American Idle

Sorry to have to interrupt the Wood Lady story. I'll get back to it this weekend.

But I promised some of you that Friday would be a good day to check out what was going on here and I intend to make sure that I give you all something that (I think) is worth the wait.

So tune back in on Sunday and I'll knock out the rest of the Wood Lady story. In the meantime, I want to share a little about where I've been and where I'm at today.

I've figured out what the hardest thing to do when a parent passes away.

It's not the grieving. Believe me, that comes very naturally.

While painful beyond what most can imagine, it is actually very easy to do (at least it was for me).

No, the hardest thing to do is to let go of that grief and move forward.

A couple of months ago I realized that I was like a car with the engine running but stuck in neutral.

I was letting my life idle.

And it was time to put it in drive.

So I've thought about what I wanted to do and how I want to do it and I've come to some conclusions.

I want to enjoy life. Every day we have is a gift and just because you complete one day, it doesn't give you a guarantee that you're going to get another.

I want to enjoy my family. No family is perfect. But they belong to you and you to them. I can honestly say that I've never been closer to all of my family until this past year and I am thankful for how they enrich my life.

I want to enjoy my work. I want to know that the effort that I put into what I produce matters to somebody. Thankfully, I have the chance to do that much more than I ever had.

I want to enjoy my friends. I suck at keeping in touch with people. I'd like to do a better job of that in the future.

But most of all, I want to do more of what I have found to be the most rewarding experience of my life.

I want to be a Dad, again.

Raising the Chicken with the Commander has been nothing short of amazing. The Chicken surprises and delights us with every new thing that she learns. She came home from pre-school the other day and proceeded to entertain us with what she was calling "Nummersaults."

If I didn't think she was going to be six feet tall, I'd say we had a future Mary Lou Retton living with us.

The Commander and I had every intention to give the Chicken a baby brother or baby sister but hadn't put much thought into it until after my dad's death.

A few months ago we realized that we couldn't figure out why we were waiting to have another child.

We decided to stop waiting.

So here is the big news.

Coming this November, the Chicken will be promoted to Big Sister.

And I couldn't be happier.

VW