For The Kids

One of my top goals was to support a charity. There are several good organizations out there who can use our help, but I wanted to find one that really spoke to me and that I could get behind 100%. St. Jude's Children Hospital was founded by Danny Thomas and their mission is to treat kids with cancer and other devastating diseases. What means the most to me is the fact that they do not turn a child away if they cannot afford the treatment - they rely on donations to cover those families.
I cannot even look at the pictures on their website without choking up...

Financially there is only so much I can do at this point, but I have found other ways to give them my support and will do so for as long as I am able. So if I come knocking on your door to sale cookies, don't say I didn't warn you!

CJ

Goal #2 is Done!!!

Christmas came on the 26th this year. I took John Michael deer hunting the day after Christmas and I had no idea how special a day it would become. We get to the hunting land about an hour before daylight, gear up and head for the stand like always. Half way there JM starts complaining about his stomach hurting - I told him it was just nerves and he would be fine. We walk a little further and he doubles over and says he really feels sick. I finally said "fine, lets go back to the truck", thinking that our hunt is ruined because of a little belly-ache. By the time we get back to the truck he is puking his little guts out and I realize that he really is sick - smart aren't I. We end up watching the sun come up from the windshield of the truck and after a couple of more dry-heaves I convince him to head to the stand. I know what you are thinking, "what kind of dad makes their kid go hunting when he is sick?", but I had a really good feeling about this particular morning and this is not the first time he has gotten sick on an early hunt. So I'm not perfect... Anyway, we are not in the blind 30 minutes before he starts feeling bad again so he asks if he can lay on the ground. Ofcourse being the sensitive dad that I am, I told "yeah sure, whatever". Bless his heart, he fell asleep after a few minutes and I am feeling like crap for forcing my son to sit in the woods with me when he would obviously rather be in his bed. Wouldn't you know it, around 9:30 a nice 4 pointer walks out and starts feeding not 20 yards from the stand. It took me a good solid minute to wake John Michael up, but once he did he went straight into the deer hunter mode. After a long Mexican stand-off between him and the buck, a shot finally presents itself and JM made it count. I won't bother with the datails afterwards, but the boy did everything himself and I just sat back and enjoyed the moment. He started hunting when he as 4 so this had been a long time coming. I was real proud of him, not just for making the shot or sticking it out, but for the compassion and respect he showed for the deer after the shot. My oldest son on his way to becoming a Man. Thank you Lord!

Only 36 Left

2 more goals down: push-ups and poems. These last few weeks I have been so close to the 50 continuous push-ups that I started to think it was all in my head. I could easily do 75 with a small break between sets of 25. When I would try to do them without stopping, all I could manage was 35, then 42, then 44 twice. I just knew it had to be in my head. Last week I had M count as I pushed - on Monday I got to 49 and my arms locked up and my body started shaking so bad I could not finish that last one. So I took a break on Tuesday, did 100 Wednesday (with breaks) and on Thursday I once again recruited M to be the counter. First half was easy now, 35 came and went before I knew it, by 45 I was quivering, after 48 I was shaking again but determined to make it, and I finally did (I actually did 51 just to make myself feel better). This goal was one that was on my original list several years ago so it felt really good to beat it. I'm not stopping my push-ups because it is part of my overall plan, but I am no longer concerned with how many I can do at one time. Thank God.
I have my poems memorized: "If" by Rudyard Kipling and "My Hands" by CJ. Oh yeah, you read it right, I wrote my own poem. I'm not a poet and I know it, but I figured what the hell. Obviously the first poem is much better. "If" is about a father giving advice to his son about what it takes to be a man. Unfortunately Kipling's only son was killed during WWI, just 5 years after he wrote it.
I have joked with M on many occasions that the only part of my body that I would not change is my hands. They have yet to let me down, so I thought they deserved a little credit. Now I am going to share my artistic expression right here in front of God and everybody, but if you laugh you better chuckle to yourself - I will hunt you down.

My Hands

Blessed with two just close to perfect
Not too big but neither too small
Calloused from work and wrinkling with age
My hands have served me through it all

Opened and closed the doors of time
Ripped and torn when called upon
Wiped away both sweat and tears
Blocked the rain and shielded the sun

Strong when needed to fulfill a goal
Soft when needing a lover's touch
Hard when discipline must be delivered
Sometimes too little, but never too much

Held the hands of both young and old
Used to help those most in need
Selflessly served me well in times
But humanly prone to desire and greed

Whether out to shake the hand of a friend
Or strained under pressure to offer a lift
I now clasp my hands under my chin
And thank my Lord for this precious gift.

Another Goal Bites the Dust

Yep, that's me getting my tat. Did it hurt, you ask? Yes it hurts a little, but not like you would think, it really is hard to explain. Will I regret it? I knew you were going to ask that one too. This is a tattoo that I picked out/designed very carefully and it has alot of meaning to it that is special to me - it's not a secret, but it wouldn't make sense to most people so why bother?
M got her tat too, but you would have to ask her about it. I took a picture of her in action, but she was shaking her head and giving me that look - oooh that look can kill!
I am real, real close on a couple of my other goals, but I refuse to check them off until I am 100% certain they have been accomplished. Hopefully in the next few days I will have new update. Only 38 more to go...

10/21/08

Well, one month down and only one goal checked off. Rough start, but I still feel like I am on track. I'm running 3 miles four days a week, doing my push-ups, taekwondo classes, and eating right so at this pace I should be in the best shape of my life fairly soon. The only problem is that this is one goal that is hard to quantify. I will just have to go by feel and check it off when my gut (pun intended) tells me I'm there.
I had an opportunity to check off one yesterday, but I chickened out. I ran into a Cottonmouth in the woods while I was putting up a stand - actually I almost stepped on it. I grabbed a long stick and moved him around a little to watch his reaction - nothing, so I figured it was time to man up. I broke the stick down to about a foot long and my intention was to hold his head to the ground and gently slide my hand behind his head. O MY GOD! Before I could even get the stick close, he struck at it with such speed and force that my heart stopped beating and my life flashed before my eyes. If that stick would have been 4 inches shorter I would be typing this from the hospital with just my left hand. After I gained my composure, I gently laid the stick down on the ground and explained to this snake that today is his lucky day, I have way too much to do, but if I had the time I would certainly teach him a lesson. Then I tucked my tail between my legs and walked back to my truck to retrieve my toilet paper... I might need to re-think this one.
On the getting out of debt goal, we are making good progress. The way I have it figured, we should have no revolving debt by December '09. Of course this assumes no unforeseen emergencies pop up and we can stay focused and disciplined enough. Time will tell.

Gotta get to work, will update again soon.

Update

OK, so its been three weeks and I am still on track. I have checked off one item and I am pretty close to checking off another - I am handling 30 push-ups pretty good and sure that I should be at 50 by next week...
Taekwondo is alot more challenging that I had originally thought, which is great because I am all about challenges right now...
I started walking on the treadmill in the mornings last week, and now I am walking 20 minutes and running 20. I recall being able to run 2 miles when I was younger (much younger), so I would like to beat that distance as well...
I have chosen my poems and I have the first one, the longest, just about memorized. In case you were wondering the poems are: IF by Rudyard Kipling and INVICTUS by William Ernest Henley. This is one of those goals that seem odd to want to do and I really can't explain why, so lets just chalk it up to quirkiness...
I have got to get to the hunting land this week so I can get the fields ready for deer season. Nothing, and I mean nothing, would make me happier than to see my boys get their first deer. There is no other feeling like it in the world and I have looked forward to that day since they were born. It will be their first step toward man-hood in my eyes. To know that you can go out and hunt an animal and bring back food for the table to feed your family, oh man don't get me started. It sure beats being the "gatherer" of the tribe...
I took and minute (well a second really) and counted up the states I have been to. Are you ready for the grand total? 9. That's right, I have only stepped foot on 9 states. If my math is correct, I have to see 41 states in 35 months. That may turn out to be my hardest goal of all. But then again, I love a good challenge.

OUCH!

Well, first adult taekwondo class is over and I am starting to get my legs back together. M was sick so she did not go with me - yes, I am holding that against her for a little while. We did one hour of these so called "hard-core stretches", I had no idea my body could move in that direction. One positive is that I can reach over and touch my toes at any time now, so I can finally check off the first item on my list. Only 39 more to go...