Vacation

Everyone loves a good vacation.  I can remember when I looked so forward to getting away for a week or so and just relaxing and living worry free for a minute.

My wife and I often slip off and play nine holes in the late afternoon or Saturday mornings.  These are my favorite rounds these days.  I can remember when it was “I will never play golf with a girl”!  Back in the day with my buddies we would see someone playing with their female partner and just laugh and think how miserable they must be not having any male friends to play golf with them.  Well, let it be known I play golf with a girl and simply love it!!! We talk, laugh, give each other tips, and just in general have a great time and get to spend two hours together doing something we both enjoy do much.  She only took the game up when we moved to “The Villages”.

We were walking off the ninth hole last week and she said something so powerful to me.  She said “We live on vacation”!  I was stunned she had hit the nail on the head.  I have often sang the praises of this place and she put it all in one simply sentence.  We live on vacation.  No stress no worries we are both blessed to have our health.  We have our Memphis family here.  We have made wonderful new friends.  We eat well every night, we drink well every night, and we live a dream.

I often talk to my old golfing buddies back in Memphis and the surrounding areas and they always seem to be just a little bit jealous about my lifestyle.  You see I was the one that was the crazy one.  I can remember Rick working every single moment that the company would allow him too, not because he had to but because he loved it so much.  I can remember one time the company he worked for actually had to call him and tell him he needed to cash his paychecks so they could close and accounting period.  I also can remember Larry the same way always and still frugal to a fault.  Me not so much, I was the guy who lived paycheck to paycheck.  I closed down more bars than the law should have allowed.  I have lived like there was no tomorrow and had a blast.  They worked like a slave doing what I thought was looking to the future.  And now they both are trapped in a situation that neither can escape and I am living on Vacation.  I guess the good lord works in mysterious ways for sure.

Well I guess it about time to get ready to go play Wednesday night Couples golf!!  We play every week now, that we live on vacation. 

I love playing with my girl!

Peace,

The Blessed Man

Apprehensive

I thought long and hard about the title to this one. I am still not sure the word is correct but it is what it is.

Yesterday was a day of very mixed emotions for me.  You see my son got married yesterday.  I have been to hundreds of weddings.  I have seen how the two families as awkward as it is seem to try to put on the front of happiness and joy as each of the children becomes their own family.  However, yesterday that really wasn’t what the vibe was.  The bride’s family somehow welcomed my son into their family it what really appeared to be a genuine manner.  I feel like I and my family welcomed her as well.  It did seem like we all are a little hesitant about my son. His track record is anything but great.  I tried to put myself in her father’s shoes.  Then I took them off really quickly.  You see this is his baby girl the youngest of three daughters. I know enough by watching my Memphis family that the position takes on all new meaning when your baby girl gets married.

My wife and my adopted sister kept me in line but I am still very concerned about this young lady my son has taken as his wife.  She is smart, beautiful, loving, caring, with an innocents that seems almost childlike.   She also appears to be madly in love with my son.  Also I truly believe my son is madly in love with her. My only issue is that I have been around this young man 27 years.  I have never seen him love anything other than himself.  I have watched him destroy every relationship he has ever been in, be it family or otherwise.

However, this one might be the one that turns him around.  He has never had any skin in the game before.  I think this time he does. What makes me hold out hope this time?  When his bride walked out into the ceremony and he saw her I was watching.  He looked stunned and he said “Oh my God” when he saw her.  There she was with her Father walking toward him smiling like the little girl I am sure her Dad remembers looking forward to going on the next ride at Disney! And please remember this came from the mouth of a self-proclaimed atheist. So maybe there is a little light at the end of the tunnel.  As someone once said “Behind every successful man there is a great woman” I know he has a great woman the question is can she turn a hog’s ear into a silk purse?  I have always believed there is a good person somewhere buried in my son. If there is anyone who might be able to extract that person it is his new wife.

I promise, I will support her efforts wherever I can.  She has a long road to travel and there is no way she can travel that road by herself.  I believe with all of my heart her family will be there for her, so I must be there as well.  My wife, and adopted sister have been in my ear for weeks about this.  So I am going to try one more time to forgive and forget it will be the hardest thing I will ever do because the last time he showed his ass I pretty much wrote him off.  His wife doesn’t deserve that, so I will get back in the game for her.  And who knows maybe she can even turn me around.  That is going to be harder than turning her newly acquired husband into the man he needs to be. 

Good Luck my dear.  And if you need anything I got your back.  I’ll end with one of my favorite lines from a movie I just love. 

“Let’s kick this pig”

Peace,

The Blessed Man