Pretty or ugly? You decide...

 I spotted this "toad stool" on a fallen tree in Kathy's back yard during my visit this summer.  I was interested in the shape and the juxtaposition of the multiple nails.  I wondered to myself  "Is this a thing of beauty, or is it ugly?" 

I held the camera in my out-stretched hand and shot the three of us right in the face...wondering to myself if we would look good, bad, or ugly...it turned out that we did look good, bad, and ugly, but not necessarily in that order -- I'll let you decide which label goes on what face.

One For All, and All For One... or the Four Stooges?

It had been six years since the four of us siblings were all together. I really really enjoyed seeing Dave and Kath and Tim last week when I visited Dad and Ella in Iowa. We all laughed hard several times during out time together, telling stories, sharing memories, looking at old pictures, and celebrating Tim's birthday. Dad has some real photographic treasures, and he was kind enough to share them with us. I had never before seen the pictures of us as little children. My, how we have changed.

Oh, boy, did I love that little red bike. It was a girl's bike (Kathy rode it before me) and the tires were solid rubber, but I remember the first time riding it without assistance -- no training wheels and no adult running alongside -- and it was glorious.

I distinctly remember a time when my always tentative balance was jeopardized by a quick turn of the handlebars. In that very instant I felt an epic (for my young age) moment of decision. I could succumb to the inevitable and "bail out" to avoid the pain and embarrassment of a crash, or I could try something new. I remember standing and pedaling with all my might, all the while it seemed that I was leaning over at a 45 degree angle. I felt risky, committed, striving, focused, and consciously choosing to succeed rather than fail. To my amazement and delight I DID succeed, I DID stay upright. Some days I think back on that day and think it has never been better than that.

Complimenting Our Father...

My brother Tim paid the highest compliment to our father when he sent me this picture and asked, "Do you think you and Dad look alike?"

"Not actually," I thought to myself, "you just caught Dad on a day when he looked unusually handsome."

I just crack myself up! In reality I am proud to be like my father in anyway possible, but in almost every way feel that I fall short. I know that one thing we share in common, though, is an appreciation for the life we've been given. With all the highs and lows, victories and defeats, good times and bad, I'm grateful for every stinking little minute of my time above ground. I've often heard Dad express the very similar sentiment, in more eloquent fashion.

Well here's to you, Dad, for all the good modeling you've provided to me (and to all of us kids, if I can be so bold as to speak for the others), and for all the "above-ground" time we have shared together.