I’m sitting in a quiet corner all by myself, surrounded by thoughts and beautiful people. What a delightful experience and it will last for another hour if I’m blessed. These past couple of weeks has flown by for me though I’m feeling the weight of caring for the kids, redecorating parts of the house and getting the day to day “things” done. I’m thinking that I’m trying to do too many things, too quickly, but it’ll all balance itself out soon – hopefully tomorrow – as I recognize the necessity of slowing down and getting enough sleep.
In the past couple of weeks I’ve been preoccupied with getting my mud room/laundry room done. I had a gumption that I could paint/distress unfinished cabinets and use them to create a quaint and useful space. I think I was successful, but I should be sure within the next day or two as I get the drapes finished off. I’ll post pictures soon and you can be the judge. www.theparkhouse.blogspot.com
Last week we made a spur of the moment trip to San Diego to see Balin. I had a babysitter Saturday morning and while out running errands I thought, “we could see Balin tonight”. So I called the kids and asked them if they were up for an all night drive to see their dad. They both enthusiastically yelled “YES!”. We packed up quickly and got out the door before the snow storm hit in full force. It turned out that it rained most of way to San Diego with snow right before Alpine – which freaked me out. It was dark, snowing and I was stressed. Cars were rolled over left and right and I urgently told the kids to pray. We made it safely through and it was all worth it when Sam hugged his dad and proclaimed, “I am so glad that I came dad, it’s so good to see you!”. What a sweet little boy. We settled into Balin’s apartment and headed to bed quickly thereafter.
The next two days we played in San Diego at both the beach and Sea World. It was sweet to be together after having not seen each other for 3 weeks. People ask if I talk to Balin much and I assure them we talk every day. But when we talk it’s for 5 minutes a couple of times a day with just basic information being communicated. We both miss the sitting by the fire talking about life, kids, hopes, dreams, what the day holds – we could talk for hours when we are reconnected. I laughingly told my friend that Balin gets cuter every day he’s gone and it’s true. Our conversations are deeper, time spent together is sweeter; it’s the reward we reap for the time spent apart. Is the reward worth the cost? I’m not sure. I was day dreaming on the drive home from San Diego about spending unending time with Balin – traveling, playing, serving, participating in life with others – all without time constraints. It was a lovely day dream. It reminds me of the time Balin and I took off 4 months in the summer of 2001. We were rich with time – going wherever and whenever we wanted. It was good and time well spent.
I was talking to a friend today who just got a job doing sales for a company which will require him to travel 3-4 days a week. He said he felt like he was selling out – going after the economic benefit and sacrificing time with the family. It seems to me that there are very few jobs that provide financial benefit combined with the benefits of an abundance of time. The few people I know that have time and money to spend have it because they sacrificed something along the way. My friend who made the comment is trying to get a DVD business off the ground, which from what I understand is very expensive. (They produce children’s books in American Sign Language in a DVD format.) He is calculating the costs and is making the sacrifice of time to make their DVD company successful. The hope is that the DVD’s will eventually sell themselves and they will have long term sustainable income. The initial cost is extremely high, but the payoffs could be great. In so many ways Balin and I are in the same position. Balin is sacrificing his personal time, family time, hobbies so that we can reap the rewards long term. We have a goal though and both Balin and I are on board, working towards the goal. We are not guaranteed any reward though, which if we focused on the “what if’s” in the situation we might be deterred or frustrated. So we keep our eyes both on the moment and the goal and do our best every day.
My time here at the coffee shop is coming to a close and so I best finish my thoughts and pack up. I came here with the hopes of starting some research for my job this summer. Unfortunately the Internet isn’t working here so I’ll have to carve out some time later in the week to start my studies. I talked to the owner of the company tonight and got some more details about what the job entails. The more I find out about the job, the more excited I get. When I asked Troy what details I should know about Switzerland and what were the common questions people had, he responded that most people just want to know a little bit about the flowers and then talk about their kids and grand kids. My reference point for gathering information was based on what my dad would ask- hence I am starting to study in February. My dad was famous for grilling tour guides about the idiosyncrasies of a country. One time when we were in Massachusetts, he and Balin asked probably 20 people what the difference between a commonwealth and a state is. My mental framework for being a tour guide has been shaped by my father. I learned from him how to ask people questions and have genuine interest in them and their life. I also have a healthy fear of having someone like my father on a trip and am afraid of sounding like an idiot if I don’t know the answer to some basic facts. Both are good I think. When people ask me what qualifies me to be a guide in the Alps, I think the ability to ask questions and listen are probably the biggest qualifications. Thanks dad – your spirit continues to mold me and guide me.
In the past couple of weeks I’ve been preoccupied with getting my mud room/laundry room done. I had a gumption that I could paint/distress unfinished cabinets and use them to create a quaint and useful space. I think I was successful, but I should be sure within the next day or two as I get the drapes finished off. I’ll post pictures soon and you can be the judge. www.theparkhouse.blogspot.com
Last week we made a spur of the moment trip to San Diego to see Balin. I had a babysitter Saturday morning and while out running errands I thought, “we could see Balin tonight”. So I called the kids and asked them if they were up for an all night drive to see their dad. They both enthusiastically yelled “YES!”. We packed up quickly and got out the door before the snow storm hit in full force. It turned out that it rained most of way to San Diego with snow right before Alpine – which freaked me out. It was dark, snowing and I was stressed. Cars were rolled over left and right and I urgently told the kids to pray. We made it safely through and it was all worth it when Sam hugged his dad and proclaimed, “I am so glad that I came dad, it’s so good to see you!”. What a sweet little boy. We settled into Balin’s apartment and headed to bed quickly thereafter.
The next two days we played in San Diego at both the beach and Sea World. It was sweet to be together after having not seen each other for 3 weeks. People ask if I talk to Balin much and I assure them we talk every day. But when we talk it’s for 5 minutes a couple of times a day with just basic information being communicated. We both miss the sitting by the fire talking about life, kids, hopes, dreams, what the day holds – we could talk for hours when we are reconnected. I laughingly told my friend that Balin gets cuter every day he’s gone and it’s true. Our conversations are deeper, time spent together is sweeter; it’s the reward we reap for the time spent apart. Is the reward worth the cost? I’m not sure. I was day dreaming on the drive home from San Diego about spending unending time with Balin – traveling, playing, serving, participating in life with others – all without time constraints. It was a lovely day dream. It reminds me of the time Balin and I took off 4 months in the summer of 2001. We were rich with time – going wherever and whenever we wanted. It was good and time well spent.
I was talking to a friend today who just got a job doing sales for a company which will require him to travel 3-4 days a week. He said he felt like he was selling out – going after the economic benefit and sacrificing time with the family. It seems to me that there are very few jobs that provide financial benefit combined with the benefits of an abundance of time. The few people I know that have time and money to spend have it because they sacrificed something along the way. My friend who made the comment is trying to get a DVD business off the ground, which from what I understand is very expensive. (They produce children’s books in American Sign Language in a DVD format.) He is calculating the costs and is making the sacrifice of time to make their DVD company successful. The hope is that the DVD’s will eventually sell themselves and they will have long term sustainable income. The initial cost is extremely high, but the payoffs could be great. In so many ways Balin and I are in the same position. Balin is sacrificing his personal time, family time, hobbies so that we can reap the rewards long term. We have a goal though and both Balin and I are on board, working towards the goal. We are not guaranteed any reward though, which if we focused on the “what if’s” in the situation we might be deterred or frustrated. So we keep our eyes both on the moment and the goal and do our best every day.
My time here at the coffee shop is coming to a close and so I best finish my thoughts and pack up. I came here with the hopes of starting some research for my job this summer. Unfortunately the Internet isn’t working here so I’ll have to carve out some time later in the week to start my studies. I talked to the owner of the company tonight and got some more details about what the job entails. The more I find out about the job, the more excited I get. When I asked Troy what details I should know about Switzerland and what were the common questions people had, he responded that most people just want to know a little bit about the flowers and then talk about their kids and grand kids. My reference point for gathering information was based on what my dad would ask- hence I am starting to study in February. My dad was famous for grilling tour guides about the idiosyncrasies of a country. One time when we were in Massachusetts, he and Balin asked probably 20 people what the difference between a commonwealth and a state is. My mental framework for being a tour guide has been shaped by my father. I learned from him how to ask people questions and have genuine interest in them and their life. I also have a healthy fear of having someone like my father on a trip and am afraid of sounding like an idiot if I don’t know the answer to some basic facts. Both are good I think. When people ask me what qualifies me to be a guide in the Alps, I think the ability to ask questions and listen are probably the biggest qualifications. Thanks dad – your spirit continues to mold me and guide me.
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