welcomed in such a way.

Of course, what has become more poignant now is the memory of my wife and me sitting on a bench along King George Street discussion our return to the states. It was at this moment when we finally realized that we were ready to start a family. More accurately, with all the changes that were happening and things that were beyond our control, we realized that there was never going to be the perfect time and decided that it was time. In the end we were a little delayed but that was the moment when we made the decision to start a family.

However, and most will agree with this sentiment, there are two moments that supersede all others when I think of Israel. Both of these experiences were actually on our first trip to Israel during our honeymoon nearly seven years ago. They happened in relatively quick succession the first occurring when we turned the corner walking along the wall around old city (the Ramparts Walk) and saw the Kotel for the first time. We continued toward the wall wide eyes and when I laid my hand and head against the cool stone, the world disappeared around me. I will never forget that feeling.

So, on this Independence Day I celebrate the people, the land, the history, and the faith that makes Israel not just the Holy Land but our Homeland. And when we return it will be as a family and I hope to find that same bench where we had the discussion that would eventually result in our having a son. And, most importantly, I look forward to experiencing Jerusalem and Israel as a whole as a father and I can’t wait to introduce our son to his homeland. Am Yisrael Chai!

Sunday Search: Genealogy Shows Return!

While many television shows are wrapping up for the season, there is another batch of programming that is just starting their new seasons. While Who Do You Think You Are? started it’s short season a few weeks ago and is already approaching the finale, Genealogy Roadshow has yet to begin with PBS scheduling the premier for May 17^th at 8:00pm. Here is the preview for the new season:

Thankfully for many of us, having the genealogy shows starting now allows us to indulge in our passion for family history without having to miss some of our favorite dramas and sitcoms. While I am a fan of both, it is nice to take a break from the fictional world to watch people discover new aspects about their ancestors. And, in reality, some of the connections that people make to historical events and people would not be accepted as plausible in the eyes of many television producers. History will trump fiction just about every time. I have seen it and I have experienced it firsthand… it is hard to believe the stories that the facts provide sometimes.

What is also interesting to watch during this time of year are shows like “TURN: Washington’s Spies” on AMC which bridges the gap between history and fiction not only in the story itself which has elements of both but in the production as well. While you may watch scenes taking place in colonial Philadelphia in reality, many of those scenes were filmed in Colonial Williamsburg. It is actually quite interesting to watch an episode and see some of the buildings that I had walked by and through just last summer.

In fact, Colonial Williamsburg has started a sweepstakes this year for fans of both the show and the historic site. All you have to do is tweet at @colonialwmbsurg using #IspyCW every time you catch a glimpse of the colonial capital during each episode of TURN: Washington's Spies, for a chance to win. The winner will receive the following: roundtrip airfare for two, a $500 gift card, two nights' hotel stay at the Williamsburg Lodge, and two Colonial Williamsburg admission tickets.

This is one of my favorite photos from our trip to Colonial Williamsburg last summer... 

While these three aforementioned shows are quite different from one another I hope that the results are the same. I believe that history is an essential part of our knowledge and understanding the world around us and knowing your own family history can have the same impact on understanding ourselves. And the best part about it, at least for me, is that this is a never ending process. I know I will never be able to learn about every aspect of my family history let alone history in general but that doesn’t stop me from learning, researching, and sharing what I know with family, friends, colleagues, and anyone who reads this blog. After all, we must preserve history and perpetuate the ancestral knowledge that we have worked so hard to obtain in the hope that every succeeding generation knows just a little bit more.

The Last Words Of The Seder

This was the first time we saw the Jaffe Gate in Jerusalem in June 2009. 

The Passover holiday seems to have snuck up on me this year. We have yet to find a synagogue near us and I haven’t been on Facebook much lately so my awareness of the Jewish calendar is sorely lacking as of late. It is a process at times to keep track of everything and the last month it has been hard to keep track of anything except what needs to be done in the moment. It is almost antithetical to that which we celebrate during this holiday as we look to both the past and the future. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the holiday, here is a great summary from Chabad.org:

After many decades of slavery to the Egyptian pharaohs, during which time the Israelites were subjected to backbreaking labor and unbearable horrors, G‑d saw the people’s distress and sent Moses to Pharaoh with a message: “Send forth My people, so that they may serve Me.” But despite numerous warnings, Pharaoh refused to heed G‑d’s command. G‑d then sent upon Egypt ten devastating plagues, afflicting them and destroying everything from their livestock to their crops.

At the stroke of midnight of 15 Nissan in the year 2448 from creation (1313 BCE), G‑d visited the last of the ten plagues on the Egyptians, killing all their firstborn. While doing so, G‑d spared the Children of Israel, “passing over” their homes—hence the name of the holiday. Pharaoh’s resistance was broken, and he virtually chased his former slaves out of the land. The Israelites left in such a hurry, in fact, that the bread they baked as provisions for the way did not have time to rise. Six hundred thousand adult males, plus many more women and children, left Egypt on that day, and began the trek to Mount Sinai and their birth as G‑d’s chosen people.

However, what really makes me wonder and forces me to think is the line with which we end the seder… “Next Year In Jerusalem!” Not only does it make me reflect on the story itself but also my own journey through life and it makes me wonder how things would have been different had we stayed, even just a little bit longer, in Jerusalem. And when I think of this I can’t help but hope that one day we will be able to share our love for Israel with our son. We want him to know the land, the people, the history, the meaning, and the heart of Israel. So, maybe, next year in Jerusalem.

Welcome Back Extra Meetings

It has been too long since we had an extra meeting. Thanks to the work of many brothers at the lodge, we resumed degree conferrals last night for the first time in over a year. While we have had a few transfers and reinstatements since the last extra meeting, I hate to admit it but it has been that long since we welcomed a new brother to the lodge. Things are changing once again for the better and it really is a credit to many of the brothers who have taken a leadership role in the lodge.

While these are my favorite kinds of meetings to attend I was, unfortunately, unable to attend once again due to family commitments. It has been one of those periods when other unavoidable occurrences seem to be part of the regular routine. Actually, I haven’t been able to get completely caught up from the last stated so I now find myself two meeting behind with an official visitation looming in the near future. It is going to be a trying remainder of the month for sure but I am confident that I can, with the continued support of the lodge, make it through these tenuous weeks.

Even though I wasn’t able to attend the meeting, I did manage to stop by the lodge before the meeting and make sure that the candidates were present and that everything was relatively in order for the night. It may have been the most relaxed that I had seen the brethren before a degree conferral in a long time and I hope that this pattern continues as more and more petitions are received and read. Seeing this also reassured me that I was making the right decision to be with my family last night as my only concerns were at home.

By the end of the night, before heading off to bed, it was a great feeling adding three brothers to our roles following the transfer of one brother and the initiation of two others. While I don’t expect a drastic increase in membership, I hope that we can repeat our slow and steady growth from 2014 (2015 was an off year) and build upon these additions to the lodge. At the very least, it will be great to see new masons pursuing the Master Builder Award again along with mentors pursuing the newly established Master Craftsman Award (or Master Pillar Award for that matter). It will take time and effort, but we gladly give of ourselves as these meetings and pursuits will certainly pay dividends in the future.

Business Trip Recovery

One of the most difficult aspects of a business trip is the recovery afterward. Not only is it the work projects that, for the most part, were put on hold during my time out of the office but, more importantly, it is about making up the time with family and returning to our usual routine. No matter what I have tried it has yet to be made any easier.

What didn’t help this time around was the fact that I few down to Atlanta over the weekend not feeling well and after a few days of early mornings and late nights, I was really feeling like ‘crap on toast’ upon my return. Further complicating the matter was the fact that I had a lodge meeting on the schedule for the evening following my return and there was no possibility of staying home from work that day either. And because that wasn’t enough, both my wife and son were fighting off something.

Just one of these things would have kinked the works enough to make the simple task of getting work done even more difficult but having everything descend upon me all at one time has made the day less than fun. Makes me wish that I had caught up on everything else, the multitude of open projects, prior to my departure. I guess this is just one of those instances when you just put your head down and work until you can’t work anymore.

It really is astounding how much things have changed over the last few years. Walking out the door has become harder and harder with every tear and disappointed look on my son’s face and knowing that there is the possibility that I might miss something while I am gone is nearly an unbearable feeling to hold in throughout the day. And while I know that I am forgiven soon after returning home, the sadness that I have caused during the week is something that I wish I could take back.

Thankfully, this last trip concludes the bulk of my business travel for the year with only a few quick day trips that could pop up during the remainder of the year. I am hoping that my son will better understand the situation next year and that I might be able to have my family join me in the future. It would further complicate the travel but a complication that I welcome.

Back To Rotary: Upcoming Presentations

When I felt my phone vibrate I immediately thought it was one of the usual family or lodge suspects sending me an update or asking me a question. What I didn’t expect to read when I opened up my text messages was a request from the President of the Rotary Club of Bala Cynwyd – Narberth to be a guest speaker at one of the upcoming meetings. While it has been some time since I was last a regular member, I am still proud to hold the title of Honorary Rotarian and it will certainly be a privilege and pleasure to reconnect with the people who have continued to support me despite my long absence. Following our brief conversation, I will not only have one opportunity to revisit this find group but two opportunities to join them for lunch in the coming months.

The first presentation I will be making is on the transforming my everyday experiences into a daily blog and, recently, into a collection of books. I started my blog while still very active with the club and I have continued writing daily posts. Now numbering over a thousand, I have begun the process of transforming those posts into essay collections on individual topics.

The first book to result from this effort is The Good, The Bad, And The Adorable: My First Year As A Father which recounts all the moments from the time my wife and I found out we were having a baby all the way through my son’s first birthday. I guess you could call it a baby book on steroids. The second book, Out On the Limbs: Searching For Answers In The Family Tree, was released at the same time and includes many of the family stories that have been passed down to me as well as the recreations of some of the lives of my ancestors which I have pieced together through years of research. Of course, there are numerous more on the way this year but this gives you a sense of the subject of this presentation.   

While genealogy is a topic that I have discussed before during a meeting this presentation will be completely different than the last one. The second presentation, which was actually the original impetus for the outreach, will be on the research, application process, and joining the Sons of the American Revolution. This has been a goal for several years and now it is finally coming to fruition. During this presentation I will not only talk about the discovery of this family line which was unfamiliar to the family during my youth but the process of researching and ultimately proving this lineage to the point where it will stand up to the scrutiny of an independent third party such as the Sons of the American Revolution. Of course, this is just the beginning and I will also touch upon the repetition of this process that is before me as I begin pulling together the documentation for thirty supplemental applications.

All that is left is to coordinate a day that works in my schedule. Hopefully, this will be a regular commitment as I continue writing and researching… there are certainly enough topics that I can speak on, maybe not intelligently but enough for a presentation. But, for now, I will enjoy the opportunity to visit my club, share my passions, and spend a couple of days with some great friends.

Chasing Down Dues

Since the last time I was at the lodge, stemming from a conversation I had with one of the brothers, I pulled together a list of those brothers who have yet to pay their dues for the current year. I divided the disappointing list between myself and a few other brothers, all of whom are past Masters, with the hope that we could all reach out to those brothers specified for each of us and make sure that our fellow masons can avoid being suspended. Well, I can’t speak for anyone else but I started reaching out to the members of the lodge that I selected for myself beginning with those whom I am most familiar.

And it didn’t take long before I spoke with a brother who has had a bit of a rough time as of late. Unfortunately, I had lost touch with him over the past year but took it upon myself to reconnect with him via Facebook. While doing so I had the odd feeling that something must have happened since it had been a while since I had seen him at lodge. While he was clearly being too hard on himself, I continued to insist that he is welcomed at the lodge at any time and that we are here, I am here, should he need any assistance. After all, we are brothers.

Thankfully, after a lengthy conversation we agreed to see one another again at the lodge soon. And, despite my justified offer to remit his dues, he insisted on paying is own way. I give him credit, he had a few very trying moments in his life lately but he managed to push through them and hopefully we can bring him full circle and continue to make this good man even better.

Other discussions never even got off the ground as there have already been a few unsuccessful attempts to reach various brothers. For some their lack of dues seems to be a simple oversight while, for others, there may be a little bit of abuse of the system at play. I can’t say for certain unless I speak with them directly but their track records in the database don’t quite match up with someone facing a recent hardship. But, again, part of being a good mason is giving your brother the benefit of the doubt so I will have to wait and see.

In the end, we are a small lodge with unreasonably moderate dues so when brothers don’t pay it does hurt. It won’t make or break us but it would give us some additional breathing room in the coming year should everyone pay their own way. Heck, they should take note of my interaction above… I was ready to remit his dues on the spot but he wanted to put forth the effort and the finances to pay for himself. I tip my hat to you sir and look forward to meeting again at the lodge in the near future.

Firearms Friday: A Long Absence

It had been over four months since I was last in a gun shop so it was nice to return to Tanner’s Sports Center this week and catch up with some of the guys behind the counter. While most of my visits in the past consisted of looking around to see what interesting items had come through the door and what I would like to add to my wish list, this time it was a completely different trip as I was seeking some information regarding the current prices should I do a little bit of safe cleaning. Even with conversations such as this, knowing they are not going to be making a sale, I got help from at least a half dozen employees who were happy to help figure everything out. Try getting that service just before closing time at some of the retail chains (and some of the other local shops).

Of course, while we were chatting I couldn’t help but take a look through the used cases just to see what was being offered and how much some of the firearms were selling for. And, as many of you know and experience on a regular basis, when you look you can’t help but ask to touch. This was the case when I caught a glimpse of a FN Five Seven in excellent condition. I had only handled one other in the past but that is years ago at this point. I keep forgetting how light, functional, and comfortable those handguns are. But, I was not there to buy (and I have never spent that much on a firearm) so I handed it back for someone else to steal at $899. That might be right up there with the Desert Eagle as a couple of my lottery guns.

After chatting a bit more I left wondering when I would be able to make it back to the store again. Time is not something that I have a lot of and it will be difficult to make it back (especially with the ongoing construction that is still jamming things up for mile surrounding the store. Maybe there are a few other, more convenient, places that I will have to reluctantly explore. Now the next task will be to find a few minutes to get on the range and enjoy this difficult and relaxing hobby. However, my next trip may be sooner rather than later to the store to take them up on the prices that I was offered. I guess we will have to wait and see.

TMI Tuesday: Attempt Number Two

By the time Thursday rolled around last week we were finally getting our son back to his daily routine. It had taken some effort after our week and a half long trek through Virginia but we were getting things back to the usual daily routine. His sleep schedule was returning to normal, his wasn’t fighting his naps as much, his minor medication has been adjusted to accommodate his recent growth, and his happy demeanor was evident in the smile on his face. Everything was almost back to normal by the time my wife left for the shore on Thursday morning.

Throughout the short time near the Atlantic Ocean, our son took a few steps back. His appetite changed on a nearly hourly basis, he wasn’t sleeping, and his 'movements' were unpredictable. This of course changed his whole demeanor during the day and kept both of us, more so my wife, from getting a good night of sleep… this was on top of the fact that my wife and I are not really beach people to begin with and we were once again looking forward to the comforts of home. After our son’s experience, it is safe to say that none of us are really beach people.

Once we walked through the door on Sunday, we immediately noticed a change in his mood. He was happy to be home… just the three of us… and enjoyed playing with his toys for the better part of an hour before giving us the look that he was getting bored. At that point he was perfectly happy to lay beside mommy and daddy playing with his blanket and clutching or fingers as he yawned. But while some things improved immediately, other things were obviously still a little off. That yawning and eye rubbing was happening around 6:00… he was ready for bed and soon after let us know how much he wanted to be back in his own room and tucked into his own crib.

That first night back he went to bed two hours early, at 6:30pm, and woke up an hour late, at 8:30am, the following morning. Things are obviously off. So now we are having to get our son back to his normal routine… again! We are slowly readjusting his sleep, doing our best to calm him for his naps, and trying to get the eating schedule back to where it once was. It is one of those Groundhog Day moments when you know things are going to get better and move on but, when in the moment, they seem to take forever. Slowly, very slowly, we will return to his normal routine.

Out Of Academia

I will get back to this at some point!

Over the past several weeks I have noticed that many of my friends are leaving academia. It seems to be a nearly daily occurrence on my Facebook feed to see someone leave an academic or research institution for positions in finance, sales, and other, completely unrelated, fields. Having been in that same situation myself, I know both the pros and cons of that field and while there are many great benefits derived from leaving academia there are also a number of things that I miss on a regular basis namely the time and freedom to think, debate, and explore.

While I have enjoyed my career beyond the studious walls, there are times when I think about the work that I was able to do and the pieces I was able to publish. Those are the times when I miss the long days, late nights, and piles of rejection letters. It is a life that is fueled by the occasional kind note, acceptance letter, and rare inclusions in literary journals. And, at least for me on the literary side of things, it is a way of life that is disappearing and is rarely provides a means of financial support. This is the primary reason that I have heard from those leaving academia and it was my reason as well.

Many of us who have departed continue to find small ways to remain active in this unique world. When I first left I continued writing and submitting to publications keeping the daily routine of rejection sprinkled with acceptances. Since those early days on the outside, I did stray from writing and research for a little while but, since then, I have slowly come back to those relaxing and stressful habits.

The industry in which I now work does provide a little bit of the same feeling that I would get in academia. I still write for clients and seek inclusion in a variety of publications… a completely different set of publications but the process is quite similar. However, it has been the personal projects that have brought me back to those productive days namely researching my family and keeping this daily blog.

Even though the results are completely different from what I used to produce (and definitely less polished), I am back in the process and have a daily routine that combines my previous life with my current one. With that said, discovering where I come from, exploring who I am, and sharing both my discoveries and opinions is proving to be just as fulfilling as the work that I once produced. Maybe someday I can even go back to publishing but, for now, I will simply enjoy the process.

TMI Tuesday: Still Recovering

Recovering from vacation could be worse!

It has been just over a week and we are all still recovering from our summer excursion. While our feet have recovered and our schedules seem to be back to near normal there are still times of adjustment throughout the day. Also, having now been able to think about the trip and trying to get back to our routine, for the record, our son’s maximum vacation length is eight days.

Since our return there have been times when we don’t want to do anything or go anywhere and there are other moments when we look for things to do and places to go. The same can be said for all three of us as, every once in a while, I catch those looks on my son’s face when I know he wants to be out seeing something new. Of course, he still has the occasional moment of “where the heck am I” and “where are we going today?”

There are a lot of things that are back to normal but there are the hiccups that come with change. There are moments when our son is a little more temperamental with his eating or stubbornly not wanting to go to bed. And, with how much he grew during our week away, there are other things that need to be adjusted as well. However, all in all, he has been great getting back into many of the usual routines that he enjoys. It is definitely easier on my wife not having to carry so much stuff around and find new places to feed and change him.

It has certainly been an adjustment from seeing new things every day, being with each other all day, and not having to go to work in the morning but we are working through the change back to normal. Thankfully, in addition to being able to get caught up at work, much of the house work has been done that we put off until we got back. It is looking pretty good actually. Coming home to some of the messing things after being in clean hotel rooms was a bit of an eye opener… we are working on a better daily/weekly routine to make sure that doesn’t happen again!

While this summer has gone about as smoothly as we could have ever hoped, I know that there are few things that we have learned along the way and that next summer will be structured quite differently. It has been good to get away and spend time with family but the length and frequency of the trips will have to be adjusted moving forward. This most recent trip was a tad too long while the other ones could have been extended by a couple of days. All lessons that we will apply moving forward.

Back To Ardmore… Finally!

I didn’t realize until recently how long it had been since I was last at the lodge… I think it had been over a month as the last two meetings weren’t in Ardmore. Obviously, I had to make the time and head down there even though we were still readjusting at home after our vacation. Thankfully, having quick caught up at the office, I was able to get on the road and down to the main line in plenty of time.

When I pulled in I didn’t see any of the usual cars in the lot. I pretty much wrote it off as being a little earlier than usual and proceeded to make my way across the street to clean out the mailbox which was clearly not happy about my recent absence. After corralling the postal overflow and sorting out the items for another day, I put everything in my bag next to my laptop and headed to the front door of the lodge.

Still locked, I opened the door and was immediately hit with a wave of heat from within the walls of the building. No lights were on and the hall was in a bit of disarray. I had forgotten that the kitchen was being renovated during these hot and quite months. Walking to the back of the building it was an interesting sight to see the now blank canvass with new wires already installed. I was surprised and happy to see the progress that had been made thus far.

After about 15 minutes it was unusual to still be the only one in the building so I pulled out my phone and made a few calls. It turns out that the kitchen was not the only thing that had slipped my mind. The brethren would not be returning to Ardmore this month and instead attending the district school in Paoli. I returned after a month away only to find that no one was going to be there. However, I took the opportunity while on the phone to coordinate a few mail related items (i.e. someone to pick up the plethora of packages during the day) and double check the schedule for the remainder of the month.

I guess it is going to be quieter than usual until August. Well, at least on Tuesday nights, there is still plenty of work to be done and projects that need to be completed. But, for now, it was time to head home much earlier than I was expecting.

Don’t Mind The Cannon Fire

I can’t recall the last time that I took an entire week off from work like I did last week. While I did work from home and been out of the office for an extended period of time I was nevertheless still working. It was quite the shock to the system getting up this morning and having to drive to the office rather than the next place to visit. It was equally a drastic change to leave my son for the day after being able to spend a week and a half together.

However, I can’t say that I complete cut out work for the week. While I didn’t receive the deluge of emails that I usually sift through each day, I still had to reply to a number of requests as well as keep current on the plethora of projects always in the rotation in one form or another. And, of course, there were the calls that I had to either listen in on or provide direction on certain weekly campaigns. Thankfully no one seemed to mind the cannon fire in the background. I may have been on vacation but, as it turns out, I was still able to put in a fair amount of hours into each of the accounts.

Thankfully, I was able to schedule much of the needed work activity into small breaks throughout the week or while walking from one place to another. That is really the only way to do it as this was first and foremost, family time and I wasn’t going to ruin it for everyone else because of my corporate addiction. What really struck me about this was a conversation I had with my dad toward the end of last week when I had to stop and answer a few emails before dialing into a weekly call. In response to apologizing for the distraction his said “been there”. As if I needed the proof… I have finally turned into my father.

While it was a bit of a pain jumping back and forth at times, it paid off today as I was up to speed in about an hour rather than falling a week behind. The other benefit is that I am reaping the rewards of taking those calls and reading those emails because I am able to resume keeping work at the office and focus all of my attention when I get home on my wife and son. It may still be far from ideal and the whole thing may not seem like its balanced but it actually is working out well. 

West vs. East - South vs. North

Today was the day. After nine days on the road we returned home from our Virginia exploration. However, after Colonial Williamsburg we did make one last stopover in Richmond. Basically it granted us an opportunity to visit a city that we have never visited and it got us an hour closer to home.

We left the lodge in the early afternoon yesterday and almost immediately ran into traffic… the shift back to reality was already taking place. After unpacking one last time at our final hotel and taking a moment to breathe we walked across the parking lot for a quick, and early, dinner before getting back in the car and heading into the city. Now that we have been there once I am not sure that I will be visiting any time soon unless I need to get some family research done as it is the capital of the Commonwealth.

While most of the museums were closed we were still able to walk around a few minutes once we found an open spot in the hospital parking lot. It wasn’t much but at least now I can say that I have seen both White Houses as the Confederate White House is still standing in the middle of the city (in the middle of a hospital campus actually).

With limited space around the structure, there was still room for the preservation of a small garden in the back…

…and the front of the house looks to be well maintained.

Given recent events in this country I couldn’t help but think about the importance of these places still existing. Many of you may not like it but it is a part of our history. Many of us whose roots are in the south may even have ties to this era. I know for a fact that, given our genealogical geography, my family fought on both sides. It is a part of our past that needs to be remembered, the good and the bad, the victories and the defeats, the right and the wrong.

So that was basically the extent of our time in Richmond. From there we got back on the road and circled around a few detours before returning to the highway and the hotel where we put our feet up for the first time in over a week. And I am glad that we had the chance to do so because the drive back home today was one that I would rather forget. Just another reason why I prefer the Mountains in the west over the urban coast in the east. Back to reality and back to work tomorrow.

Revisiting The Bridge

There are only a few things that I remember from the reunion back in 1987. Obviously, I remember a few of the faces and the fun at the gathering itself but one of the other things that has always remained in my mind was seeing the Natural Bridge. It is because of this memory that I wanted to return to the natural wonder now that I am quite a bit older and am able to appreciate the experience.

                                       

Of course, memories can be rather selective and while I retained an image in my mind there was little else about the brief time we spent there nearly three decades ago. Maybe it is because of this that I forgot all about the stairs leading down into the valley…

…and the massive trees that lined the path.

Once we got to the bottom and slowly made our way down the path the first sight did not disappoint…

…and after a few family photos and listening to a brief history about the formation and ownership of the sight we proceeded down the walkway for a closer look.  

From beneath the mammoth formation it was hard to believe the different roles that the bridge has played in history not just as a tourist destination (one of the first in the United States) but also as a functional formation for the production of cannon balls during the War of 1812 (molten lead was dropped from the top which naturally formed into a ball on the way down and immediately cooled and hardened upon hitting the water below).

Looking back you can see the deeper water where the ammunition collected.

From the other side the structure doesn’t have nearly the same visual impact but still possesses an impressive presence.

Walking further along the path there is another part of the experience that is of great personal interest to me, the Monacan Living History Exhibit. It is an unassuming presentation as you approach the site with the fence hiding much of what is behind the walls…  

…but once you walk through the entry the details are impressive. The recreated (albeit downsized) offers a unique glimpse into who Monacan villages looked during the time of first contact by European settlers (note that the Monacan are included on John Smith’s map of Virginia in 1612). Some of the structures include spaces that would have been used for meetings…

…cooking and weaving…

…as well as where people slept.

The overall ‘village’ was something to behold and the experience was only enhanced when I was able to speak at length with one of the tour guides who also happened to be a member of the Monacan Indian Nation. But that is a post for another day.

From the village we continued down the path toward the waterfall.

Along the way we came across the saltpeter mine which was also used during the War of 1812. This was a full service site at the time for the needs of artillery units.  

It wasn’t long after that when we reached the waterfall. Of all the ones that we have seen in our travels it wasn’t the most impressive but when thinking about what it helped to form it was well worth the additional walking.

Having walked to the end of the trail it was time to turn around and head back to the bridge. The weather was a bit questionable throughout the day both with heat and rain possible. However, the sky remained relatively clear and offered us a reminder as we approached…

…and back under we walked.

While there are many more memories that I will carry with me from this trip compared to the brief glimpses from years ago, I couldn’t help but take one last picture as we approached the stairs. Oddly enough, the impression is just as strong with the last glimpse as it was with the first. Hopefully, it won’t take so long this time around to return.