My Family Fantastic

Creating Experiences That Help Relationships Thrive

Category: Relationships (Page 12 of 12)

Me & My Dad

December 16, 2012 / / 0 Comments

My Dad and I are more alike than I care to admit.  And, as I get older I realize our similarities are something for which I should be grateful. I’m getting there.

For the past ten years, our relationship has been a bit strained because my dad is adjusting to having adult children. But, last week I saw my dad in a new light.

I went to home for the 20th anniversary of the Family Foundation Fund. The Family Foundation Fund is a non-profit my dad started to mentor boys from fatherless homes. 63 boys have been mentored. But, the Foundation is much more than a mentoring program. There is an organic farm to provide produce for the families the program serves, tuition is paid for the boys to go to private Christian schools, tutoring is provided, counseling and support is given to the mothers, and the boys are matched with a Christian man that sticks with them until they graduate from high school. In short, the Foundation is a Family for young men.

Last week, I realized my dad has dedicated his life to serving others. It takes determination to stick with a program like this for 20 years. There have been times when the families have faced tragedy. And times, when there was no money for tuition. And times, when the boys have been kicked out of school for misbehaving.  But, my dad is determined.

We have had boys come to live with us when their home-life became turbulent.  My dad has picked up prescriptions late at night. And, he has visited hospitals because no one else cared…because he is caring and compassionate.

Whether you are a multi-millionaire calling for advice or a man dying of HIV. My dad will be there and he will listen and he will pray for you, because he is genuinely concerned with the lives of others. I hope when I reach my dad’s age, I can look back over my life and know that I made a difference.

The Pursuit of Excellence

December 2, 2012 / / 0 Comments

I have read The Pursuit of Excellence two or three times now, and every time I read it I learn something new. The book discusses goal setting, the importance of mistakes, the perils of the status quo, and being creative.

I have been setting goals consistently for five years. I set my goals in January, in June and July I evaluate my progress and/or adjust my goals. November and December are generally crunch time. And, crunch time is where I am now. My 2012 goals are:

1. Eliminate Debt                                                                                                                                             At one point, I paid $360 per month in interest to Sallie Mae. Sallie Mae and I are not friends. Morris and I paid off $28,000 of debt this year, and we will make my final student loan payment this month.

2. Finish Rosetta Stone Spanish                                                                                                              This goal changed to Finish Thank You Notes for Wedding Gifts and Get a New Job. Our friends are incredibly generous and kind. I know that etiquette says your have a year following your wedding to send Thank You Notes. However, I want thank folks as soon as possible. I have 28 more Thank You Notes left. I do not have a new job, yet.

3. 200 Blog Followers                                                                                                                               I did not meet this goal. However, I would like to thank Adrian, Angel, Byron, Diann, Jordan, Heather, Monica, Michaela, Nan, Quinn, and Rachel for following this blog. I am grateful for your support.

4. Get Married to the Man of my Dreams                                                                                     Done.
(Btw, I set this goal after we got engaged last year)
5. Make Jesus Famous                                                                                                                        

This is a hard goal to quantify. But, I try to accomplish it by living a life that will be pleasing to Jesus. This year I visited someone in the hospital that I didn’t know. I wrote letters to friends and family members when they were hurting or to simply tell them that I loved them. I gave money away. I texted and called people just to tell them I was thinking of them. I watered my neighbor’s garden, although I’ve never met him personally. Six of our friends joined our church this year.

6. See Japan   Done.


* I lost 4 pounds of the 8 pounds that I planned to lose before Thanksgiving.*                                                                                                                

Jury Duty and the Home Wrecker

October 8, 2012 / / 0 Comments

My maternal grandfather (not the grandfather I lived with for two years), cheated on my grandmother throughout their entire marriage. His indiscretions led to him fathering two children. I was two years old when my grandmother passed away, but his mistake colored my perspective of cheating spouses forever.

I loathe cheaters. As a Christian, I ought not loathe anyone. However, whenever a cheating scandal is alive and well in the media. I can’t help but think that the cheater is being maligned accordingly. In my view, Kobe Bryant deserved to be prosecuted, President Clinton deserved impeachment, and Tiger Woods had it comin’. I could continue.

My disgust for cheaters reared its ugly head while I served on Jury Duty too.

A gentleman on my panel, flirted openly with a lady juror. He was wearing a wedding band, and she was not. She whispered in his ear, he would laugh, and I would shoot them dirty looks. I even discussed my problem with Morris and explained that the gentleman and the “raggedy home-wrecker” came to jury duty together and spent all of our down time fawning over each other. Morris forbade me to confront the couple, but said that I could continue to give them the stink eye.

I was partially obedient. I gave them dirty looks, and sat uncomfortably close to the couple. My plan worked. The lady sat farther away, and at least they could not hold hands. I felt triumphant, because on my final day of jury duty there was no public display of affection between the two.

At the end of the trial, we had to pick a foreman. The gentleman declined to be foreman, because his wife was serving on the jury.

WHAT?!?! 

Yes, the gentleman and the lady I described as the “raggedy home-wrecker” are married.

Lesson Learned: Don’t jump to conclusions, Simone.

Question: Has jumping to conclusions ever made you look ridiculous? Looking for a friend. 

In Memory of Pete, Greet A Passerby

September 20, 2012 / / 0 Comments

After seeing Pete on my walk to work for 4 and a 1/2 years, he is gone. Pete and I weren’t close. He would say “Good Morning” and “Have a Good Day”, and I would politely nod and smile. On really hot days, I would hold my breath  as I walked by…Pete had a tendency to smell on those days.

Sometimes, I would see well-dressed folk stopping to talk to Pete, and I often wondered “why are they talking to that homeless guy?” But, now I know why. Pete was kind and cheerful.

I don’t know his story, but I imagine life had dealt him a few blows. Despite living under a tree with all his possessions in a shopping cart, he was kind and cheerful. But, I never made time to talk to him.

The world needs more people like Pete. People that will be kind and cheerful, no matter what personal challenges they face.

Restaurant Eve

July 9, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Have you ever been in a situation where the room goes silent, everything is in slow motion, and despite the fact that there are 30 to 40 people in the room you realize…you are the center of attention?

Perhaps that’s happened to all of us. We realize, we should know something that we just don’t know.

That happened to me yesterday.

Yesterday, Morris and I met a dear friend for dinner at Restaurant Eve. It was her birthday and cause for a celebration. I had not seen her in a while. So, I got a little carried away with catching up and forgot to review the menu in detail.

Note to self: review the menu, then chat.

Before I knew it our server, Don, was coming around to take orders. Thankfully, he began taking orders at the other end of the table. So, I had about a minute and a half to peruse the menu. I only understood about every other word on the menu. So, I made an executive decision to focus on the words that I understood.

Don: What will you have for an appetizer, Miss?

Me: I’ll have the Tempura Squash

Don: And for an entrée?

Me: I’ll have the Honeycomb Blueberry…

Don: ….do you mean the Honeycomb Blueberry Tripe?

Me: Yes, the Tripe.

Don: Have you ever had Tripe before?

Me: No, I have not.

Don (lowering his voice): Do you know what Tripe is?

Me: No, I haven’t the slightest idea.

The restaurant becomes quite. Morris’ eyes enlarge and his lips press together, as if he is holding his breath. We also have the attention of our neighboring diners.

Don calmly walks to my side of the table and explains that Tripe is the second stomach of water buffalo. I respond by bursting into a fit of giggles/tears and ask for the vegetarian option.

Morris learned something about me yesterday. I am not easily embarrassed. While he is completely mortified at the incident, I am airing this snafu. Morris views the incident as horrific. I view the incident as hilarious.

I’ve been warned that I may be viewed as simple-minded if this story is published. For the record,  I managed to discuss the Higgs Boson Particle (the God-Particle) and my love for all things public radio at the same dinner table. So, for now…I think I’m safe.

 

Another Blog?

January 23, 2012 / / 4 Comments

Yes, another one. My last blog was almost a year and a half ago. I wrote about my younger brother getting married before me, and my preparation to see my well-meaning family.

 

My brother’s wedding was the best wedding I’ve ever been too! It was sincere, fun, it felt like a celebration of two families coming together, and I got another amazing sister out of the deal. AND, no one asked me “When is it your turn?”, “Have you found Mr. Right?” or any other questions of that nature.

 

Well, in the time between the last blog and this blog…I hit the jackpot. Phillip and I began dating (he’s the one that actually encouraged me to do the first blog). We got engaged, and on April 20, 2012 we are gettin’ hitched.

 

So, I began thinking. I want my wedding to be a celebration of two families coming together also, but I want the chance to tell you about our families…in detail. So, here we be.

 

Over the next few months, we are going to share about our families…because they are crazy (this applies to the my side only), fantastic, and funny.
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