Empty

Posted on May 2, 2006 by Wanderer

This house is empty.

Some people might think that after four years of marraige, and almost eleven months of fatherhood would make a man want some solitude — even for a few minutes. I thought so, too…until now.

Sarah, Josiah, and I flew down to Alabama last week for one of our friend’s weddings over the weekend. Sarah and Josiah are staying there to visit some family (instead of flying down there again this summer) for another week and a half — and I flew back late Sunday night.

Did I mention that the house is empty?

I went upstairs yesterday to look at Josiah’s room. It just didn’t seem right to see the bed empty, to see the toys not played with — and not to hear him crawling and sort-of-walking around the room exploring.

I continue to be astounded at how blessed I am — every second of every day — to have a wonderful wife and son who make me smile, and glad to be where I am. Sometimes only when those things are temporarily missed does one realize exactly what joys they bring. I have always thanked God for these two special ones that He has brought into my life, and now pray for their safe return.

So, in addition to the “countdown to camp,” I have a countdown to my family’s return — 9 days!

And just to give everyone a treat, here are a couple of pictures of Josiah at his fake 1st birthday party (we had it since all the extended family won’t be up in Massachusetts for his real 1st birthday!)


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Good Times

Posted on January 15, 2006 by Wanderer

Know what a Wet Willie is?

Well, it’s when someone licks their finger and puts it straight in your ear…and my son did this tonight to me.

Yes, you heard right. Josiah, who will be seven months old on Tuesday, licked his pointer finger and put it straight in my ear.

I have this feeling that his childhood will be full of these kinds of things — bring it on!

Messy.JPG
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The Joys of Flickr

Posted on September 13, 2005 by Wanderer

Well, if you haven’t noticed yet…I’ve done another minor update to the site design. If you click to the left to see pics of Josiah, and go to what was supposed to be Month 3, you’ll find that I’ve started putting photos on a picture website, www.flickr.com.

I decided to move photos over to the other website because I was quickly (and I mean really quickly) running out of space on my own site. And I would rather not have to purchase extra web space right now.

So…enjoy the new site — now with more free space!

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Deafening Silence

Posted on August 24, 2005 by Wanderer

They’re gone.

All of them.

All 75 campers…all 60+ staff…they’ve all gone home. Part of me is relieved to have a break…the other part of me misses them terribly.

I was around the staff members for between eight and ten weeks. Even though I may not be as good of friends with some of them because I’m the director…I still miss their presence. Each one of them, no matter their strengths and weaknesses, made a good impression on at least one child. They were my extended family, even if they didn’t realize it. Everyone that I’ve met at any camp in my camping life is part of that family.

So…the Summer of 2005 has ended…and while I’m saddened at its passing, I look forward to improving myself over the next nine months so I can be there for my staff next summer just as they’ve been there for me.

So…raise your bottle of glucose tabs…here’s looking forward to the Summer of 2006.

Posted in Camp | 2 Comments

Smiles

Posted on July 28, 2005 by Wanderer

One thing I’ve (re-)learned this summer is the power of a simple smile.

Today, for example, was a day full of smiles. I saw my son smile (goofy smile, of course) for five minutes straight just because I was making some silly noises while holding him. When walking from my house to the camp office, two campers came up to me, smiling, to tell me about a funny story a counselor had told them.

So — the moral of this story — are you having a bad day? Look at the children around you.

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And it begins…

Posted on June 25, 2005 by Wanderer

Well…the time is here. Camp officially begins tomorrow with the arrival of the first group of campers. Eight weeks of “the most stressful fun you’ll ever have,” to quote a co-worker of mine. That just about explains it.

You really have to love this job to do it, whether you’re a Junior Counselor all the way up to my position as Camp Director. The dedication and willingness to put in six to seven 15-hour (sometimes more) days takes the last of one’s energy every day.

So here we go down the road of summer that we have travelled through many times. Successfully, I might add. The scars we have aren’t easily visible to the outside world — but here, at camp, we know that counselors are the most dedicated individuals you will ever find. And as a group, you will never find a more supportive family on the planet than they.

Here begins the Summer of 2005.

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Details

Posted on June 19, 2005 by Wanderer

Well, now that everyone is back home, I have a little (and I do mean only a little) time to let you in on all the details surrounding Josiah’s birth.

Josiah was born on June 17, 2005, at 3:25pm EST. He was 7 pounds 5 ounces at birth, and was 21 inches long. Basically, he was a big baby for Sarah to give birth to!

As I said before, all of us are back at home at Camp Joslin, and looking forward to a good summer — hopefully with a few hours of sleep each night!!

Posted in Fatherhood | 7 Comments

Welcome to the world, Josiah!

Posted on June 17, 2005 by Wanderer

I’ll post more later, but you can look at some pictures of Josiah until I have more time!

Posted in Fatherhood | 3 Comments

Reasons for Exploring

Posted on June 14, 2005 by Wanderer

I live for sights like these. This alone would be reason enough for me to explore other planets.

I found this picture on nasa.gov. It’s a photograph taken of a sunset on Mars.

Sunset on Mars.jpg
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Counting the Days

Posted on June 12, 2005 by Wanderer

Do you want to know how I can tell if things are happening the way they’re supposed to happen?

I can’t keep track of the days anymore. In a very good way (yes, there are bad ways) one day seems to blur into the next. The past six days have sped along, making me wonder…will the summer go too fast if I blink?

In other news…I’m counting down the days until Josiah arrives. If you didn’t know this, just take a look at the countdown clock on the left menubar. If it were up to Sarah, that clock would’ve reached zero two weeks ago!

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