A Shared Journey

As I sat at my desk and opened my lodge folder, I couldn’t believe that it had been over a year since I found myself participating in a degree conferral. At the same time, I was excited at the prospect of being able to attend extra meetings throughout the remainder of the year. There have been some good men who have already entered the fraternity and a number of other men who have demonstrated interest. Additionally, we have already had some great brothers transfer to our lodge. It is quite the interesting group that we have brought together but also a group of brothers passionate in their own ways about the freemasonry and eager to do their part to improve the fraternity.

I have always enjoyed extra meetings as it is a time when we all come together to continue someone on their masonic journey but it is also a time when we are a little more relaxed when beyond the outer doors. The same can be said about fellowship nights but there is something about the purpose and importance of degree nights that resonates on a much deeper level for me. The simple fact of the matter is that we are all choosing to be at the lodge and participate in these important occasions not just because we believe it to be expected of us but because we enjoy the company of our brothers.

Throughout the night there was a welcoming atmosphere felt by all, newly passed brothers and all others sitting in chairs and on the sidelines. To my recollection, this is a completely different feeling than that which I experienced during the last conferral for which I was in attendance. And it was a great mix of masons from those who are approaching 50 years in the fraternity to those who upon which the last bestowed. All of us present for a singular purpose… to further our collective progress on our respective masonic journeys.

These are the nights when I walk back to the car and drive home feeling as though I have helped to accomplish something… I have participated in something much great than myself. While this is certainly part of stated meetings as well, it is a much more pronounced emotion following the conferral of degrees. What is additionally satisfying about these nights is that soon the men whom I witnesses advancing to the next degree may be the ones conferring those degrees in the future. After all, while I wasn’t present for the meeting, I know that it has already happened once during my short time as a mason.

TMI Tuesday: Baby Doesn’t Need To Know Everything!

Over the past year, especially over the last couple of weeks, I have found that sometimes the best way to protect my son is to not share everything with him. Just over a week ago we didn’t have much choice when I was rear ended on my way home. He knew that I was supposed to be home to tuck him in and when I called that night to tell my wife what had happened and that I would be home in time, he knew something was wrong and he worried about me for most of the weekend. When the same thing happened to me this morning on my way to work I was able to let my wife know and we didn’t mention anything to our son… in fact, he was happy to see me home when my wife walked through the door after picking him up from daycare.

That’s right, the same thing happened. Well, almost the same thing. Either way, our son didn’t need to know what happened…

The incident occurred while on my way to work this morning. I was traveling in the left lane heading eastbound on the PA Turnpike in inconsistent traffic. Traffic was going about 40-50 mph but, soon after passing the Downingtown exit, traffic ceased to move. I came to a halt about 1.5-2 car lengths between myself and the car in front of me. When the car came to a complete stop I noticed in the rear view mirror, first in my peripheral vision and then with nearly instant focus, that the Gray Ford F250 behind me was not stopping. I did not hear any brakes.

When he impacted the rear of the rental card I was in at the time (a White 2016 Dodge Dart for those who need the reminder) I was forced approximately 2-2.5 car lengths forward. Thankfully, I avoiding the car in front of me by guiding the now super-compact car toward the median. After taking about 5 minutes to collect myself and after Turnpike personnel blocked all lanes of traffic I drove the car to the right shoulder of the road about 50-100 yards from impact.

Turnpike personnel, PA Troopers, EMT, and the towing company were on scene soon after the accident. The other driver admitted to me and to others on the scene that he had taken his eyes off the road. The Trooper collected our information and took statements for the incident report. I was taken to the hospital in an ambulance soon after since this was the second such accident in about ten days. Thankfully, they didn’t find anything in the slew of x-ray that I received and I was discharged shortly after noon.

Just when I was beginning to feel better from the previous accident and starting to catch up on everything, I was out of the office for another day and everything else was put on hold as the stiffness and soreness set in. By the time our son came home, I was able to hide the pain and discomfort so that our son would not worry again. I hate keeping things from him but I also hate seeing the worry on his face and the tossing and turning that it causes him at night. Hopefully, this is the last time I have to hide something like this from him… hopefully this meets my accident quota for a while… I don’t know how much more my body can take of this. At least now I am in a slightly bigger car as compared to the Dart… a fully loaded 2016 Chevy Suburban.  

Mortgage Monday: Taking A Chance

This was the first attempt... really glad it fell through!

I am going to take a step back for a moment in this series and actually talk about a few months prior to us moving into the house. By the time the summer was coming to an end, my wife and I had a big decision that we had to make. Our lease was set to end today and while we had been looking at houses for some time, and we were under agreement on a property, there were no guarantees. While we usually take a more careful approach to situations, we decided to take a chance and give our notice that we will be not renewing our lease. So, when we sent our rent check in late August for the month of September, we included a note that, in accordance with our lease, we were not going to be renewing.

Technically, we had a place that, at the time, we thought we would be living but, as September slowly trudged on, that reality quickly dissolved and we soon found ourselves without a place to live come December. It was an interesting feeling of uncertainty and one that had us contemplating whether we should try to extend our lease but it was also freeing in the fact that it was one less thing to think about as we continued to search for a home. If anything, it certainly served as a motivator to get things done and step up our efforts to find a home.

Things do happen for a reason and our house hunt definitely proved that point. Within a week of terminating the agreement on the first house (based on inspections), we reached an agreement on a second, far superior, home. After talking with the bank the following week and shortening the escrow to 45 days, we knew that we would be moving and would be making the transition from a house to a home by the end of November. As it turns out, taking that chance in late August was going to pay off.

Contrary to the first ordeal which was rife with misleading statements and answers that didn’t match up with the facts and documents from the county, the process for the second house went as smooth as we could have hoped for and now that second house is now our home. No more renting, no more moving, and no more uncertainty about where we are going to be living this time next year or the year after. We are home.