Funny Friday #3 – Determination Part 3 (DeTrois)

Click here for Part Un
Click here for Part Deux

The plot thickens. BigBubs is on his way to dreamland and O'henry is either enamored with the big truck belonging to the over-compensating date or the canoodling neighbor girl outside his window.

O'henry: Uh (that truck is interesting, I think I'll watch shorty with the big diesel truck awkwardly tell his date good night.)

Me: Get back in bed, now I'm going to sit here at the end of your bed and meditate because you're not going to sleep with me laying on the blanket next to you.

O'henry: Uh (I'm going to try to fall asleep in your lap again tonight, never mind, I'm too wiggly even though this was my idea to drag you up to my bed. I'll go back to my pillow.)

BigBubs: Are you staying until he's asleep?

Me:........Good Night, I Love you, BigBubs.

BigBubs: You'll leave my door open?

Me……..Good Night, BigBubs.

Me: Sa Ta Na Ma (In my head while breathing in and out enjoying the quiet until my finger is yanked again)

O'henry: Uh (I really want you to cuddle me in bed tonight.)

Me: Fine, I give up (crawling under the blanket and putting my arm around him.)

O'henry: Do Do Do (said in a sing song manner meaning he wants a lullaby.)

Me: Singing the lullaby tune I made up just for him.

O'henry: Snore

Really, is that all you wanted. You weren't going to give up until you got what you wanted? You determined little boy. Parenting dilemma: "How to foster and direct this very good attribute positively without going crazy in the mean time."

Fine (That's Fee-Nay as in French for "End")

P.S. There wasn't any more TV for Dad at this point because it was past my bedtime.

Wise Wednesday #3 - Empathy

I must admit that the title of this weeks link, 'A Platitude of Attitude' over at By Common Consent, is what really inspired me to read it.  However, I found the sentiment really inspiring.  The premise that "certitude can kill empathy" really lets one know that often the more you are certain you know, the less you are willing to listen to another's point of view.  The heart of Christianity is really one person/God not only being an example, but being willing to listen and understand.

Sunny Sunday #3 - Come Thou Fount - Verse 1

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;

Streams of mercy, never ceasing,

Call for songs of loudest praise.

Teach me some melodious sonnet,

Sung by flaming tongues above.

Praise the mount, I’m fixed upon it,

Mount of Thy redeeming love.

The ability to praise is a blessing of divine mercy and grace. The battle worn soul, devoid of strength and refuge, pleads for mercy and grace and the ability to adequately express the joy within his heart from the cooling balm of the Lord.

Christ is the fountain of life and of every blessing that flows from God. It is his atonement that bridges the gap between us and God. Our mortality has separated us from God's divine goodness and by grace and mercy alone we are allowed to reconnect with the divine through Christ.

Though we may be blind to it at times, God's mercy never ceases. He is disposed to be our protector and guide. He wants to help us because of his love for us and only because of His love for us. What joy fills our soul when we realize that there is hope. That through divine grace and mercy, God can help us win the fight and bring us back to him. To do so, we must acknowledge that it is by his grace that we can be made whole. Our souls are filled with light that we do not deserve and we desire to proclaim God's goodness with the song of the angels.

Notice where we start in this journey. It is not by recognizing our own efforts, but by asking for the gift of divine mercy that has already been extended to us. All we must do is embrace it to find the peace that we seek.

Funny Friday #2 – Determination Part 2 (Deux)

Click here for Part Un

Five minutes after getting the milk and after I had rewound (does that even apply anymore to electronic streaming media) my TV show so I could see what I missed, my finger is again assaulted.

Me: I just got you milk, what do you want now?

O'henry: Uh (come on, followed by very insistent pulling)

Me: Okay, what do you want?

Now I'm getting pulled up the stairs, so I pick him up to speed up this process. At the top of the stairs there's a choice. Right, means he wants to cuddle in Mom and Dad's bed which is only half-heartedly discouraged only because he likes to take up the whole be should we all fall asleep without taking him to his room. Or he could go left to his bed. And the choice is........Left......wow this is a surprise. You always want to go right, but tonight it's left. Wait, you want to go to bed? You're telling me it's time to put you in bed? What child ever wants to go to bed? Is it because we sent your brother to bed already and you are bored? I should just stop asking myself questions and accept this mighty miracle. Wait, this means you want me to lay with you because that's the only way we can get you to stay in your bed. But I left the TV show going.

Me: BigBubs, will you go down and pause my TV show?

BigBubs: No, I'm already in bed asleep.

Me: You're not asleep yet and this means you get to stay up later (if only for 60 seconds)

BigBubs: No, I'm tired.

Me: Please, Please, Please, Please (yes I know I sound like a five year old at this point.)

BigBubs: Fine if you make sure O'henry goes to sleep so he won't climb in my bed (which really has never happened. O'henry just toddles across the hall and climbs in bed with us.)

Me: That's the plan

BigBubs heads down and pauses the TV and comes up for another hug and kiss before bed. O'henry has now climbed into bed and is patting the spot beside him. I've been trying to wean him off the whole 'hold me to make me go to sleep' thing. Instead I have been slowly migrating away by sitting at the end of his bed and meditating. I did that the night before and he fell asleep cradled in my lap so you can see how successful this has been.

O'henry: Uh (get up here)

Me: Okay, I'll lay by you but on top of the blankets

O'henry: Na Na (Night, Night) La Loo (Love You), Uh (okay if you must but I still won't like it.)

BigBubs: Are you going to stay with him until he falls asleep I don't want him to crawl into my bed.

Me: If you would be quiet he would go to sleep.

O'henry: Uh (I'm going to crawl up and look through the blinds at the big noisy truck one of the single girls that lives next door was being brought home in by her short, over-compensating date. But they were back by ten since it was a school night even though they are both twenty somethings. It must not have been a very good date. She didn't have a smile on her face and opened her own door before he could make the trek around that massive truck. But he did walk her to the door.)

Me: O'henry get back under the blanket.

O'henry: Na Na (I just like it when you think it's cute how I say night night.)

BigBubs: Is that how he says good night?

Me: Yes, you know this already, so please be quiet and he will go to sleep.

BigBubs: Are you staying until he's asleep?

Me: Yes! Good Night, I Love You! (In my head, "Please be quiet now.)

BigBubs: Are you going to leave the doors open, I get scared when you leave the doors closed.

Me: Yes, now shhhhhhh.

BigBubs: Some mumbled unintelligible question. (Well actually it was only unintelligible because I was laying on my good ear and couldn't hear much out of my bad ear.)

Me: Good night son.

The saga has not ended yet, stay tuned for part trois (No I have any idea why I'm using French numbers for these posts.)

Image credit - Fotofly

Thoughtful Thursdays #2 - Free For All

For the first time in forever, I am drawing a blank for our Thoughtful Thursday post. I know, this is a major thing for someone that has thoughts about absolutely everything. I can usually wax platitudinous about whatever subject comes my way, hence the name of my blog. But, I have found it impossible to nail down one particular topic to induce thought and discussion. I have many ideas, but none of them want to be easily fleshed out into a long post. So today I am going to list several thoughts that I had. I may at some future time expand on one or the other of these, but right now I want you to think. After all it is Thoughtful Thursday and what better way to help my few readers then by giving them a starting point for pondering. If you feel so inclined, please submit a guest post on one of these topics.

• Find a hobby that helps you feel successful. We usually measure success by seeing ourselves improve. Taking up a hobby can be a great way to release stress and find distraction from the daily grind.
• Our reactions to different situations in our lives are very often learned responses. We can make progress in the most common areas of our lives, but when we are placed in those infrequent situations we can revert to behaviors we thought we had overcome.
• Overcoming stress and anxiety can be so difficult because it is often the stress and anxiety that holds our lives together. We we release it, we have to find new and healthy ways to run our lives.

All worthy topics to provoke thought. So share your thoughts on the subject.

Wise Wednesday #2 - Scale of the Universe

Rarely do things ever blow my mind.  This is one that does.  It is an app that shows the comparative size of objects in the universe from the smallest theorized structures to the largest.  Wow is all I have to say

http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/scale_of_the_universe_2012

Trading Tuesday #2 - Fishing

As this blog is just starting back up, I don't have any guest posts yet.  Until then, I'll just fill in Tuesdays with posts that don't really fit well anywhere else.  If you would like to submit one, please email me at DRC@waxingplatitudinous.com. Include a picture, short bio and a post that is around 500 words of any subject. 


This last weekend, we went on an impromptu camping trip to the Uinta Mountains.  Basically, we wanted to go fishing somewhere that we would actually catch a fish.  We bought fishing licences a couple months ago and had yet to catch anything.  BigBubs needed to catch his first fish.  The problem is that neither SLou or I actually like fish.  They are gross, slimy and wiggly and don't even get me started on the whole gutting thing.  You would think after a couple of kids and all those poop incidents, cuts, bruises and getting thrown up on many times we would be better at this.  SLou likes to eat fish, but I don't.  It makes me gag to even smell it cooking.  So why go fishing?

Well, because it is freakin' awesome to reel in that fish.  There is something in our hunter-gatherer genetic makeup that relishes the accomplishment of the hunt.  So while we don't necessarily like fish, we love to go fishing.  Go figure.  The problem is, neither of us has been fishing for years.  I caught my last fish nearly 30 years ago when I was 4 and it was only my second.  All I have is a picture of me holding the Rainbow Trout with a stick because I wouldn't touch it.  It freaked me out.  Life moves on and you have kids and inherit a father-in-law that is a terrific fisherman.  So a quick lesson in trout fishing and a trip to Walmart for supplies and we started a fishing extravaganza this year.

We tried Moosehorn on Saturday night, but it had not been stocked yet. Though the campground was very nice.  It was O'henry's very first overnight camping trip and BigBubs second.  The next morning we attempted Mirror Lake, but all the fish were tiny and had just been planted.  They must have also been fed because there were no biters.

Finally, we tore down camp and went to Trial Lake. I finally understand my Dad a lot better.  Dad is the one that set up everyone's fishing pole before he even got to set up his own.  So that is now my job. I set up BigBubs' and SLou's. Then I had to fix BigBubs' because he got it tangled yet again.  After all that I sat down and set up mine.  I walked over away from SLou and BigBubs and had an awful cast. It went out into the lake, but no where near where I was aiming and closer to shore than I wanted.  I was tired and decided to live with it for a minute.  I sat down on a log to rest.  O'henry was digging in the dirt with his short pole and throwing rocks into the lake.

I hadn't felt anything on my line so I decided to reel in and recast.  I started to reel in and realized that I had caught a fish.  I was rather surprised. No one else around us was catching anything and my line had been in less than five minutes.  I called SLou over to help as we didn't have a net.  I decided to overcome my fear of slimy fish and grabbed him.  Flashback to 30 years earlier and it grossed me out. More slippery and slimy than I remembered.  The fish flopped and slipped out of my hands.  SLou tried.  You should have seen it.  Two adults that are grossed out by a fish trying to grab hold of it to dislodge the hook.  Everyone around us was laughing.  I'm sure it looked ridiculous.  I mean why on Earth would you fish if you felt about them how SLou and I do.  But, I just caught one and remembered why.  It's freakin' awesome to reel that sucker in.

Well, lesson learned.  Don't hold it over the water.  The line broke and the fish went right into the water.  It sat there for a moment while SLou and I tried to decide who was going to try to pick it up.  Then it swam off.   That was a mixed blessing because I had wanted a picture with it, but at least I didn't have to gut the poor thing.

After that, SLou and BigBubs switched to the same type of bait I was using.  BigBubs wouldn't leave his line in the water long enough to catch anything.  SLou had one steal her bait and get away, then she caught a little one.   You should have seen that.  We didn't have a "fish towel" for her so she used her shirt.  It was covered in fish scales, slime and blood for the rest of the day. We kept that fish as proof.

SLou then caught another one and called BigBubs over to reel in his first fish.  Unfortunately her pole had a problem and she couldn't get the fish in fast enough.  He was about an arms reach away and got himself off the hook.  At least BigBubs had the thrill of reeling a fish in.  He doesn't like to touch them either.  The funniest part is that O'henry realized that his pole did not have any line on it and he decided that he wanted to fish now.  So next time we'll actually have to put some line on his pole.

I still can't believe it, I caught a fish all on my own.  Yay!!!!!!  We then went to visit my father-in-law for Father's Day and I told him that he had the best fishing advice.  We were the only ones really catching anything.  We actually looked like we knew what we were doing until we actually caught one.  Next time I'll have to bring the rubber gloves though SLou made me promise not to show them to her dad.

Missive Monday #1 - Dear Bissell

Dear Bissell Lift-off Vacuum-

I am sorry to see you go, except for the fact that you shot sparks at me and almost set me on fire.  I knew then that your life had come to an end.  You were the first vacuum I ever bought.  I thought you were so cool because you had a lift off canister vacuum.  I could vacuum everything in my tiny apartment with you.

You were so much better than the piece of crap vacuum my roommate took with him when he moved out.  Shiny and new until my dad broke you within your first 6 months.  Thankfully you still almost worked.  Then I got married and was threatening to buy a new vacuum because you no longer were picking up the dirt.  I found out that day from the very nice Sears employee that I was supposed to change your filters and belt.  It was like discovering an old friend all over again. (Not really, but you just say those kind of things in a Eulogy.)

Then my children got to use you. You picked up mostly everything.   Except that you would clog and I had to get out the Shop-vac to clean you out before you would work again. As you neared the end of your life, you had a fatal accident so that you could no longer stand up on your own.  It's okay, it happens to many. Then your chord shorted out and you went down in a blaze of glory (sort of).  Now I'm buying a Sanitaire.

I'm sorry to state that I won't miss you one bit.

Yours always,

DRC

Sunny Sunday #2 - Come Thou Fount - Introduction

Continuing on the theme of Grace from last week, I am going to start a series based upon the hymn, 'Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing'. I have visited this hymn before on this blog (see here), but again am feeling drawn to it. As a musician, I have many 'favorite' songs, but this hymn ranks at the very top. For me, when paired with the hymn tune, Nettleton, it is a magic convergence that rarely happens in the music world. It is like the music and the text break beyond their bonds and give you a glimpse of heavenly grace.

I have chosen to use the original text of the hymn as basis for these posts. Each week, we'll discuss one verse and attempt to gain further insight into its meaning. The poetry of this hymn is quite good and often the meaning behind the words is lost when we sing or hear it. It must be studied and pondered.

As one day I wish to arrange an instrumental version of this hymn, I have spend quite a bit of time thinking about what it means. So many settings are triumphant and glorious. Certainly appropriate given the subject matter of this hymn. However, I was struck one day that this was not the hymn of praise from an angelic choir. Rather, it is the humble plea from the battle worn soul. A plea for grace, love, comfort and teaching. A plea from someone at the bottom and not already risen to the top.

A healthy person does not need a physician, but rather one who is sick. When we confront our mortal weakness and finally accept that we are not perfect and cannot hope to achieve perfection on our own, that is when we call out. That is when we truly desire divine grace that will heal our hearts and support us each day. Join me on this journey.

Image above (and on front-page mastheads): Sculpture “Christ and the Samaritan Woman at Jacob’s Well” by Ivan Mestrovic, 1957, seen at the University of Notre Dame; photograph by Ruth Councell.

Funny Friday #1 – Determination Part 1 (Un)

So O'henry is a little boy that knows exactly what he wants, always. At 16 months, he just can't always figure out a way to tell you, but that doesn't stop him from trying. Case in point, I was sitting on the couch enjoying a new episode of Stargate Atlantis (yes, I'm a nerd that's behind the times since that was cancelled years ago.) when O'henry comes up and grabs my hand. We actually it was my finger, but he can hold on pretty tight. He yanks me off the couch, which surprises me because he is only 25 lbs and I'm somewhere north of 250 lbs. So maybe it was his will that yanks me off the couch, because he is so insistent. I always try to encourage him when he finds ways of expressing his wants.

Led by the hand (finger actually), I am dragged into the kitchen where he points and grunts at the cupboard. He's thirsty and wants a drink. The conversation goes like this with translations:

Me: You want some milk?

O'henry: Uh (Grunted Yes)

Me: Let go of my finger so I can get a cup out of the cupboard (followed by me trying to wrest my poor pointer finger out of his iron fisted grip because he is so proud that Daddy got off his duff to get him a drink.)

O'henry: Uh (Hurry I'm thirsty)

Me: (Opening the fridge) Is milk okay? (because he has been a little off milk lately, but at 9:30pm it was either that or water and he likes plain water even less. Just like his mother.)

O'henry: Uh (I'm being patient now, but get that milk in the glass before I freak.)

Me: Here's your milk.

O'henry: Tay (thanks)

Me: Okay let Daddy get back to his outdated Sci-Fi TV show. (Don't laugh, I also enjoy Buck Rogers and the old Dr. Who.)

Check back next Friday for part 2 (Deux)

Thoughtful Thursdays – Waxing Platitudes #1 – Church

God and I have a love/love relationship. He loves me and I am so grateful for that. However, the church and I have a love/annoyed relationship. See, I had to preface that with the fact that God and I are on very good terms most of the time. Well, He’s on good terms all the time, it’s just me that has to get my act together every once in a while.

The problem is that God has to leave the running of his church up to mortal, fallible people. Most of them are there just trying to do their best and run things the way they think God would want. Many of them even ask Him on a regular basis what they think He wants them to do.

The biggest problem is that we either lose our focus or focus too intently. The path is narrow and we often find ourselves walking down either side rather than right on it. We forget the greatest two commandments, Love God and Love your neighbor. We try to function as though we can see the whole situation, yet our understanding is so very limited.

I struggle from time to time finding spirituality in the church. It becomes another thing to do or they are always asking me to do more. I have two kids, two jobs and a blog. I really don’t need any more to do. But when you say no to something or express this idea, you are looked at like you have just lost your testimony and are heading straight to Outer Darkness.

When do I get to come to church on my own terms? When do I get to just be there communing with the divine and feel the genuine fellowship of my fellow saints without expectation? My family is my stewardship right now. There is no greater work than to attempt to show my wife and children Christ like love and compassion; to lead them the way that God leads us.

I have had many experiences that make me want to leave from time to time. I wonder how I can continue to put up with things. Then I remember that every time I have gotten to the point of leaving and I pray to God to help guide me, I’m brought back. The light opens up and I see the goodness and the potential that exists in the church.

It has been the place of my spiritual growth and journey. No, I don’t limit my spiritual exploration to correlated materials, but I let the Mormon brand of Christianity be the starting point for my relationship to God. I figure as long as I am led closer to God by continuing down that path, then I must be on the right one for me.

So for now, I’ll continue to say completely inappropriate things at church, like telling my Gospel Doctrine class how much I dislike the book, “Miracle of Forgiveness”. I will also put up with the looks and the groans when I say no, my home teaching wasn’t done because my family came first. It really doesn’t matter what the people of the church think, it only matters what God thinks. That is the truth that keeps me coming back.

Image Credit here - John Martin Borg 2002 - Adulterous Woman

Wise Wednesday #1

The Money Licker – Slou was supposed to write this as a guest post for my blog, but decided to put it as the inaugural post on her new blog 'Growing Up and Loving It'.  Hilarious adventure from the other day. Please don’t be the money licker, its really gross

Trading Tuesday #1 – Random Rant

So there is no guest post this week because no one has submitted one. If you would like to submit one, please email me at DRC@waxingplatitudinous.com. Include a picture, short bio and a post of any subject that is around 500 words. 

This weeks Random Rant is about the need for a gallbladder. Unless you have had gallbladder trouble or had one removed, you have no idea what I’m talking about. Your life moves along as though nothing is out of the ordinary. Then one day, you have excruciating pain in several various locations. It doesn’t go away and get’s bad after you eat. Since you have never known anyone that has had gallbladder pain, you have no idea what it is. Four years later, it’s getting bad enough that you figure that you better go and do something about it.

The doctor orders a bunch of tests that show you have a non-working gallbladder. Like it has no detectable  function whatsoever. That’s why it hurts like hell every time you try to eat the fake eggs they give you at Village Inn. The doctor assures you that you can lead a completely normal life without the gallbladder and that you will feel much better after the surgery. You believe him.

What he doesn’t tell you is that without a gallbladder, you have no other natural system for regulating the flow of bile out of the liver. So each time you walk downstairs and smell your dear wife cooking a fat filled breakfast of sausage and eggs, you have to run for the bathroom because here comes that rush of bile.

Note, you haven’t eaten anything yet, its just the smell. Other times include when the co-worker has that delicious, spicy curry for lunch at her desk or you drive by that great hamburger place and can smell the burgers cooking. Quick, you better find a place to pull over because you have about 1.2 seconds before your bowels release.

The worst is when there are foods that you cannot live without. My personal addition is Spitz Cracked Pepper sunflower seeds. Oh they are so good, but its another lack of gallbladder attack after another.

So if the doctor tells you that you need to have your gallbladder out, by a box of Depends.

Image credits here and here

Meditation Monday #1 – Beginning

Meditation is nothing new to me, but I have never been very good at it or kept at it very long. Several months ago, as my untreated anxiety disorder was running rampant, I finally sought some help for it. While life has been much better since then, I still felt like I couldn’t get my mind to calm down. I also wanted to have some time each day for peace and quiet.

I was listening to Mormon Stories Podcast 246-249: A Mormon’s Spiritual Transformation through Meditation and the Hindu Yogic Tradition. Not only did it give some very good advice for those that wish to start meditating, it talks about the spiritual and mental benefits of meditation. Specifically it mentioned its success in helping anxiety disorders. So I had to give it a try.

I decided mantra meditation was the best for me as it gave my mind something to focus on. I chose the mantra, Sa-Ta-Na-Ma, from the Kirtan Kriya of the Kundalini Yogic tradition. At least that’s what they tell me. I really liked the meaning behind it: Birth, Life, Death, Rebirth. Though, I did not choose to do it the traditional fashion. Rather, I used the mantra along with deep diaphragmatic breathing techniques.

I have long known that proper deep breathing can relax the muscles of the torso. It is a technique used by singers and other musicians. So by combining these two things, I was able to find a technique that not only relaxed my body, but focused my mind.

After several sessions, I noticed that just starting the mantra and breathing deeply would put me in a relaxed state almost immediately. My body would align, tension would disappear and my breathing would become deep and relaxed. I now use this anytime that I need to relax and look at situations calmly.

Sunny Sunday #1 – Grace

The subject of grace has been on my mind very much lately. It is a subject that I don’t really feel like I have a problem with, but it has been at the center of what I have felt like teaching, talking and thinking about in recent weeks.

Grace, in the divine sense, usually means the predisposition of God towards us. He loves us and wants to help us. He gives us gifts to help us progress. These gifts, including the gift of salvation through the atonement of Jesus Christ, are freely given. They are given through mercy and not on merit.

God is serious when he says ask and ye shall receive. So often we feel that we must somehow earn the gifts of the spirit. That is a false heresy. God will give you gifts if you ask them of him because he loves you and for no other reason. That is the miracle of grace. You cannot earn it, you just need to be thankful for it.

Changes

Since SLou wants to get involved in the Mommy Blogger World with her new blog Growing Up and Loving It; I have been inspired to revive my blog.  So I have revamped my template and set out a plan for new posts.

The biggest problem I had was that one theme or type of writing was hard to maintain.  I tried starting separate blogs with separate themes, but it was too hard to manage.  So I've decided on a posting schedule and we now have theme days.  These themes will take the forms that I used previously in blogs, because I really liked them

•Sunny Sundays - A non-denominational spiritual thought meant to give hope & healing.

•Meditation Mondays or Missive Mondays – I’ll be switching these back and forth as needed.  Meditation Mondays will be a record of my journey with meditation in an effort to find peace and quiet in our turbulent world. Missive Mondays is a collection of Letters, Missives, Epistles, Notes and such to those I care about most or at very least, someone I need to vent at.

•Trading Tuesdays or Random Rants - The day when I will post any Guest Post submissions.  In lieu of a guest post submission, I may rant about something that bugged me this week.


•Wise Wednesdays - A link to a particularly insightful, funny, life changing post that I think you should read; likely with a dash of my own platitudes for good measure.

•Thoughtful Thursdays - Waxing Platitudes - Food for thought, or maybe one of my mindless conglomerations

•Funny Fridays - A story from the life of Me, SLou, BigBubs and O'henry, since our lives are so very far from uninteresting.

You may have noticed that Saturdays are missing from the line up.  That's because I will be posting Weekly Tips over on my music blog for Crane Music Studios.   Just in case my students need more insight than they already get at their lessons.