Yesterday was Sunday, so we went to our usual 9:30 AM Mass. This Mass is held in the "lower church" or the former parish hall fitted out with altar & folding metal chairs for Mass. We like it because the Contemporary Folk Group provides the music & they are fantastic.
Anyway, the space utilizes a more contemporary 3-sided seating design - there are 5 rows with a center aisle directly in front of the altar & then 7 more rows perpendicular to the altar on each side. There are also traditional wood pews against each wall. Between the seating arrangement & dodging various columns, there are triangular shaped areas of no seating at the intersection of both perpendicular sections with the center portion.
Mass has been a treat since my youngest, who turns 1 this week, began to crawl & now walk, instead of sleeping through Mass. Yesterday, he had a sippy cup with him. This particular cup design is fatter at the top than the bottom. Therefore, if you lay it on its side & bump it, it will roll in circle about 3' in diameter. This is the game the baby was playing yesterday at Mass. We were sitting near one of the triangular open areas on a pew. He was crawling fairly freely in the open area. At first, he merely bumped the cup & it, of course, rolled away from him. After a couple of times of this, he figured out what was going on & then it became a game to him to make the cup roll away so he could crawl after it!
Monday, January 30, 2006
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Proud parenting moment or what the ????
My 6 year old son's birthday is January 9 - right on the heels of all the holiday madness. As he's gotten older, its been more & more difficult to execute a party anywhere near his actual birthday. We always celebrate it on the day - whatever he wants for breakfast & dinner, open his presents, cake, etc. This year, I took him to Arenacross the weekend after his birthday. Couple years ago, we had a party with his friends from pre-school in March. Had a blast, but got funny looks from parents when they asked what day his birthday is & we answered January 9th!
He's been wish-washy this year about where to have the party, flip-flopping between a volunteer fire house, Chuck E. Cheese's and a gymnastics gym where he had it last year. He finally decided on the gym & my wife & he made out the guest list last night. He has invited 3 of his older sister's friends who happen to have younger brothers -2 of which aren't in his grade, but are a year older. This has caused a numbers problems & he has stuck to his sister's friends over several friends from his own school! Proud parenting moment or what they heck is he thinking?
He's been wish-washy this year about where to have the party, flip-flopping between a volunteer fire house, Chuck E. Cheese's and a gymnastics gym where he had it last year. He finally decided on the gym & my wife & he made out the guest list last night. He has invited 3 of his older sister's friends who happen to have younger brothers -2 of which aren't in his grade, but are a year older. This has caused a numbers problems & he has stuck to his sister's friends over several friends from his own school! Proud parenting moment or what they heck is he thinking?
Monday, January 23, 2006
Dad
I like Country music for a number of reasons. First, most of it has an honesty that you don't find in a lot of other music. I mean what's honest about rapping about the N word & degrading women? What's honest about singing about partying & drugging which is what rock stars are supposed to do? Hey, I grew up on Van Halen, but as a 35 year old, its not the same.
Phil Vasser sings a song "Just Another Day in Paradise" about getting the milk out & its sour, the washing machine breaking, being late for work, the kids having nightmares. That's been my life lately, but I would not change one thing. I have a beautiful, funny & intelligent 9 year old daughter, a funny, sly and smart 6 year old son & a handsome and charming 1 year old son.
Its the baby that's been a challenge lately. He's been to the doctor 3 times in 2 weeks. With the other 2, the first winter was always the worst. He's had 2 ear infections & a case of bronchiolitis in the last 2 weeks. We picked him up early from day care Friday with a fever. My wife had a meeting Saturday morning , so I was at the pediatrician's with him at 9. That was an adventure in itself. I had to call for an appointment starting at 8:30. The nurse asked how soon could I get there? At 8:35, my daughter is the only one dressed & we live a solid 25 minutes away. I gambled & said we'd be there by 9!
Its funny, several people saw me, the only adult with 3 kids & commented on me having a "hand full." And the big kids were being PERFECT. They were playing & laughing & taking care of themselves. And helping with the baby when I asked. According to my wife, no one has EVER said that to her! Is it a hand full if its a dad & 3 kids, but normal for a mom to have the 3 by herself? That makes no sense to me. I mean, if my wife has something going on, either personal or professional, I don't "babysit," I take care of my children. What century is this?
Anyway, the scary part for the baby is its the end of January & in Baltimore its one of the warmest January's on record. How bad is February & March going to be?!?! His older bro was one ear infection away from tubes. The dr told us one more & then April arrived & he hasn't had one since. Do I get to spend part of March in the hospital while the baby has tubes in? I hope not!
Phil Vasser sings a song "Just Another Day in Paradise" about getting the milk out & its sour, the washing machine breaking, being late for work, the kids having nightmares. That's been my life lately, but I would not change one thing. I have a beautiful, funny & intelligent 9 year old daughter, a funny, sly and smart 6 year old son & a handsome and charming 1 year old son.
Its the baby that's been a challenge lately. He's been to the doctor 3 times in 2 weeks. With the other 2, the first winter was always the worst. He's had 2 ear infections & a case of bronchiolitis in the last 2 weeks. We picked him up early from day care Friday with a fever. My wife had a meeting Saturday morning , so I was at the pediatrician's with him at 9. That was an adventure in itself. I had to call for an appointment starting at 8:30. The nurse asked how soon could I get there? At 8:35, my daughter is the only one dressed & we live a solid 25 minutes away. I gambled & said we'd be there by 9!
Its funny, several people saw me, the only adult with 3 kids & commented on me having a "hand full." And the big kids were being PERFECT. They were playing & laughing & taking care of themselves. And helping with the baby when I asked. According to my wife, no one has EVER said that to her! Is it a hand full if its a dad & 3 kids, but normal for a mom to have the 3 by herself? That makes no sense to me. I mean, if my wife has something going on, either personal or professional, I don't "babysit," I take care of my children. What century is this?
Anyway, the scary part for the baby is its the end of January & in Baltimore its one of the warmest January's on record. How bad is February & March going to be?!?! His older bro was one ear infection away from tubes. The dr told us one more & then April arrived & he hasn't had one since. Do I get to spend part of March in the hospital while the baby has tubes in? I hope not!
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Musings on the Nature of the Volunteer
I feel that volunteering some of your spare time is an important way to give back to your community the blessings that you have recieved from God.
I volunteer my spare time in a number of significant ways. I coach soccer and until this year basketball. It started with my daughter's teams at school. When my oldest son started Pre-K, I coached his Friday night soccer clinic for 2 years.
In the past, I was involved in Habitat for Humanity. More recently, I particpate in Rebuilding Together, Baltimore (used to be called Christmas in April). These great charities help provide shelter to the needy. The last Saturday in April is Rebuilding Together. My CSI chapter goes to one needy persons house, usually an elderly person, and performs minor home repair and maintenance.
My CSI Chapter itself is a volunteer organization. I've served as chair of a couple of committees, a director and now 2nd Vice President.
At our parish, we have a new Pastoral LIfe Director. We were without a pastor (priest) for several months before the Archidiocese assigned a lay woman to be our PLD. She is WONDERFUL and has done many good things for the parish.
However, I've been watching from the outside some troubling developments with the Buildings and Grounds Committee. This is a governance committee charged with overseeing the Church, Rectory and School property. The chair is not so much a friend as an acquaintence of mine - former fire fighter, now a sprinkler inspector. Seems to know a lot about buildings and construction. Last fall I reached out to him because I had been asked by separate parties to help prepare some documents in pursuit of grant money to repair/replace restroom facilities at the school. The chair, let's call him Barry, had been looking for an Architect for the committee, so I volunteered. The holidays prevented me from attending a single meeting.
Beginning in January, Barry began a fierce e-mail writing campaign, railing against the PLD, Parish and School for being non-communicative and obstructionist to his goals and the committee's work. Like many things, I saw the truth to lie somewhere to the left of his claims. He and I had disagreed on some security issues earlier in the fall, so I knew chances were good he was being unreasonable. I mentioned to a friend of mine, also very active in parish community, this campaign. My friend went to the PLD, and today, Barry resigned as chair of the committee, taking some harsh parting shots on his way out the door.
Now, 6 pages later, I get to my musings - I think one of the most difficult things to do is to get people to dedicate their energies and intellect to their volunteer activities. Many of us with education, who perform professional services 5 days a week for pay, either refuse or simply do not bring the same rigor of thought and action to our volunteer activities. For example, with our CSI Chapter, many of our members hide behind work travel, work hours or work stress for not getting even the most basic tasks performed for the chapter's good. In the past, I have been guilty of this, but have tried to change my ways.
By rigor of thought and action, I mean preparing an agenda for a meeting. I can't tell you how many meetings, Board or committee, I've attended where the meeting ebbed and flowed and rambled on with seemingly no agenda or pathway. This leads to a.) boring meetings b.) long meetings and c.) participants making excuses for not attending. I would never plan and organize a meeting for my job without agenda, time length, course of actions, decisions needing to be made, etc. Why would you not do the same for a volunteer organization where you're spending your free time, not your paid time?
Secondly, how do you convince people to pour their hearts into something and not have them crushed if things don't go well? I guess this point is mostly moot, as most well adjusted adults wouldn't let this happen to them.
I volunteer my spare time in a number of significant ways. I coach soccer and until this year basketball. It started with my daughter's teams at school. When my oldest son started Pre-K, I coached his Friday night soccer clinic for 2 years.
In the past, I was involved in Habitat for Humanity. More recently, I particpate in Rebuilding Together, Baltimore (used to be called Christmas in April). These great charities help provide shelter to the needy. The last Saturday in April is Rebuilding Together. My CSI chapter goes to one needy persons house, usually an elderly person, and performs minor home repair and maintenance.
My CSI Chapter itself is a volunteer organization. I've served as chair of a couple of committees, a director and now 2nd Vice President.
At our parish, we have a new Pastoral LIfe Director. We were without a pastor (priest) for several months before the Archidiocese assigned a lay woman to be our PLD. She is WONDERFUL and has done many good things for the parish.
However, I've been watching from the outside some troubling developments with the Buildings and Grounds Committee. This is a governance committee charged with overseeing the Church, Rectory and School property. The chair is not so much a friend as an acquaintence of mine - former fire fighter, now a sprinkler inspector. Seems to know a lot about buildings and construction. Last fall I reached out to him because I had been asked by separate parties to help prepare some documents in pursuit of grant money to repair/replace restroom facilities at the school. The chair, let's call him Barry, had been looking for an Architect for the committee, so I volunteered. The holidays prevented me from attending a single meeting.
Beginning in January, Barry began a fierce e-mail writing campaign, railing against the PLD, Parish and School for being non-communicative and obstructionist to his goals and the committee's work. Like many things, I saw the truth to lie somewhere to the left of his claims. He and I had disagreed on some security issues earlier in the fall, so I knew chances were good he was being unreasonable. I mentioned to a friend of mine, also very active in parish community, this campaign. My friend went to the PLD, and today, Barry resigned as chair of the committee, taking some harsh parting shots on his way out the door.
Now, 6 pages later, I get to my musings - I think one of the most difficult things to do is to get people to dedicate their energies and intellect to their volunteer activities. Many of us with education, who perform professional services 5 days a week for pay, either refuse or simply do not bring the same rigor of thought and action to our volunteer activities. For example, with our CSI Chapter, many of our members hide behind work travel, work hours or work stress for not getting even the most basic tasks performed for the chapter's good. In the past, I have been guilty of this, but have tried to change my ways.
By rigor of thought and action, I mean preparing an agenda for a meeting. I can't tell you how many meetings, Board or committee, I've attended where the meeting ebbed and flowed and rambled on with seemingly no agenda or pathway. This leads to a.) boring meetings b.) long meetings and c.) participants making excuses for not attending. I would never plan and organize a meeting for my job without agenda, time length, course of actions, decisions needing to be made, etc. Why would you not do the same for a volunteer organization where you're spending your free time, not your paid time?
Secondly, how do you convince people to pour their hearts into something and not have them crushed if things don't go well? I guess this point is mostly moot, as most well adjusted adults wouldn't let this happen to them.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
New Territory
I asked my daughter, who's 9, if she knew what a blog is or anyone who has a blog last night. She sort of knew what it is, but didn't know anyone who has one. I've been thinking about starting one for sometime, but really decided to do it this morning while driving to work. I haven't told my daughter or wife I'm doing it. I'll see how it goes & then maybe let them in on it.
I named my blog Father, Husband, Architect because these are the things that define me right now. I have 3 wonderful children, a beautiful & loving wife and I am an Architect. Not the silly software engineer type, but the artist who builds buildings. My children like to tell me I don't really build the buildings, I only draw them. I don't really see it that way...
Lately, my life has seen some interesting twists. I hope to use this blog as something of a journal to help work through some of the issues in my life. A little over 1-1/2 years ago, we found out my wife was expecting our 3rd child. A shock to say the least. Since then, my job has gone away, so I changed firms. I coach soccer, but was excluded from coaching basketball this season by a mean-spirited mother who wanted it all her way. Had some issues with my new job that seem to have straightened out & now I find myself 2nd Vice-President of a professional organization I belong to. The 1st VP has informed me that she cannot step up to President next FY, which means I'll probably end up doing it. That's a small taste of what you'll be reading, should this not bore you too much and you decide to stay tuned. I'll also mix in some sports, politics and other topics.
I named my blog Father, Husband, Architect because these are the things that define me right now. I have 3 wonderful children, a beautiful & loving wife and I am an Architect. Not the silly software engineer type, but the artist who builds buildings. My children like to tell me I don't really build the buildings, I only draw them. I don't really see it that way...
Lately, my life has seen some interesting twists. I hope to use this blog as something of a journal to help work through some of the issues in my life. A little over 1-1/2 years ago, we found out my wife was expecting our 3rd child. A shock to say the least. Since then, my job has gone away, so I changed firms. I coach soccer, but was excluded from coaching basketball this season by a mean-spirited mother who wanted it all her way. Had some issues with my new job that seem to have straightened out & now I find myself 2nd Vice-President of a professional organization I belong to. The 1st VP has informed me that she cannot step up to President next FY, which means I'll probably end up doing it. That's a small taste of what you'll be reading, should this not bore you too much and you decide to stay tuned. I'll also mix in some sports, politics and other topics.
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