After everyone ate their fill of Christmas good cheer, the Olsen’s bid a fond adieu to our step-aunt as well as Meredith and her beau. And then we headed off to one of our favorite holiday pastimes: the Christmas movie. Every year, we pick one film that everyone can agree upon and we go and pad the holiday cinema gate.
This year, we all decided that we wanted to see The Tale of Despereaux. Iwant do all of my loyal readers the disservice of a movie review. I am altogether unskilled at objectively assessing films. Indeed, I am a sap. And I love a good morality story. This movie was both. Without giving away too many secrets, the story tells the tale of mice, rats, kings, princesses and a host of folks in between. By the end of the movie, redemption is the message for everyone on screen – and for me as well. Through courage and selflessness, the tragic heroes are redeemed from their own faults and frailties. I just love happy endings like this!
When we got home from the theater, the entire crew retired for a nice night’s sleep.
When the morning came, it was time for Cindy to take daughter #2 to the airport. Dana had an early flight that morning as she needed to be back at practice in the afternoon. Cindy got her to the airport. The flight was on time in departing and arriving. So she made it to practice with plenty of time to spare.
While Cindy was taking Dana to the airport, I made sure the new Bluetooth rear view mirror was working in Cindy’s car. It was quite simple to set up and make it operate. I still have some tweaking to do. But that will waituntil after the New Year. But when Cindy returned, we tried out all the new gear. With a grin on my face, I proudly showed her how everything worked. And I am glad to say that Cindy is quite pleased with the electronics!
After a lot of cleaningand a fair bit of laundry, we started packing for our trip to Georgia. I had my samll bag with my clothes and Cindy’s laptop. And she had quite a large bag with everyting she needed to take. We hit the hay early for the early-bird drive to the airport.
As noted in my last post, we got up quite early and headed off to the airport only to be met with flight delays. The eqyipment was indeed in Missouri, but the crew did not arrive the previous night. So the flight was cancelled. Thereplacement crew arrived the next day an hour later than anticpated so the flight was delayed another hour. ANd then we had a horrible problem while boarding. One of the passengers apparently had a heart attack while boarding the plane. So everyone was stuck in the gangway to the plane while emergency medical crews came on board, assessed the patients condition and then whisked the patient off the plane. Fortunately, everything turned out fine – though I can’t tell you the exact condition of the patient now. But he appeared well while deplaning in a wheelchair.
Once everyone reloaded the plane, we got out onto the tarmac. And then another problem arose. Within a thirty minute span, the temperature had dropped twenty degrees – which was below freezaing. So the gentle rain that was falling when we first boarded had become a froen rain that needed to be treated. So we waited on the tarmac while the place was de-iced. We finally became airborn five hours after our scheduled departure.
When we arrived, it was time to meet Dana and go out to dinner. We chose a simple asian “fast food” joint that had some super noodle offerings. I chose a yummy shrimp and soba noodle dish. Dana and Cindy had some other dishes. Normally, we share meals when we eat this way. But we didn’t share that night. Thank goodness we didn’t share (as you’ll learn in the next part of the Olsen Christmas saga). After dinner, we went back to the hotel and wet to bed.
The next day was all ours – after Dana finished practice. Cindyand I found a great breakfast nook call the Java Jive. I just loved their menu and their homestyle joi de vivre. We picked up Dana and headed over to the High Museum of Art. The High Museum was having a show called “The First Emperor” which featured the art of the first Chin dynasty – including a number of terra cotta warriors. We scheduled a visit for Tuesda morning as we couldn’t fit it into that day.
After we left the High Museum, we headed off to see my Dad and his wife. And while I could go into great detail about how thrilling it is to see my Dad, I’ll just summarize. My Dad is doing well, though his eyesight is failing. But his wife take exceptional care of him. So he is in need of nothing. And like myself, he has gained a few extra pounds in thelast couple of years. Good women (and lack of a commitment to regular exercise) will have that effect on men. We feasted for a couple of hours. We yakked about everything. And we lined Dana up with a way to see Dad and Susan on a more regular basis. So our mision was accomplished.
After a few hours, we needed to head back to the hotel as Dana needed to get up early for her pre-game shoot-around. So we headed back to Atlanta. We dropped Dana off at school and Cindy and I headed back to the hotel where we settled in for the night.
Month: December 2008
Christmas 2009 Remembered: Part 1
It’s early Saturday morning and I’m in the Kansas City International airport. Normally, I like to get to the airport a few minutes early. And I never have time to scribble down my thoughts. But today is different. I am sitting in the airport in the unsecured area. I am with Cindy. She is reading her book and I am listening to the Daily Source Code (with Adam Curry). He is talking about conspiracy theories and circumcisions in Uganda. So with that kind of mix going on, I just have to start recording my thoughts.
Cindy and I were awakened at 4:00AM to a phone call. We didn’t grab the phone in time. And in fairness, I don’t even remember hearing the phone. After all, I was asleep. We both rolled over and slept until my alarm went off at 4:45A. We got up early so we would arrive at the airport an hour before our scheduled takeoff. We woke Bailey up and grabbed a couple of bagels. And then, we were off.
The drive was quiet and dark. There was little (i.e., zero) conversation. There has been a whole lot of stress the past few days. Most of it is the natural friction between parents and their young adult children. And in Bailey’s case, this friction has been betwwen her and Cindy. I hate to intervene in such matters. So I find myself in the uneasy demilitarized zone between two women that love one another – but are still feeling a lot of conflict. Wow. Life sure is complicated. But I’m wandering off topic.
We got to the airport and gave each other hugs and kisses. And Bailey headed off into the darkenss of KCI aprport. We went into the terminal and saw why we had received a phone call at 4A. Our flight to Atlanta had been cancelled. While Atlanta is a hub, Kansas City isn’t. We assume that an inbound flight was delayed or cancelled. And the next Delta flight to Atlanta was three-and-a-half hours later.
So Cindy and I grabbed coffee at Starbucks. And we settled in to a long winter wait. As you can tell, I’m using my time typing up my idle ruminations. And Cindy is reading. For a lot of people, a few hours in an airport is hellish. Well, I feel the same way. But it does give me plenty of time to tap out a new article or two. And since I can’t bear to do work at 6:30 in the monring, I’m going to assemble some fleeting and disjointed thoughts.
Christmas was a wonderful time at the Olsen’s. As is our custom, we went out to eat on Christmas eve. This year, we went to a local Asian noodle joint called Blue koi. And as usual, it was quite wonderful – but quite pricey. But we had three of four kids with us. So we had another chance to love on the kids a bit.
After dinner, we went to Christmas eve service at Heartland. And it was one of the best Christmas eve services I can remember. We arrived and folks were singing solos from the stage. We all checked our watches to make sure that we weren’t late.
Uh oh. As I’m typing this, Adam Curry has broken into some Christmas music. Yeah, I’m listening to the 12/23 Charlie on 12/27. And Adam is playing one of my favorite Christmas songs: The Night Santa Went Crazy (by Weird Al). I’m grinning and hearing about Santa grinding up Rudoph into reindeer sausage. But I’m digressing…
Where was I? Oh, I remember. I was talking about Christmas and the celebration of our Lord’s birth. As we checked our watches, we knew we were on time. And then we realized that this was the pre-Christmas “concert” everyone was talking about. It was wonderful. People were trickling in. And they seated themselves to the sound of wonderful Christmas cheer.
The service was fantastic. There were carols, a brief but very pointed redemption message, a communion, and the traditional lighting of Christmas candles. All of this was done within one hour.
And the best part is that it set the mood in my heart. My life is always crazy. I have twenty things to do with dozens more on hold. So it would be easy to go through hte motions w/o remembering the meaning. But this service reminded me of the real reason for Christmas. Christ was born on this day. And we remember his birth. But how many of us actually remember the reality. And the reality is simple: He came to Earth to give up his life on our behalf. He lived for the purpose of dying. As I type these words, I feel a tingle running down my spine. I am so capable of being blown away when I am in God’s presence. When I am reminded of his, I am left mute in awe. Even now, I find myself struggling to write down these thoughts. When God is near, I tremble. And when Christ came to Earth, the Earth trembled. The angels sang. And the kings came to worship
After the service ended, we hustled home for the traditional Christmas gift exchange. And everything went wonderfully. Yes, there were gifts. But more importantly, there was a calm and peaceful sense of of well-being. It was interesting to note who got what presents. Dad got some movies and some music – with a few bottles of designer cologne thrown in. Mom got a very Bluetooth Christmas. Everyone got clothes. Dana got a replacement computer. And Adam got a lot of lacrosse equipment. Bailey was the most interesting. She is growing and changing. So she wanted to give everyone an hour’s worth of service. But she realized just how commercial things are. So she crumbled and gave people lots of music. And in our house, that is very important. She received all sorts of music from latin singers and mex-american bands. But I am wandering off-topic…
We set out the milk and cookies for Kris Kringle. And we went to bed. We all slept well.
I got up early to walk the dogs and make coffee. And I decided to do a little spot cleaning of the kitchen floor while I waited for everyone else to get up. I probably went a little overboard on cleaning. But I felt the spirit of my mom being channeled through me. With my step-aunt coming for dinner, I wanted things to look good.
When Clarin and Meredith came, we rousted all the over-sleepers (i.e., my son). And we had wave two of presents. Interesting observations came with this second “gifting.” In particular, Meredith had spent a great deal of time on her present. She settled on a them of women’s togetherness. Every woman in the family got a special stuffed bear. And they all relate to one another. It is far too complicated to explain it here. But the point was simple: all of hte Schwerin women (both in Kansas and in North Carolina) received a part of the themed gifts. It was very cool seeing my daughter focus on a broader meaning. It was heartwarming and it made her Dad quite proud.
And then the food work began. Cindy and Clarin started chopping. And Bailey and Dana started to work on side dishes. The main course was a wonderful beef Wellington. Cindy makes individual filets that are individually wrapped in pastry. The pate is made from mushrooms and ham and a litany of other wonderfully tasting goodies.
And the cranberry dressing was outstanding. It had cranberries (cut in half, apples and even a little orange. And the tastes were quite wonderful when assembled together. Dana added her signature green bean casserole. While Meredith and Bailey assembled salads and deserts.
In short, the meal was astounding. I am quite blessed to have a plethora of great cooks in my kitchen. Praise God!
“You’re Crazy, Man. You’re Absolutely Crazy”
I heard these words while I was making coffee here at the office (in downtown KC). A colleague asked me if I rode my bike this morning. I get that question a lot during the winter. But today, I’m getting it from everyone.
Today, it’s 10° F. And it’s snowing. There is less than an inch on the un-plowed surfaces. But it is all powder. I didn’t hit any icy patches on my ride. They did call for sleet before the snow, but we were spared that challenge. But back to the story…
I told my colleague that I did indeed ride my bike. And I told him that it was a lot of fun. I love it when it snows. Everything is so quiet and still. All of the normal background noises all seem to hold their breath while the frozen wonder accumulates. But I digress…
Per my normal routine, I got up and showered. I figured I’d better have extra layers. So I pulled on my silk undergarments. [Yes, they are long johns, if you must know.] Silk is amazing as an insulator. I can’t think of anything I’d rather wear when it gets really cold. Once I pulled on all my layers, i woke the dogs and we went out on our morning walk.
Wow, the snow was so beautiful. And the dogs loved the time outside. They jumped and rolled in the snow like little children. They pulled on their collars and they wrestled with each other. And they were cold. I could feel the cold on my face. Fortunately, everything else was covered. But all they had was fur. After about fifteen minutes, they were done playing and wanted nothing more of the snow. They are so very much like children.
We went back inside and I got them some food and fresh water. They were very eager diners this morning; they both got right down to the task of cleaning up their bowls. They didn’t even bother to notice the cats that were taunting them from the dining room table.
So while they feasted, I folded up my work clothes and stuffed them in the backpack. I didn’t even have a chance to log in and check the weather before I left. I just grabbed my reflective gear and helmet and I hit the road. I figured I ought to leave early, just in case the roads were dicey and I needed to walk some of the way.
But the roads were great. There was about a half-inch of snow on the streets. It was just enough to make that crunchy sound when the weight of my bike (and my fat ass) pressed down on it. But I had plenty of traction. And there were very few motorists to deal with. So the ride was still, quiet and very white.
When I got to the bus stop, I turned off my lights and waited. And as always, Noah showed up in no time at all. He had his mountain bike rig. So he was having fun in the snow. He stopped by fishtailing his bike and trying to throw up some snow. But the snow is a little wet for that kind of fun. Nevertheless, I could tell he was really enjoying himself.
The bus ride from the mall to downtown was uneventful. So was the ride to Starbucks from the bus. The parking lot was virtually empty when I pulled into the office. I locked my bike and went to the men’s locker room. Once I changed my clothes, I headed up to make coffee. The floor was quite empty when I dropped off my bag at my desk. So I had a quiet few moments to make some coffee.
And that’s when he asked the question. And my simple affirmative response was met with, “You’re crazy, man. You’re absolutely crazy.” I grinned. And I realized that what seemed quite simple and joyful to me was a marvel to this person. I am sure that there are any number of things that this man does that would seem to be marvelous to me. He may paint. Or he may be a carpenter. He may coach his kids sports teams. Or he may take care of an elderly parent. All of these things are positively marvelous.
But he saw my simple routine and marveled at it. I was quite astonished by this – and a little bit humbled. We have such a wonderful world. And I was hand-made by the God who created these wonders. And better still, he trusts me (and all of my fellow dwellers on this spinning rock) to be his faithful stewards of this planet full of wonders. I awoke to the still and the quiet of a beautiful snowfall. And God whispered in my ear. And when I finished all my normal “start-up” activities, He spoke to me again – through a co-worker. And his words were simple: “You’re crazy, man. You’re absolutely crazy.” And I imagined Him laughing with delight. Thanks, Lord. I’ll take that as a crazy compliment!
"You're Crazy, Man. You're Absolutely Crazy"
I heard these words while I was making coffee here at the office (in downtown KC). A colleague asked me if I rode my bike this morning. I get that question a lot during the winter. But today, I’m getting it from everyone.
Today, it’s 10° F. And it’s snowing. There is less than an inch on the un-plowed surfaces. But it is all powder. I didn’t hit any icy patches on my ride. They did call for sleet before the snow, but we were spared that challenge. But back to the story…
I told my colleague that I did indeed ride my bike. And I told him that it was a lot of fun. I love it when it snows. Everything is so quiet and still. All of the normal background noises all seem to hold their breath while the frozen wonder accumulates. But I digress…
Per my normal routine, I got up and showered. I figured I’d better have extra layers. So I pulled on my silk undergarments. [Yes, they are long johns, if you must know.] Silk is amazing as an insulator. I can’t think of anything I’d rather wear when it gets really cold. Once I pulled on all my layers, i woke the dogs and we went out on our morning walk.
Wow, the snow was so beautiful. And the dogs loved the time outside. They jumped and rolled in the snow like little children. They pulled on their collars and they wrestled with each other. And they were cold. I could feel the cold on my face. Fortunately, everything else was covered. But all they had was fur. After about fifteen minutes, they were done playing and wanted nothing more of the snow. They are so very much like children.
We went back inside and I got them some food and fresh water. They were very eager diners this morning; they both got right down to the task of cleaning up their bowls. They didn’t even bother to notice the cats that were taunting them from the dining room table.
So while they feasted, I folded up my work clothes and stuffed them in the backpack. I didn’t even have a chance to log in and check the weather before I left. I just grabbed my reflective gear and helmet and I hit the road. I figured I ought to leave early, just in case the roads were dicey and I needed to walk some of the way.
But the roads were great. There was about a half-inch of snow on the streets. It was just enough to make that crunchy sound when the weight of my bike (and my fat ass) pressed down on it. But I had plenty of traction. And there were very few motorists to deal with. So the ride was still, quiet and very white.
When I got to the bus stop, I turned off my lights and waited. And as always, Noah showed up in no time at all. He had his mountain bike rig. So he was having fun in the snow. He stopped by fishtailing his bike and trying to throw up some snow. But the snow is a little wet for that kind of fun. Nevertheless, I could tell he was really enjoying himself.
The bus ride from the mall to downtown was uneventful. So was the ride to Starbucks from the bus. The parking lot was virtually empty when I pulled into the office. I locked my bike and went to the men’s locker room. Once I changed my clothes, I headed up to make coffee. The floor was quite empty when I dropped off my bag at my desk. So I had a quiet few moments to make some coffee.
And that’s when he asked the question. And my simple affirmative response was met with, “You’re crazy, man. You’re absolutely crazy.” I grinned. And I realized that what seemed quite simple and joyful to me was a marvel to this person. I am sure that there are any number of things that this man does that would seem to be marvelous to me. He may paint. Or he may be a carpenter. He may coach his kids sports teams. Or he may take care of an elderly parent. All of these things are positively marvelous.
But he saw my simple routine and marveled at it. I was quite astonished by this – and a little bit humbled. We have such a wonderful world. And I was hand-made by the God who created these wonders. And better still, he trusts me (and all of my fellow dwellers on this spinning rock) to be his faithful stewards of this planet full of wonders. I awoke to the still and the quiet of a beautiful snowfall. And God whispered in my ear. And when I finished all my normal “start-up” activities, He spoke to me again – through a co-worker. And his words were simple: “You’re crazy, man. You’re absolutely crazy.” And I imagined Him laughing with delight. Thanks, Lord. I’ll take that as a crazy compliment!
My Seinfeld Week
I look for a weekly theme each time I make a post to this site. And this weekend, I feel like I’m writing a Seinfeld episode; I’m writing a post about nothing – or at least nothing in particular.
This week has been incredibly busy, though I couldn’t say that I accomplished anything very substantive.
- I’ve been busy at work trying to shepherd an application into production. And while I’ve been busy ironing out firewall rules, database schemas, and system administration processes, I still feel like there hasn’t been a big “win” this week.
- I’ve fiddled with lots of widgets, gizmos, and doodads for the home system. This includes: a new version of Songbird, a beta version of Vista SP2, switching from Windows Media Player to the VLC Media Player, changing desktop themes and backgrounds, switching from Twhirl to Tweetdeck, and a host of minor (and utterly unmemorable) other changes.
- Adam and I spent a couple of nights ironing out his winter schedule. On Tuesday, we went to a lacrosse planning meeting. I am really excited to see Tanner Briggs taking on the coaching responsibilities for the Shawnee Mission Lacrosse club. And Adam is really focused on having a good year and propelling the team to a league chamionship win.
- On Wednesday, Adam and I went to a basketball planning meeting. This is an odd thing because Adam could be on the school’s basketball team. But he has some fundamental disagreements with the coaching staff at SMS. So he’s decided not to try out for the school team. Instead, he is organizing a team for the local boys basketball league. Traditionally, this league is preparatory for the high school programs. But this year, they are having a high school league – for kids who aren’t on their high school teams. And Adam has asked me to be the coach. I am honored – and perplexed. I know little about basketball – except what I’ve picked up from my kids. And I am legally blind. So I won’t be able to call any plays from the sidelines. I think this may actually be why he asked me. I believe that this team will be his winter lark. OK, I’ll accept that – especially since last winter’s lark landed him in trouble with the law! So everyone will get a few posts about the blind coach. Maybe there is a television script in this venture/fiasco.
- Cindy and I went to her company’s Christmas party. I loved the fact that a real minister had a real invocation “in Jesus’ name.” Way to go! Call me old-fashioned. But I am unashamed to admit that Christmas is about the Christ (not the presents and deorations). If someone is offended by prayers in Jesus’ name, they shouldn’t be at a Christmas party. And I got a bonus out of this party: I had to get a new two-piece suit. It looks sharp – despite the person wearing it. 😉
- My second daughter had a good game on Friday night. She even got interviewed on Atlanta radio. She finally seems to be getting in a groove. I’m still praying that her teammates start giving her the ball a little more.
So I am back to the point where I began this post. I really don’t have a nugget of wisdom to share or a specific topic to highlight. I don’t even have an inspirational anecdote to share. Instead, I am left wondering why I have not been able to focus on something crisp and pithy. But I think that this is true of most of life. It’s not always about meeting a goal and achieving some grand purpose. Instead, it is about doing the things that need to be done for yourself and the ones you love.
-Roo