This summer has been one of the toughest of both my personal and professional lives. It has been composed of being away from my wife and kids for a month, the death of a good friend from camp, and a couple of other things that I’d rather not mention here yet. Add a heaping of self-doubt and I’ve got myself a…difficult summer.

But that’s not to say that the season didn’t have its good points. As always, the time I got to spend with campers and staff was awesome. It was also one of the best summers I’ve had as far as quality and dedication of staff.

I compare this summer to a really good movie. Like the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It is a great series filled with joy, heartache, laughter, sadness, action, and rest. And while it seems that, at times, that you never want it to end there are times that you wish it could be over. Inevitably, however, no matter what you wish for — it will end. It is a sad thing for the end to come but you find solace in the fact that it was a happy ending.

That is where I am now. The season is coming to an end and there is nothing I can do to change that. As with a couple of other things connected to that — I am a conflicted man (and probably will be for the near future). I am watching the ship sail out and wondering what adventures await me as I stand on shore. I know they shall be grand adventures, but I sometimes wonder what the people on that ship will experience.

So the current adventure is over. After watching the ship sail into the west and the sunset, I find myself wiping away the tears of sadness, turning around and walking to the new sunrise that I know will be approaching after a while. It just means a bit of traveling and wandering through the nighttime.

ad astra per aspera — “a rough road leads to the stars”
“not all who wander are lost” — J.R.R Tolkien

And yes, I do realize that not more than a month ago I was cheering on the snow as it fell.

But it’s 14 days until spring — and that realization plus the nice weather now after so many days of…of…not niceness — has made me want to cheer on the sun, the spring, and the summer!

Bring it on!

I think that kids don’t quite understand what is going on around them — but I firmly believe that they *absorb* the emotion from around them. So, for example, if there is the feeling of anger around them — even unspoken — the child can take that anger on. They’re not equipped to deal with it in any way other than crying or becoming “angry” or something similar themselves. Not to say this always happens, but I really think it can. I also happen to believe that my children got my sense of empathy. (Believe it or not, I do get emotional…just stays inside until I feel it is okay to let go of it. But I do cry pretty easily for a “guy”…but there’s nothing wrong with it!

So…when you combine the absorption of emotions with a lot of travelling, late hours, short/no naps, and simply not being at home, that can make for a fun evening.

But then you sit back and watch them sleep afterwards (if you’re not already deep asleep yourself) and smile because you love them.

Because I told a really good friend that I would, that’s why!

It doesn’t hurt that he told me about the WordPress for Blackberry application (which I’m using for this post, by the way), either. So here’s to trying to post regularly again!

ad astra per aspera
(A rough road leads to the stars)
from the Apollo 1 Memorial

 

It may be the end of the day on September 11, but I thought it only fitting that my devotion today be the word remembrance.

In my 28 years, I have been around for a few major events in the United States and the world. The Challenger and Columbia shuttle accidents…countless bombings…Desert Shield/Storm…September 11, 2001…the Iraq War. And those are just the ones I can think of at this time of day.

I thank my God every time I remember you. — Philippians 1:3

The rest of the passage goes on to explain Paul’s thanksgiving about the Philippians’ response to the gospel. But today, as with most occasions that bring up memories of the tragic events of the past…I thank God for everything I’ve experienced through Him — and the people, Christian and otherwise, who He has let me meet…who He has allowed me to befriend.

I found out a while after the World Trade Center destruction about the death of my friend, Alok Mehta. I had not talked to Alok in a little over five years, since we graduated high school together…but seeing his name on the list of those who perished made it real. I have a pretty weird gift of empathy when it comes to reactions to events like this, but this was different. “It made it more real,” as people say.

So…my way of remembering is in my actions. It’s in the good memories that I hold. And in the pictures I save. So…in remembrance, here are a few photos from the space program disasters (some from my lifetime, some not), as well as some from the 9/11 attacks. All photos are courtesy of NASA except for the final one.

 

You take your pick. I’d much rather swim than burn any day.

#1 — Josiah should be here soon! The due date is the 17th!

#2 — Camp is almost here! Staff arrive in four days — I’m psyched!

Wow…time really flies, doesn’t it?

Next week marks the beginning of camp…the staff arrive a week from today.

My and Sarah’s son is due in three weeks (whether he’ll be early, on time, or late is anybody’s guess — he’ll be here when he’s good and ready).

And if you haven’t noticed already, the website is going through a pretty major redesign. I hated forcing people to visit a “home” page before going to the blog, so I finally put the blog on the home page. Easier, huh?

Hopefully I’ll keep up the work on it over the next week. But the priority for me redesigning it was to make it easier for me to add Josiah’s pictures when he does finally get here!

In another week-and-a-half I begin my travel to Charlton, MA. I’m taking three nights to get there. One night at my parents’ house, one night in Virginia (it’s the midway point), and one night in Newark, NJ to visit a good friend.

I’m looking forward to the road trip, and will be using my last couple of days in Birmingham making the perfect 10 CD-playlist for the CD changer in my car. I plan on setting it to the full 10-disc shuffle mode and seeing how long it takes me to go through every song on every disc.

But…enough about the ‘countdown’ for now. More to come later.