Is it that I'm getting old, or that I'm a grandpa?

Today started with an eye doctor's appointment. My first thought was "I would like to have contacts"...
I considered this because the glasses I have now are a hassle... if I have to go on a fire call, that means leaving the glasses behind, and hoping that  my eyes adjust enough to whatever I need to do at on scene - not always handy. It also means having to protect my glasses when going in and out of buildings and such, and the hassles of cleaning then each time - not always good when I'm running from one church service to another (which I have zero time to spare). Also, I found that when doing a baptism, and having the "great" anti-glare that my last eye doctor told me "won't smear like the older kind", I can't let the baby reach for my face, or I'm blinded in one eye for the rest of the Service.

There are lots of other reasons, but through it all, I did go get checked, and the doctor I went to this time loves a challenge, and apparently, one of my eyes is bad to make for a challenge, but he said that he could order the contacts for me to try.
Then the fun part...
A procedure that the doctor does measure the "peaks and valleys" of the cornea of the eye so he can pick the best contact lens for me. This test also detected an issue in my eyes.
The "good side" is that I 'have' to wear contact now. LOL

So now, I have to remember that I can't rub my eyes. Ever.
Sure, I might rub them accidentally or something, but I have to get out of the habit of rubbing them if they're tired or irritated.
... and I just wanted to change my appearance a little and make life a little easier. Darn it!!

Then I was trying to plan my Thanksgiving holiday. Never easy with family in different parts of the country. I thought for a while that I would be doing the "cornish hen/ stove top stuffing/ green beans by myself", but looks like I might see my granddaughter at some point.

And then as I sat down to write this, I was reading my brother blogs as he wrote of some memories. One that he reminded me of was making turkeys out of apples, marshmallows, and toothpicks. (maybe some raisins as well...)
So as I'm trying to plan out a busy Wednesday, I need to put one more thing on my "to do" list... make sure to have (or get my son & daughter-in-law to get) the items needed to make "edible turkeys"

When the doctor first explained my eye issue, I wasn't sure what to think... but the first thing was "dang it, I'm only 48 - but wait, I AM 48, and a grandpa - I'm old!" But as the doctor explained that the condition occurs in a persons 20s and 30s (I've probably had it for a while, but it's just never been checked before), I am more ready to think "the 20s and 30s have nothing on me!" LOL

I am old, and I'm a grandpa. And because of that, I'm going to teach my granddaughter some of the things that I learned when I was younger.

Old isn't about "over the hill, can't do anything"...
Shoot! "Over the hill" just means that you get to pick up speed for the fun!

So look out Liberty - Grandpa's gonna show you some fun stuff!
(And thanks to my brother for reminding me)

weather changes

At one time in my life, I really liked Fall. Really. The changing colors of the leaves, the brisk air, the cooler temps, and the high school football games.
And then I lost my "insulation".

After losing 60 pounds, I now have to bundle a little more to sit through an evening high school football game the other night (a playoff game).
Okay, I had to bundle a lot.
The problem is that I knew I would be walking a distance (great exercise), so I'm gonna wear my "work out shoes".
Big mistake.

Head to toe, I'm bundled to handle the cooler temps - temperatures that, a year ago, seemed "comfortable". But now I'm trying to stay warm during a football game while the air is 30-something degrees.
But running shoes are made of a "mesh" material so that they'll breath. That means that the cool, brisk air will blow right through. And they're made "snug" enough so the feet don't slip around on the inside.
All this equals "frozen feet".

So as I'm thinking back to the "disadvantages" of losing weight, here's another... loss of insulation.
Bring on the boots!

Paid with a kiss.

Ever have one of those days when nothing seems to work out?

• You need an answer to a question, and the people who are "suppose" to know don't?
• You can't get anything done because your "Things to Do" List is backing up like a bad toilet?
• Your throat hurts just as you have to answer the phone?
• You want to return a phone call, but you keep getting incoming calls?

BUT THEN...
As I wrote about last night, a lady and her family got out ok from a house fire, with the lady only getting some cuts on her leg.  And as it turns out, the family is kin to someone who has been attending one of my churches.
This is where they say a Pastor wears many hats.

I went to see the family today as they are staying at the mother's apartment. I wanted to make sure that there was enough food (no one ever really plans on shopping "just in case the kids are suddenly over for a few days") and that everyone had enough clothes until it was ok to go back into the house to get whatever could be gotten and washed.

Fortunately, all is well... enough food and clothes, the insurance folks were already helping the family out, fire inspectors had chatted with them, etc, so they should be able to get some stuff from the house soon.

As I left the apartment, the little boy (3 years old), yelled good-bye across the room, and then blew me a kiss.

What? Things weren't working out?
Today was a great day!

Not just your average week

In my last blog, I talked about my "fun" as a volunteer firefighter.
Maybe I spoke too soon.

Actually, I do have "fun", in a weird way.

There was our monthly fire training and meeting on this past Monday night. Not a big deal, except that earlier in the day, I put my liner back into my turnout gear.
(It was removed so that I could wear it easier due to my "larger" size, plus the summer heat, but now that I've lost all these pounds and inches, I thought I could fit just fine)
So when we're getting ready to roll out in the fire trucks to do "re-lay" some hoses, I jumped into my gear to find that it fit me much better then I thought. Bonus!
After training, however, I was sore from some joints and muscles that I forgot I had. Ouch!

And then on Tuesday, we were called out to a "porch fire". When I started for the fire station, the first thing in my mind was "the election polling place is next door - lots of people walking around, limited parking for us firefighters to be rolling in, etc".
When we got there, suited up, and jumped into the truck and rolled out the door, we could see the smoke in the sky... had to be more than a "porch". When we got there, the entire side of the house in in flames, as well as the porch. Yikes!
Thank goodness the only injuries was to the mom who got her child out somehow with only some cuts to her leg, and the main damage was to the outside, so anything inside it pretty much ok.
When we got back to the fire station about an hour later, it seemed as if *everyone* had something to do... only a few guys hung around to get all of the equipment put back together. Sheesh. So now there is a Chief and Asst Chief that isn't too happy, as well as a couple of people who had to hang around and do all the work.

Now I'm winding down, wiped out because of that as well as the election propaganda. I missed the timing of the Pierce HS football playoff game (but they won, so I can catch them Tuesday night), and I have about 9 or 10 letters to mail off in the morning, and about half a dozen calls to make.
Just a simple day, followed by a meeting in the evening.

I'm so tired.
So very tired.
So now I will let me body fall asleepppppppppppppppppppp

Would I be Gage or DeSoto?

When I think back to my kiddie days, I remember how much I liked to watch "Emergency". Maybe that's why I enjoy being a volunteer EMT/Firefighter. I have found that I can catch episodes of it on various websites and such, as well as Netflix (if I choose to sign back up for that).

Behind almost every episode was some strange "comic relief"... some odd or strange thing that was going on that would add a chuckle to the show. Today, that reminds me that life, even in the most stressful moments, will have it's weird situations.

Mine probably started a couple of weeks ago while on a call to help someone to the hospital. I was the drive in the ambulance, and the patient was ill enough to where they don't remember us assisting them. It was odd because one moment something would happen, and the next, things would totally turn around. (I can't say too much because of the privacy of the call). The end result of it all is that there are a few EMTs (me included) with sore backs because of everything that would suddenly happen.
We just have to sit back, chuckle, and shake our heads. Move on to the next call.

Last Thursday, Pierce (Nebraska) had their Trick-or-Treat night. It was moved because the High School Football team was in a playoff game at home, and the City of Pierce didn't want there to be a chance of kids getting hurt with cars going up and down the road, as well as kids at the game versus kids going from house to house, etc.
I took my firefighting turnout gear to the Pierce church (that I serve) to pass out candy to the kids as part of the "Trunk or Treat". One guy dressed up in his State Highway Dept attire, and another one was dressed as he always is when he works as an electrician, just as the lady was who is a Youth and Events Coordinator for another United Methodist Church. So you can say that we all dressed up, but not in costumes, but in our own actual clothes or uniforms.

Now fast-forward to Saturday, and Paulette had come to visit me and we decided to "get out of town". We drove to Sioux City (about an hour away), and stopped for lunch at a buffet restaurant (I hadn't been to this place in MONTHS, and wanted to "celebrate" some of my new lifestyle/weight loss). As I was getting something to eat, I watched as a lady piled on a steak, 2 cheeseburger sliders, a large portion of cauliflower with cheese, a slice of pizza, some onion rings, and one or two other items that was hard to make out in the pile.
My first thought was "it's an 'all-you-can-eat'... you don't have to get everything now; you can come back, and the food will be warm"
My second thought was something from an "Emergency" episode - "I'll bet this lady is gonna choke or drop from a coronary before i get out of here!"

So now I'm kicking back, relaxing, waiting to go to a Fire Training / Meeting. And in waiting, I'm even reminded of an "Emergency" episode of when Station 51 ended up with a dog.
Dingo has become somewhat of a "fire dog". I haven't trained her to ride on the trucks - that would take some Department approval, and she doesn't "stay" well, so when we'd jump off at a call, she would be under-foot. But when my pager alerts, she jumps up, ready to run for the door, knowing that she'll be with me as I head for the fire station (even though when I get there, she'll only be waiting in the back of my vehicle).

But I'll always remember this thought - the best call I've ever had is the one that I've never had to respond to.

Be safe.  

Responsbility

Over the past few days, I've heard of siblings helping each other out in various ways, including caring for parents, lending rides, etc.

This evening, I saw an incredible act that left me nearly speechless.

I recently wrote about how I had made contact with someone who was needing information and such about the sacraments in my church, as well as some other things. It was a moving conversation in many ways because of everything this family was going through, the person who did a great job at hospitality, welcoming, inviting, and evangelism, and the feeling of the Spirit working through me.

I got a chance to meet "some" of this family as the parents were taking the little one Trick-or-Treating.
The reason I only met "some" was because the oldest brother, 13 or 14 years old, was staying at home to pass out candy so that the mom and dad could take the little brothers out.

Did you catch that? ==> the teenager stayed home so that the little brothers could have a good time.

How we behave is picked up by the people who teach us, raise us, mentor us, guide us, etc. This family must be really strong to be able to instill a sense of loving, caring, responsible action within the teenage son so that the little brothers could have fun, hopefully learning the same responsibility as they grow older.

How do we teach responsibility to others? How do we act to one another? How do we speak? How do we behave?
Young and old alike.

Let's look in the mirror so that people don't have to hold the mirror in front of our faces for us.
(And as I'm reading in a book right now, if you're considering grabbing a mirror to hold it up to someone, you better check yourself - this usually means that you're got some serious issues yourself)

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

Romans 2:1 (NIV)