Category: Life Decisions

The Kermit Connection

Fatherhood, Life Decisions, Muppets

Kermit-JSLYesterday, NHL asked me which Muppet I like best.  I thought for a second and answered Fozzie Bear.  However, after giving it a little more thought, I’m torn.  Though I still like Fozzie, I think I might feel a certain kinship with Kermit the Frog.

You see, on The Muppet Show (which I grew up adoring), Kermit was the leader of the gang.  However, "leader" didn’t always mean "had everything under control."  The Muppet Show was barely contained chaos.  Sometimes, the chaos wouldn’t even be "barely contained."

Kermit did the best he could keeping everything running smoothly, but you could tell that there were times when he felt like every problem he solved came gift-wrapped with three more to tackle.  His arm flailing "Yaayyyy" when introducing a guest might have been a bit of stress relief lest his froggy mind snap and have him flailing his arms while screaming out the back door.

The other Muppets would look to Kermit for advice.  If anything went wrong, they’d turn to Kermit as though he had the answers.  He did his best, but it was obvious that most times he was just making things up as he went along.

After all was said and done, he could have given up.  He could have left the Muppets behind and retired to the swamp where his only worry was catching flies.  He didn’t, though.  He kept coming back week after week, putting himself through more and more stress because he saw that the finished product was worth all of that stress and so much more.

Like Kermit’s Muppet Show, my household can feel like barely contained chaos at times.  There are times when it seems as though B and I can’t look away for three seconds without the boys arguing over something trivial.  ("That’s *MY* spot on the couch!" "*I* wanted to play with that toy!"  "No, we’re going to play *this* now.")  Even if the boys aren’t at each other’s throats, there seems to be a list a mile long of things I need to do.  Every one thing I complete seems to lead to seven more to add to the list.  Often people will look to me for advice.  They’ll assume that I know all the answers.  Sometimes I do, but more often than not I feel like I’m making it up as I go along.

I’ll admit that there are days when I realize that it would be easier to run out the door screaming, but I never do that.  Why?  Because no matter how stressful it is, no matter how many fights, no matter how tired I am from trudging through my To Do list,  no matter how much winging it I need to do, it’s all worth it.  My boys and my wife are worth all of this stress and so much more.  So I grit my teeth and shoulder the tough times so I can treasure those all-too-rare moments when the chaos subsides and it all falls into place beautifully.

Aloha Friday: 101010

Aloha Friday, B, Life, Life Decisions, Marriage

On Sunday, it will be October 10th, 2010, or 10/10/10.  The geek in me couldn’t let 101010 go by without a special post.  Since I don’t post on Sundays usually, I made my Tuesday post: Plus or Minus 10 Years.

This marked 3 firsts for me.  It was my first Linky and the first post I created a button for.  Most significantly, though, it was the first time I really apologized (in a public fashion) for something stupid I did when B and I were engaged.  You’ll have to read my post to see what it was.  (Hey, you didn’t expect me to just tell you, now did you?)  Needless to say, I thought I was doing the right thing at the time but hindsight (being 20/20 and all) has shown me how wrong I was.

Thus, my Aloha Friday question for today is: Have you ever done something that affected a loved one that you thought was the right thing at the time only to realize later was the wrong action?

After you answer my Aloha Friday question, stop by my LuLu.com Photo Book giveaway and B’s CardsDirect $50 gift card giveaway.

Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the Linky there if you are participating.

Aloha Friday by Kailani at An Island Life

Aloha #58

Separating Momentum From Your Beliefs

Judaism, Life, Life Decisions, Religion

NOTE: I wanted to write about our Disney Trip today, but this post was bubbling beneath the surface and demanded to be written. I’ll get back to Disney last week. (Well, get back to blogging about it… I can only dream about going back to Disney World sometimes soon!)

I’ve written before about my “divided self.” Part of me is very scientific and wants to explain everything via the scientific method. Part of me is religious and wants to cling to the traditions that I adopted as I grew up. The two sides often war with each other. My scientific side arguing that there is no need for doing a particular thing due to Scientific facts A, B and C and my religious side arguing that there are valid reasons for doing things such a way due to laws X, Y and Z in the Torah.

As I mentioned in Shackles of Habit, though, the mere fact that you’ve done something a certain way for awhile can lead to you not wanting to change how you do things. Even if your reasoning behind the action becomes moot, is proven wrong, or if circumstances change, it can still be tough to alter your habits from what you have been doing.

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New Year, New Decade, New Me! #newme

Fitness, Health, Life Decisions

It’s a new year and a new decade. During the last decade, one of my proudest moments (besides marrying my wonderful AngelForever or having my two fantastic kids) was losing weight. I went from 255 pounds to 175 pounds (80 pounds lost) in about 2 years’ time. I was actually called skinny by people. The first time I’ve been called that in my entire life! Since then, my weight has gone up and down quite a few times. Recently, I’ve slacked off again and my weight crept back on. Not the full amount, mind you, but enough to push me above 200 pounds again.

I was planning on recommitting to dropping those excess pounds and chronicalling my efforts on my blog. Then BuckDaddy posted about his Project New Me. I decided to join in. I plan to weigh myself every Sunday morning and post about it Monday morning. I’ll include how much weight I’ve lost (or gained), how events from the previous week contributed to my weight change and any plans for the upcoming week. Look for my first NewMe post tomorrow.

Feel free to join BuckDaddy and I in making a New You in the New Year. Simply use the #NewMe hashtag when you tweet. I wish you luck with all of your plans in 2010, whether they be for weight loss or something else.

My New Year Anti-Resolutions

Life Decisions

The New Year is upon us.  As we say good-bye to the old year and hello to the new, many people inevitably make resolutions.  I made a few last year and, upon reviewing them, realized that I didn’t fulfill a single one.  So this year, I’m not going to make any New Year’s resolutions.  Instead, I decided to make some anti-resolutions.  Since a resolution is something you plan on keeping, I’d define an anti-resolution as something you plan to break.

Anti-Resolution #1: Gaining Weight

A few years back, I lost 75 pounds by following a Weight Watchers-style diet.  Since then, I’ve gained 20 of those pounds back.  I’d like to lose some of that weight.  If I were making resolutions, this is where I’d resolve to lose 20 pounds.  Instead: I Anti-Resolve to eat like a pig, sit on my rear end, and gain as much weight as possible!  I shall eat cupcakes by the carton, pound cake by the pallet and Twinkies by the truckload.  We’ll need to reinforce our flooring to accommodate my increased mass.  Small objects will start orbiting around me due to my increased gravitational field.

Anti-Resolution #2: My Temper

I’ll admit it.  I have a temper.  Most times, I keep it in check quite well.  If B and I are arguing about a point and I’m upset, I tend to get really quiet knowing that talking would only lead to my losing my temper and saying something that I’d regret later.  NHL, however, seems to have lately found the key to unlock Daddy’s temper.  I get angry and yell when I should calmly handle the situation.  This leads to increased tension and teaches NHL that, when confronted by something you don’t like, yell loudly.  Someone else in this situation might resolve to work on calming their temper down more.  Instead:  I Anti-Resolve to yell at the top of my lungs over any tiny slight.  The very foundations of our house shall shake if I don’t get my way every single time!  Seismologists will record the activity as an earthquake and people three miles away shall experience temporary hearing loss.

Anti-Resolution #3: Wasting Time

I have a bad habit of spending time idly browsing the Internet.  I’ll read Slashdot posts and comments that I’m not *really* interested in.  I’ll bounce from Wikipedia article to Wikipedia article on the hopes that something interesting will be there.  Basically, I’ll wind up entertained during that time, but afterwards will feel like it was wasted.  A normal person would simply resolve to cut their online reading down.  I, instead, Anti-Resolve to find new websites to waste time on.  I’ll read the entire contents of Wikipedia.  Twice.  I’ll read every single tweet posted on Twitter.  I’ll join new social networking sites and forums just to find new content to browse.  I’ll read more online comics (as well as their archives).  I’ll join in conversations just to make sure people know where I stand even when I have nothing of value to contribute.  Sure, I may need to quit my job and stop sleeping, but Duty Calls.

Anti-Resolution #3: Family Time

Sometimes it seems like I have no time for my family.  I get up, get ready for work, then head out.  After work, I come home, get changed, make dinner, serve dinner, eat dinner, and then it’s bedtime for the kids.  After the kids are in bed, B and I will pass the time on our respective laptops.  It would be nice to make more time to spend with my family.  And this is what a normal person would resolve to do.  However, I’m making Anti-Resolutions.  Therefore, I Anti-Resolve to isolate myself more from my family.  I’ll convert our basement into an underground lair complete with secret entrance/exit.  My family will never know if I’m home or not.  I shall wake up before anyone else, slip out undetected, then slip back into my secret lair without anyone noticing.  I might walk back into the main house from time to time, but only after everyone else has fallen asleep.

And those are my 2009 Anti-Resolutions.  Wish me luck in breaking each and every one of them.

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