Hi from Catherine!!!!

This is "JP"'s niece.... Well idk how you would say that...5 but he's my uncle. hI

Merry Christmas: Want vs. Needs

Merry Christmas all! It is the time for family, good will, and peace. Christmas has been and still is for my family the time of year that we celebrate the birth of Christ and redemption for God and man. So this post definitely has a Christian perspective to it, so if you are up for it, read on, and if not I still wish you the best of day for you and your family!

As I sat in church yesterday, I looked around and took in all the people. I thought about the things they were thinking about. Some were thinking about the gifts they were about to get, others were thinking about the gatherings they were going to, some focused on the joyful music, and others just were happy in the moment. It was at that point where a thought occurred to me that God does not give us everything we want, but he always gives us what we need. Let's face it, there are things that we wish we would never have had to deal with or situations that we never would have chosen for ourselves. But it is those things that shape us (both the good and bad situations)and give us the qualities that are lasting, that make us what we are supposed to be,that give us what we need in God's eyes. It is a matter of faith for sure, but a powerful, awesome thought that we are prepared for something greater both in this world and the next. And maybe, just maybe all of those unpleasant things we need to deal with, give us something unexpected, something actually good.

So that is my inspirational thought for today! May the reason of the season, Christ, be with you all and you all have a Merry Christmas!

Christmas Question: Best Gift You Gave, Best Gift You Got

I was talking to the wife Sharkey the other night and she asked me an interesting question. "What is the best Christmas gift you ever gave and what is the best gift you ever got?"

So I thought about it, and hands down, the best gift I ever got, was when I was 12, and I got a Star Wars Millennium Falcon:

I played with that thing ALL the time! It was my #1 favorite toy. It was badass! It had working turrets, a radar dish, and of course the battery powered laser sounds...

So the best gift I ever gave? That's an easy one too. The keyboard/electric piano I bought the my wife Sharkey 8 years ago. She uses it multiple times a week and gets more enjoyment out of it than I ever expected.

A Deal is a Deal

I saw my Doctor six months ago for my regular checkup. We talked about the normal stuff. He asked if I had anything to tell him, I said no. He asked if my wife had anything I wanted to tell him about me (because apparently our spouses want us to tell the Dr. things we would not say ourselves), I again said no. He listened to my heart, took my blood pressure, and went over my blood test results. I was good. So before I left, I had a brilliant idea and said, "Hey how about we make a deal. I will lose 5 pounds before I see you next." He said, " That's a great idea. I will put it in your chart and we'll see what happens in 6 months."

So I have been going to the gym since after Thanksgiving. I have been trying to take my lunch to work instead of eating out. And when I eat out I try to be "a little" careful about what I eat. I also started to drink more water and tea and less soft drinks.

So after a month I have to admit, "What the heck was I thinking!!!!" This sucks!! I was happier when I came home and slept on the couch and ate whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. I miss my lackadaisical lifestyle. I was like all Americans and I liked it and was happy. What was I thinking!!!

(K' so I am really just kidding. I am able to see my chin again, and I have a lot more energy and sleep a lot better, and I'm really not missing Coke & Pepsi that much. And the clothes are fitting better. But I have not weighed myself. I am just going to wait till my next appointment and see where I am. I just need to remember to clam up and keep my big mouth shut)

Nephews

I do not have any kids. Not that I do not want kids, it just has not happened for me and my wife. So the closest thing I have to my own kids are my nieces and nephews. It has been a blast watching them grow up and see them become the individuals they are today. There are times when I look at them and the decisions they make that are similar to some of the things that I did growing up. Some of them good and some of them bad.

Take my oldest nephew for example, J. J was a superstar in High School. Everyone knew him, everyone knew of him, he was loved by all. He goes to college thinking he's going to rule the school... Can you see the foreshadowing coming? So he gets to college and he finds out, he's just one guy in a sea of lots and lots of superstars. He struggled, tanked his classes, he has changed his major and living arrangements 2-3x in 3 years and then there's J's girlfriend. He dated a girl who was 1 year behind him in high school. So his first year in college he came home every weekend to see her. Recently I found out they argue more than a married couple going through counseling. This is the point where you just want to tell him, "Dude!! Wake up!! What are you thinking!" I sort of went through a similar thing when I did my undergrad where I had so much freedom and did whatever I wanted and had the girlfriend who I spent every waking minute with, that I could not finish my undergrad in 4 years. I talk to J from time to time and I think he is sort of amazed how I understand him. Heck, in some ways I was him. So I share the things I experienced and thought about when I was going through my college years:

The friends you make in college are some of the ones you have your entire life

You define yourself in college. And if you are trying to find out who you really are, you are not going to find it out by going home to Mom and Dad all the time

College is not a right, it is a responsibility. It is the first "job" you take on as an adult, so you need to make sure you perform, grow, and learn.

Some people can handle school, the girlfriend, and the social stuff. If you cannot there is no shame in it, but your priority must be the school stuff. Everything else will fall into place in its own time

I am sure J will work it out. He's a smart kid and has a lot of potential. It is just being Uncle JP that makes me want to prevent him from doing a lot of the things I had to do to get where I am now. But I suppose that's how we learn, not just by success, but also by adversity and even failure.