Thank You Team!

I think today is the day the world was supposed to end.... glad they were wrong.

Today was the end of an era for me though.  Officially, this was my last day in my role as VP of Enrollment at Harrison College.  Next week, I move over to the Chef's Academy and begin a new era.  There is a lot I can reflect back on over the past five-and-a-half years and feel very good about.  I entered into this position with a timeline of 3-5 years until I wanted to transition to something else, so the timing is right and the next opportunity is very exciting.

I have had some really great teams in the past and have worked with some very talented people, but I have to say that the team I am leaving has been one of the best groups of people I have had the privilege of working with.  The core group has been six administration team members (7 including myself) for the last three years with others joining more recently as we restructure.  I could spend some time talking about their work professionally, their expertise and how competent they are but that's not really what I will value the most from my experience working with them - at least not the things that will matter in the long term to me personally.

I chose to come to work at Harrison because of the culture boasted a balanced philosophy of Faith, Family, Health, and Job - all very important values to me, personally.  I made no shame in sharing the importance of my family and my commitment to my them as a priority in my life.  As I shared with my team more of myself and my family they came to do the same.  I've had the privilege of watching couples become parents, parents grow and share, and families become friends.  This team grew into a work family themselves because each person was willing to openly share who they are, what they believe and value, and in the end receive acceptance from the entire team.  Each person brought a very different personality and perspective to the group that after some bumpy starts, became a team trait that was valued within the team.  Our individual differences made us collectively stronger. What resulted was not just a group of co-workers, but a group of people with genuine relationships who saw the strengths and faults of each member but worked tirelessly for each other and for the betterment of a vision they all helped to build and develop.

This group embraced an approach of always moving forward (IMUA) and working with the priority of the student experience at the top of the list. There was celebration when that experience was a good one and collaborative problem solving effort when we fell short.   As a team, we were not perfect, but we worked hard to be the best we could be and called each other out when we sensed opportunity.  That ethic and determination will be something I remember and hope to achieve again.

I don't know if others share my same high opinion of this team, but no one has worked more closely with this group that I have and as a result I am confident in the knowledge that I had the honor and privilege to lead a great group of people the past few years.  I have been blessed my their impact on me personally and professionally and I will miss working closely with them on a daily basis.

So "Thank you, Team!" I can't say it better than that.

December Days - 12.7.10

Seven days of blogging in my December Days series and now a third blog about Kyron!  The other kids are starting to voice their jealousy, but I don't think any of them would want to be the focus of this entry!

One of the tough things about growing up in our house is that sooner or later you are bound to have a picture taken that you immediately want destroyed.  The older kids are able to create such a stink about it they often times will win out, regardless of how great of a candid shot I think I got.  The younger kids, don't have the same pull (yet) and I am able to capture moments like I did tonight.  (A couple years ago I took a similar shot of Caeden)

Poor Kyron is sick tonight with a fever, body aches, and feeling like he may throw up.  Mom is out at a MOPS meeting so that leaves me as the primary caregiver and comforter.  Not sure that even taking this picture is the best way to demonstrate my sympathy for him, but it certainly captured the moment and his face says the rest.

An hour after this picture was taken, he's curled up in a blanket on the couch next to me asleep for the moment. I have a feeling I'm in for a long night though....

A Bitter Sweet Thanksgiving Day

As we celebrate another Thanksgiving holiday today, it is not lost on me how blessed I am and how blessed my family is.  This year represents a first for Marcy and I though, and as a result I can't help but feel bitter sweet about today.

In our fifteen years of being married, today represents our first Thanksgiving with just our family and no extended family.  It was very strange to be without either one of our parents or siblings around, but at the same time it was something special to have a quiet (as much as it can be in our house) day with just the six of us.  I am very thankful that we have such great family to miss though and look forward to seeing them all in just a few weeks.

As I found myself missing our Oregon and Washington family today, we all shared stories from Thanksgivings past about family.  I realized what an impact my Aunt Gail had on me and our Thanksgiving Day traditions within our family.  I didn't really have Grandparents that lived near me while I was growing up, the closest thing I had was my great-aunt and uncle, Gail and Bill, who lived a few hours from us.  We spent every Thanksgiving with them at their home in Hermiston, OR.  Food was always an emphasis, but not in the way it traditionally is.  I have never really liked turkey, so Thanksgiving day dinner has never really been a highlight for me, but my Aunt Gail put out a spread of food starting early in the morning and extending into the evening that we all just grazed on all day, to the point we were always stuffed by dinner time.  It's this type of snack food spread of cheese, crackers, dips, veggies, shrimp cocktail, etc that I think of when I think Thanksgiving.  Those were some of my favorite holiday memories, our family in Hermiston with my Aunt Gail and Uncle Bill.  

We continue this food tradition in our family today, and as I grazed on all the great food all day I was very thankful for my Aunt Gail and that her memory lives on through the holidays.  That we ALL could be so fortunate to have something as simple as a cheese ball carry on our legacy!

Dear Blog, I Miss You.

It's been three months since I last blogged and I have to say that I have been missing it. Life has been plenty busy, but I miss sitting down to reflect a little on life experiences. 

So, here's an early new year's resolution (although I'm not big on them in the first place), I will be better about taking time-out to blog because someday, someone may find these posts interesting (I'm talking to YOU: Makela, Caleb, Caeden, and Kyron!)

A Beautiful Wedding

I recently had one of those experiences that made me feel old...I went to the wedding of the girl (now woman) who was the flower girl in our own wedding!  Ugh! I was excited to see her and her family ,who have been so special to us for such a long time, but fighting the reality that I am not as young as I once was.

Oregon summer evenings can be beautiful and this night lived up to all its potential.  The weather was perfect, and the outdoor location provided an intimate setting that allowed all the guests a good view of the couple and wedding party.  The bride's grandfather conducted the ceremony with poise representative of his  decades worth of experience, balanced with the pride and joy of a happy grandfather.  This was particularly special for Marcy and I as He married us 15 years ago.  The tempo of his speech, his enuciation of words and phrases, his mannerism, and the mere sound of his voice brought back memories of one of my happiest days in August of 1995. 

This evening was about something else though, and I don't mean the Bride and Groom.  These young people were coming together and using their wedding ceremony to begin a marriage union, but more importantly this was a celebration of their faith, their personal commitments to Christ, and celebration that through their marriage Christ would be honored and they would grow closer to their personal Savior.  The entire event was an expression of their faith and a sharing of their faith with friends and family.  I don't think I have ever attended or participated in a wedding ceremony where it was so evident that the joining of two people was entirely centered on personal and shared relationships with Jesus.  It was awesome to witness and humbling to be a part of. 

Their vows were the absolute best vows I have ever heard two people say to each other. Raw, honest, poetic, and emphatic of the importance of Christ as the focal point of their marriage; they were glimpses into the heart of their relationship and left those of us listening with no doubts they were on the right path.  I have always felt that Marcy and I did a great job with our vows, but after hearing Emily and Patrick's, I couldn't help but feel like I owed Marcy an apology that my vow wasn't that good!  I wish I had recorded them so I could play them for my own daughter as an example of what her Dad wants her to find in a relationship someday. Someday a LONG TIME FROM NOW! :-)

The Kirstein family were such important and positive influences in both Marcy's and my own life that it was very special to be there with them to celebrate this evening.  It was also a night of reunions as we reconnected with a special friend we hadn't seen in nearly 20 years..... and now I'm back to feeling old in that I have friends I can actually have gone 20 years without seeing.  Ugh!

Congratulations Emily and Patrick and thank you for allowing us to be a part of such a special night and an extra shout-out to Jaclyn for letting me use her photos!

Camping with the Family

I spent most of my childhood years camping as part of our annual family summer vacations. We went regularly with another family and most of my memories are great memories, or at least good enough that I want my own family to experience camping the way I did growing up. It wasn't just the fun of camping that was great for the family, we had our share of camping disasters too that years later remain bonding moments for those of us involved. I could fill pages and pages, in fact, with mishaps and funny stories from growing up camping, but I'll save those stories for another time.


It was with the fun times and great memories from years past that I approached last weekend. We went on our first camping trip as a family, and had with us great friends and their six kids. Counting our four kids, we were a party of four adults and ten children. Immediately, you're thinking: "You're crazy!" You'd be right, but I'm too close to the situation to think that clearly! My goal was for the kids to experience some of the fun that I had as a kid and break outside of our Carmel Bubble, as we call it.

We headed north to the Indiana Dunes on Friday evening after work and in hindsight it was too far and too late because we ended up setting camp late into the evening and in the dark. We woke up early in the morning to rain drops falling on our tent. "That's a bummer," I thought, but I didn't think much else until the rain began to increase and fall harder and faster. I tried to calm any anxiety in my tent by explaining that rain is just part of camping. A little water wasn't going to kill us, in fact it could end up being a little fun! The rain paused for a little bit, long enough to make some breakfast, and after cleaning up we decided to head to the lake (Michigan) and check out the beach we had heard so much about.


We arrived at the beach just in time for the rain to really start coming down. That didn't stop the kids from having fun and even jumping in for a swim in the rain. We hung out in the rain on the beach for an hour or so and headed back to camp soaked, head to toe.

We got back to camp with the rain still coming down and no end in sight according to the forecast. Flood Warnings had hit the area and we began talking about whether or not we should try and stick it out. It got worse when we went into our tent to find one of the boys had left one of the windows open and we now had water in the tent and wet sleeping bags to deal with. My optimistic, 'rain is just part of camping' attitude was giving way to frustration and disappointment. This isn't how our first camping trip was supposed to go!

All of a sudden, from outside our tent, we heard a cracking sound and then a loud thud/crash. I unzipped the door to the tent to see a tree branch had fallen on our friends' tent. I panicked at first, thinking they were inside, but as I moved closer I saw my friend standing outside and he said "Glad no one was in there!" The tree branch fell right through the top of the tent leaving a big hole that pretty much ruined the tent. That made the decision easy, we started to pack up and left the Dunes less than 18 hours after we arrived. Not much of a camping trip but, definitely a bonding experience for the family and friends. We left the campground with our clothes and gear soaking wet, bug bites over our entire bodies, and a collection of funny memories we'll share for a lifetime as our first camping experience.
The kids were definitely good for a few funny quotes:


"OMG! This is SO GROSS!" - Makela, while hand washing dishes. What a princess!


"Can we have some modern food?" - Caleb's criticism of our menu selection and cooking


"When are we going home?" - Kyron, 2 hours after arriving at the camp site.


"You're just going to leave me here to die!?" - Kyron's reaction after tucking him in for the night and before returning to the adults around the camp fire.


"Indiana bugs are meaner than Oregon bugs." - Ryon, after the local mosquitos and insects discovered Hawaiians taste better than Hoosiers

Not your typical Sports role model

I've been a sports fan my entire life.  I've grown up admiring sports figures and I am raising kids who are following firm in my footsteps.  As fans, we're drawn to the superstars that hit big shots or the perennial all-star with historical career stats.  We dream of being able to do the super human feats our sports icons are able to do, but most of the time have a difficult time relating to a professional athlete because their world seems so much different than our own.  We rarely have any idea what kind of person they really are, what their real character is and even if we should be admiring these people.  I try and remind my kids that in most cases we can admire their athletic talent, but we should be careful about trying to mimic everything about our professional sports heroes. They too, after all, are flawed people.   So are the officials and umpires, but in the chaos that ensued at the end of the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians baseball game last night a different kind of role model showed himself.

Umpire Jim Joyce made a huge blunder that cost Armando Galarraga, a pitcher for the Tigers, a perfect game, one of the most elusive feats in baseball.  Joyce called a runner safe on a play that he was clearly out and every replay angle confirmed that Joyce missed the call.  So all the talk on the radio this morning and into the afternoon centered around instant replay's role in baseball, and I can understand that being everyone's concern.  For me, however, the real surprise  and point of discussion around the evening's event came in how Joyce handled himself after the game.  Joyce acknowledged his mistake, acknowledged the impact it had on the game and Galarraga, apologized for his error, and accepted responsibility for his mistake.  He didn't just do this with his peers, but he went directly to Gallarraga and then to the media with humility and acceptance of his accountability to his actions.


It is an awesome example for others and especially for my kids.  It's been great fodder for conversations tonight about trying your best and accepting responsibilities for the results, good and bad.  It's hard to be willing to be held accountable for failures, but Joyce showed the courage and humility that it takes.  As a result, it could be argued that people have a lot more respect and higher regard for him today than they did before he screwed up baseball history.  We all make mistakes in our job and as we watched in amazement as Joyce made possibly the biggest of his career, many of us were sympathetic to his situation.  The professionalism he demonstrated and his character and integrity that has shown through in the past 24 hours have given evidence that there are more than just athletes to look up to in professional sports.

It's all thanks to Twitter...

Last week Wednesday we had a terrible experience at the airport. My wife and daughter were scheduled to fly to Portland via Denver on Frontier Airlines for a family wedding this weekend.  When we got to the airport, there was a surprisingly long line at the counter. The girls got in line but then became suspicious when they noticed it wasn't moving at all.  Eventually a counter agent came over the speaker to explain that due to weather they had cancelled all remaining flights into Denver for the day and furthermore every flight the next day was overbooked so passengers could contact customer service for a refund of their tickets.  That was it. No assistance to transfer travelers to another airlines, that isn't their policy since the cancellation was due to weather.  When we dug deeper they told us the soonest they could get the two girls on a flight to Portland, was next week Wednesday.  I have never experienced or heard anything like this. Both girls were very upset and my daughter started what seemed like 5 hours of constant crying and complaining.

The whole experience was very strange to me so turned to twitter looking for some answers.  I knew Frontier (@flyfrontier) used and communicated with passengers via twitter, so I reached out.  In the mean time, my wife continued her efforts through the 800 number to customer service the ticket agent gave us at the airport.  Every person she spoke with gave her the same story: since it was due to weather they had a policy to not transfer passengers to other airlines and if we wanted to pursue another airline, the expense would be our own and they could refund our Frontier tickets.  The challenge with this, was that their refund process typically takes 15-20 days, according the the agents we spoke with, and same day tickets were 4x as expensive as what we purchased the original flights for.  The whole experience was more than disappointing and leaving me with a very bad perception of Frontier.

At the end of my wife's two hour ordeal on the phone with customer service (I'd like those cell minutes back, please) I checked twitter to see that Frontier had responded to my original tweet.  I began a conversation with @FlyFrontier about my our travel situation, the importance of getting back to Oregon for the wedding, and the all around dissatisfaction and disappointment we were having with their airline.  The responses to my tweets and direct messages was quick and helpful.  In the end, I got a message that said, "we don't usually do this, but how would a 7pm flight...." and a few hours later my wife and daughter were on their way to Oregon on a different airline, arranged completed by Frontier and through twitter.

What began as a terrible customer service experience ended with a great story and example for other companies to follow of how to connect with customers via a very effective and powerful communication tool.  Sure my wife and daughter lost a day off their trip, but we don't blame Frontier for the weather, we just expected the ticket agents and phone agents to provide the customer service experience the tweeter agent ultimately did.

Kudos to @FlyFrontier for saving a family of customers, providing a level of service to be mirrored, and thanks for helping my girls get to the wedding of the year.  For anyone who hasn't embraced twitter yet, hopefully this story demonstrates how valuable a tool it can be to connect with people and businesses.  If you're already tweeting, follow @FlyFrontier if you want an example of how to engage your customers and improve their experience with your business and brand.

Follow me on twitter - @rkaopuiki

Cheaters never win! well, they're not supposed to!

Several weeks ago Caeden participated in his second Math Pentathlon. I joked that it was the minor leagues for future Chess Club members, but we had a great time cheering Caeden and his teammates on in each of their contests. I was really disappointed though and left with mixed feelings on the event after talking with some of the parents who were helping out.

Parents volunteered to monitor matches and help resolve any challenges the kids came upon during their match. The instructions to the parents were that they could not intervene unless one of the players used a challenge card to dispute something. What was disappointing, however, was that in talking with several parents they acknowledged watching kids purposely cheat to win (obvious stuff like moving a piece when the other player looked away), but because the other player didn’t see the wrong doing they didn’t know to challenge. Since the monitor couldn’t intervene unless a player challenged, the cheating player often got away with it. So we had instances of monitors knowing that wrong doing was happening, but helpless to do anything due to the rules.

I’m not sure what that teaches kids. Some of them were clearly learning that cheating is ok and will have benefits, so long as they don’t get caught. I’m not comfortable with that and refuse to allow my kids to think that is acceptable. It’s just disappointing to me that there are first graders learning such false truths at a young and impressionable age.


Despite my personal disappointment though, I was proud of Caeden’s effort and sportsmanship in the competition. It was also great to see him trying something different than sports.

Ignite Indianapolis

I went to an event in downtown Indianapolis tonight with my friend Bill (@billwolfe) called Ignite Indianapolis. I wasn't familiar with Ignite until this event, but apparently the Ignite events were started by O'Reily Media and are done all over the world.  The evening was almost 2 hours long, but if flew by because the presentations are exactly 5 minutes in length and consist of 20 slides auto advancing every 15 seconds.  When the 5 minutes are up, the presentation is over.  The presenters were a varied bunch of people with different ideas they are passionate about as personal interests, professional endeavors, or some sort of combination. My favorites of the night were (in no particular order):

• Jason Moriber from Wise Elephant (@jelefant) - his presentation on Platforming the Empty Middle was probably the most entertaining, although I didn't completely agree with everything he said. He still made me think about how to and what role platforming has within higher ed.
• Bob Mattax from Developer Town who answered the question, Why Houses?  His ideas wouldn't work for my line of work, but it made sense to me and I thought the originality was awesome!
• Brian Shafer from Walnut Valley Bison convinced me to eat more Bison and left me with the best advice, directly from Bison:
• Stand your ground
• Have a tough hide
• Keep moving forward
• Let the chips fall where they may
• Stacie Porter-Bilger from the Hoosier Academies who walked everyone through the life of a 1st grader experiencing a revolution in education through technology.  There are some awesome things happening in online education before students get to college.

All in all it was a great night and I look forward to the next event, supposedly taking place in a few months.  I'll have to start thinking of my own topic to present on.

My Core Values

I didn't set any New Year's resolutions or goals this year, at least nothing real specific. Instead I am continuing on my journey of working to live my life more intentionally. In general, my only goal for this new year is to consistently live my life true to the values I hold highest.

For the past few months I have been working through developing a personal value statement, sort of my own elevator speech I can use to describe who I am and strive to be. I have always had a core set of personal values, but I wanted to combine them into one written statement that could easily sum up my person. It's not an easy task, I've discovered, and I have found myself wrestling over the smallest of details. I feel pretty good about what I've completed and think it accurately describes what I believe are my core values; and what point are values in your life if you're not willing to share them and be held accountable to them?

So here is what I have come up with:

Faith & Family, Relationships, Integrity, IMUA, Stability

In my words and actions, I consistently demonstrate my commitment and dedication to Jesus Christ and my family as top priorities and key relationships in my life, shaping who I am and strive to be. As a person of high integrity, I am an honest and ethical person, willing to make the "right" decisions, even in life's most difficult and stressful times. Striving to learn from the past, I embody the spirit of IMUA as I go forward in life, pushing on to be the best I can be. I am blessed with today and work hard for a better tomorrow to provide stability and support for those who depend on me.

So, while I have set no specific goals this year, living intentionally and true to my values brings with it a bunch of daily goals and actions. Here's to a successful year!

An Example to Follow

This morning for Father's Day, I was spoiled with a great breakfast prepared jointly by all the kids, with Mom's direction, and a present of a new anti-gravity chair on the deck! After breakfast, I retreated to my new chair with the Sunday paper. Amidst the updates on Iran, concerns over GM's Indianapolis plant, and the insert about Chrysler's future. I found this in the comic section:

I realize that this type of interaction between Father and Son is pretty common, but thankfully I don't know that I have ever experienced this. Whether sharing a story of personal or professional success or venting about frustration when experiencing a failure, I can't recall feeling anything other than support from my Dad or hearing how he was proud of me. In high school, when I chose to pursue interests in performing arts instead of athletics, my Sports Fanatic Father didn't tell me he was disappointed or try to convince me otherwise, instead he became fanatical about my new interests. As a Grandfather, he's never told me how to raise my own kids, but has shared what he felt worked and didn't in his experiences, then supported me in my decisions.

My Dad has been, by his own admission, far from perfect but I appreciate the effort he has taken to be a great Dad. In my opinion that effort has proven worth it as he has a wonderful family to show for it. To me, He has been a great example of strength, support, and encouragement that I continue to try to be for my kids. I'm thankful that, unlike Sir Rodney, I have been blessed with a Father that has been and continues to be a positive impact on my life.

Happy Father's Day Dad!

And, yes. I still read the comics.

A Great Vacation

I recently returned from a much needed vacation with my family and after being home for a few days I have an even greater appreciation for the time away to relax. In fact, I think it was probably the most enjoyable family vacation we have been on since we've had kids.

Typically, our family vacations that involve driving or flying a significant distance involve some once in a lifetime event that you hope never happens again (e.g. Disney Abulance from park to hospital) but this vacation was not typical. It was our first time to Destin, FL and definitely not our last. My heart belongs to the Oregon Coast, but I have found a new love in the Gulf Coast. Absolutely Beautiful! As great as Destin was though, it was the lack of agenda that really made this trip wonderful. We didn't have a ton of sites that we wanted to see or people wanted to or felt obligated to see. It was just us, great friends, a pool, and the beach. The opportunity to relax.

Watching the kids play and have fun, unplugging from work and just focusing on family time, and building relationships with family and friends was what it was all about. On one hand, I could have stayed there forever. On the other, it was the perfect dose of R & R to keep me rejuvinated until the next family vacation.

If you haven't taken the time to breakaway on vacation yet this summer, I hope you do and I hope your break is as great as mine was!

Family Tradition: The Easter Spider

Moving 2/3 of the way across the country away from all of our family has given us the opportunity to establish our own family traditions. We have a few that have become special, but one of the favorites occurs Easter morning.

The spiritual significance of the day is given and we spend a good deal of time discussing what the entire weekend means to us individually and as a family, but we have a lot of fun with Easter baskets as well. Not so much Easter eggs or even the candy, but Marcy puts a lot of energy into making themed "baskets" each year and I put my energy towards hiding them.



The tradition we've started has involved us hiding the Easter baskets somewhere in the house and then tying yarn to the basket. We then wind that yarn all over the house creating somewhat of a web look throughout our house and eventually finishing at the top of the stairs. When the kids wake up they find their color of yarn and wind it up, eventually leading them to their Easter baskets. The web of yarn has caused the kids to refer to this as the work of the "Easter Spider." It sounds a little more scary to me than bunny, but it works for them.

Father and Son Time

One of the good things about having a struggling NBA franchise in your city is that you have the opportunity to get tickets on the cheap for some quality (visiting) teams.  This afternoon I had the impulse to get a couple tickets for the Indiana Pacers vs. Cleveland Cavaliers and decided to surprise Caleb after his own basketball practice with a night out with Dad.  

He is a big Lebron fan and we had a blast!  It was a competitive game down to the last minute with some pretty good highlights to watch later on ESPN.  I don't remember the last time just He and I did something like this, but the experience was a great reminder of how important these dates with Dad (or Mom) are.  

Unfortunately, there were three kids left out of this surprise that were a little upset, so looks like I have three more dates coming up. :-)

It's not cheese...it's Tillamook.

A couple months ago I found a facebook page for Tillamook cheese and quickly signed up to be a "fan".  I signed up for the Tillamook newsletter and in doing so shared my Tillamook story.  After a couple months of waiting, I got the call - actually, an email - congratulating me as April's Fan of the Month!  So, this last week through the jokes and kidding from friends and co-workers, I have been spreading the gospel of Tillamook.

It's difficult to explain to people who have been eating Kraft singles or the generic brand at the local grocery store what makes Tillamook so good.  In fact it really has to be experienced.  I've committed to creating a Tillamook experience for everyone by bringing in a cheese platter or having a taste comparison, but for me and my family I believe the experience of Tillamook extends beyond great taste and texture.

It's our connection to a place we still call home, although we're a couple thousand miles away.  A reminder of family trips to the Oregon coast with a stop for "squeeky cheese" and a couple scoops of our favorite Tillamook ice cream.   Standing on the observation level, looking down at the factory floor and asking the question "where do all the cheese scraps go" as the baby loafs are being cut, and then answering that same question when my own kids ask it 20 years later.  

So while my taste buds are certainly appreciative of the great products the good people of Tillamook have been producing for 100 years; the rest of me is grateful for the field trips, experiences, and memories I am reminded of each time I slice open that shrink wrap packaging. 

It Won't Be Like This For Long

A co-worker of mine forwarded a video of Darius Rucker's song It Won't Be Like This For Long to me and others today because she was moved after hearing it as it relates to her experiences as a new mother. I have heard other songs like this (Father/Daughter relationship): Butterfly Kisses, Ready, Set, Don't Go, or (my favorite) Cinderella but today this one really hit me.

The last part of the song, especially, really spoke to my experiences as a parent right now. When my daughter, Makela, was born and through those first couple years I was so scared to have any more children because I couldn’t comprehend HOW I could love another one as much as Her; but that’s the real miracle of being a parent because somehow you do! Your heart doubles in size in an instant and you just do! You hold on to those memories of the early years with each "first" experience and just try to cherish each memory as they are created.  

Fast forward to today and Makela is at that stage now where she’s a tween and all the conflict with Mom and Dad is happening more frequently. I am so fearful of doing things that drive her away, but trying to balance that with the responsibility I have to teach and guide her. It’s tough and seems to get tougher each day, but this song is a great reminder that it won’t be like this for long and I need to enjoy/appreciate/cherish/celebrate EVERY moment with her.

It Won't Be Like This For Long (Lyrics)
He didn't have to wake up
He'd been up all nite
Lay'n there in bed listen'n
To his new born baby cry
He makes a pot of coffee
He splashes water on his face
His wife gives him a kiss and says
It gonna be OK

It wont be like this for long
One day soon we'll look back laugh'n
At the week we brought her home
This phase is gonna fly by
So baby just hold on
It won't be like this for long

Four years later bout four thirty
She's crawling in their bed
And when he drops her off at preschool
She's clinging to his leg
The teacher peels her off of him
He says what can I do
She says now don't you worry
This will only last a week or two

It wont be like this for long
One day soon we'll drop her off
And she wont even know you're gone
This phase is gonna fly by
If you can just hold on
It wont be like this for long

One day soon she'll be a teenager
And at times you'll think she hates him
Then he'll walk her down the aisle
And he'll raise her veil
But right now she up and cry'n
And the truth is that he don't mind
As he kisses her good night
And she says her prayers
He lays down there beside her
Till her eyes are finally closed
And just watch'n her it breaks his heart
Cause he already knows
It wont be like this for long
One day soon that little girl is gonna be
All grown up and gone
Yeah this phase is gonna fly by
He's try'n to hold on
It wont be like this for long
It wont be like this for long

A Close Call

I arrived home from work today and found a kitten in my garage. I had heard that there was a cute stray running through the neighborhood and assumed that this was probably it and had now worked it's way to our house for some attention. As I opened the door, it wasn't hugs or "Hi Dad!" that greeted me, but instead four excited kids asking me if I had met Citrus yet?

Who?

"Citrus....the kitten!"

Whoa! What was that? In a matter of milliseconds a rush of emotions from fear to anger to sadness (for my kids) rushed through me and the first words out of my mouth were "No Way! Absolutely NOT! We already have a dog!"

Perhaps I could have chosen some kinder more gentler way of breaking my kids' hearts and denying them their own kitten. (We actually used to have two, but when we moved from Oregon, I had to inform the kids that they didn't allow cats on airplanes and we had to adopt them out to another family. At some point, they will learn the truth and I will have to answer for that manipulation.) I was just shocked that this stray cat now had a name and was apparently getting comfortable with my family. I knew without a strong intervention permanent residency wasn't far off. After some intense family discussion and some internet research, it was decided we would take Citrus to the Humane Society - a "no kill" shelter - where we all felt confident someone would adopt him.

In the end, the kids were great and acted very responsibly when taking Citrus to the shelter and I breathed a sigh of relief knowing I had dodged a bullet.

So remember, in the words of the great Bob Barker: "Help control the pet population; have your pet spayed or neutered."

He's Back!

There is something special about being able to watch someone excel at what they do or be so effective  in their work that you can't help but appreciate them and become a fan.  I enjoy excellence and draw inspiration from someone with qualities I work hard to develop in my own person.

It's for this reason that I have my DVR set for the Golf Channel this afternoon when Tiger returns to competitive play.  The man clearly has some freakish skills that we've never seen the likes of on a golf course.  My own golf game has zero comparisons to Tiger's, and if you've golfed with me you will agree.  But I don't even attempt to emulate him, at least on the golf course.

Freakish skills aside, the man has other qualities that we all could learn from and I do try to develop for the sake of both my personal and professional life. 

• Initiative/Drive - I think most would agree that Tiger has more than anyone else in his sport and this helps to separate him from the pack. He wants to be the best.  
  
• Positive Attitude - he expects to win, nothing less.
  
• Passionate - he loves what he does and is willing to do whatever it takes to be successful, without sacrificing his character and integrity.
  
• Embraces Change - he is always looking for ways he can change his swing or his game to become even better.
  
• Hard Worker - success doesn't just happen, it's a round the clock effort to get the results.
  
• Accountable - it's all about his performance. Distractions and obstacles are part of the game, it is entirely up to him to figure out how to overcome them.
  
• Dependable - we expect him to win to the point where it isn't as special anymore.  It's when he doesn't that we're surprised.
  

I am sure there are more, but these are the qualities that immediately come to mind. So, as a golf fan and as someone appreciative of excellence, I am happy Tiger's back.

Kids and Sports

I have been a sports fan my entire life.  I have those teams that I am faithful to through thick and thin (Blazers, Cowboys, Yankees), and as a relatively recent transplant to the Indianapolis area I have come to really enjoy the local teams here as well.

Nothing compares to watching my own kids play though.  I may talk about how busy life is with kids playing sports all over town, but game days are typically my favorite days of the week.  Whether it’s Caeden making a great cross-over dribble, Caleb making a catch in the outfield, or Makela’s volleyball team winning a tournament, seeing my kids having fun and experiencing success on the court/field is awesome.  Even now, I am sitting watching Caleb in his basketball practice and have a stupid perma-grin on my face because I’m having so much fun.  I can’t help it!

At the same time, I am also concerned with the seriousness of sports at such a young age.  It’s great that we live in a community that has such great opportunities for kids, but it also concerns me that there may be a lot of pressure put on these kids.  Are travel teams too much?  Will they burn out and end up hating sports?  I am fearful of these things, but at the same time want to develop a healthy level of competitiveness which can serve them so well even beyond sports.

I just want to make sure I’m doing the right things for my kids for today and tomorrow.  The sports fan in me is thrilled with the kids’ involvement, but the parent in me can’t help but be slightly concerned.