Category Archives: Life in General

Father’s Day and a NEW bucket list

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It’s Father’s Day and I received my gift several week’s ago when my kids ‘surprised’ me with a trip to Wrigley to watch the Astros play the Cubs.

When the day came, it really wasn’t a surprise, but there was a surprise involved.

my Father’s Day gift was early! Best day ever!

A couple of weeks before the game, I called my daughter on her way to work and shared that the Astros were going to be in town and asked if she wanted to go. There was a silence on the other end and then an answer,

“You didn’t hear this from me, but I’ve been watching for tickets…Father’s Day is coming”

A few weeks before, she asked me if I had any baseball trips planned for the summer. I told her,

“No, all the good weekends are taken.” I said.

“What do you mean?” she replied.

“Well, all of the games I’d like to see are weekend when I can’t go. Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, my brother’s visit, Race Weekend, weekends when I can’t go.” I explained.

I finished my bucket list last August when I watched the Astros play the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. With that game, I had made it to all 30 of the baseball cities and 33 baseball stadiums.

With that milestone, I needed a new bucket list item! So, I added a new item to my bucket list, it’s a updated version of the original bucket list item – to see the Astros play in every stadium. Presently, I am at 17 cities where I have seen my team play.

It had been a while since I had been to a game with my daughter – it was 2018 before the Astros cheating scandal when she stopped rooting for the Astros.

ready for the last baseball game with my daughter – Astros at home in April 2018 and the last picture of the two of us with my mom…. April 2018

I wrote about a trip to the park almost a dozen years ago,Β Weekly Photo Challenge: Between June 2014. I had to go back and edit – the link to the seventh inning stretch was broken, but I was able to find the video and update it!

A couple of days before the game, I found out the rest of the surprise – my son and his boys would be joining us! I was so excited. A baseball game with the grandies!

I was even able to find a photo! April 7, 2017

It had been even longer since I had watched a game with my son – I think it goes back all the way back to April 2017.

Anyway, Saturday couldn’t come soon enough. Friday afternoon, I listened to the finish of the game in my classroom after school and the Astros won 4-2!

Saturday morning I was up early and excited.

My son had borrowed my car the night before and the grandies loaded and ready to go.

The drive into Chicago went smoothly until we reached the city and got bogged down in lower Wacker traffic. IYKYK!

We had decided to park remotely, instead of attempting to park near the stadium. A WIN because it was free and much easier!

We parked, loaded the bus, and finished with a short walk to Wrigley.

loaded and ready to go….
… where are we going? and this hat!
loading for the ride to Chicago
the bus ride to Wrigley…
Always wants to see where we are headed…

The Astros were up 2-0 Β in the second inning when we got to our seats, but it didn’t matter. We were there to enjoy a day together at the ballpark.

the view from our seats… in the shade

My son had brought snacks and drinks for the grandies and they were happy to watch and take in the game. I got ballpark food the kids and me and got a free peanut (for the photo) from the couple behind me!

I even tried a peanut photo….
… and it was too dark, or it went straight to the mouth!

We had a great time and the Astros were able to tack on another run in the fourth inning.

When the seventh inning came, we were all in and sang “Take Me out the Ballgame” with gusto.

It was a fun game to watch, but to be honest it was just fun being at the ballpark sharing the game I love and spending time with my kids and grandies.

After the game, we let the crowd go before we left our seats… and we let the grandies play before we packed up and headed back to the bus and home.

anther Astro fan behind one of the grandies

 

On the way home we checked in with mom (my wife, B) and organized an outdoor pizza party to finish the day.

And now, I have a new bucket list item – watch as many baseball Β games as I can with my grandies!

It was an amazing day and I’ve been waiting to share ever since. It’s Father’s Day and I am blessed with two amazing kids and a couple of grandies to boot. Today is going to be an amazing day. So, I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, being father since 1998.

Any Father’s Day memories?

Oh and BTW, Β the Astros won the game 3-0 and swept the three game series with a win Sunday.

 

Sign of the Week – Memory

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It’s been a week.

While I was writing Wednesday’s W^2 post, I was sipping coffee at a Starbuck’s because a thunderstorm had knocked our power out. I figured I could charge my devices, create an overdue post, and maybe collect my thoughts from an already busy week.

I finished my post and my coffee, then stopped to grab dinner and head home.

The power had not been restored; fortunately the storm brought relief from the heat and humidity, so sleeping without power came quickly.

the culprit, a large branch had snapped and taken out the electric lines when it crashed to the ground…

The power was still out when I awakened Thursday morning. I checked with the power company – the update stated that they planned to have power restored by Saturday at 3:00 PM! I knew that our outrage was relatively small – only a 100 customers. According to the power company, they had more than 200,000 customers without power, so I understood the three-day timeline.

No power meant no coffee. So, I left the house to grab a cup of coffee. I had a lot to think about.

Thursday’s forecast called for two more waves of severe storms, with the latter being the strongest.

Besides the power being out, I planned to be at Β lake the following day , but I couldn’t leave the house without power including a full refrigerator and freezer. I had a lot to think about and do.

My first thought was to get a generator, which I quickly realized made little sense. Then it shifted to empty both freezer and refrigerator, clean them, and restock later when the power was restored. Finally, it dawned on me I could donate the salvage the frozen food and donate them to the food pantry, while tossing the what couldn’t. To do the salvage and donate, I needed to borrow a cooler from my son, so I left the house to pick it up and passed the cause of the power outage where I discovered two power company repair trucks parked and waiting. So maybe, power might be restored after all. I got the cooler, anyway, and was back a half-hour later.

a large branch had been cut here….
the damage…
the street is is ready and the lineman haven’t started , yet..
and the cut, created an opportunity for animals to create the hollow that weakened the limb…

When I returned, the power company was starting to stage the repair by closing off the two lane road before beginning the repair.

I took a walk to inspect, and be nosey. I took a few photos, too. On the way back I ran onto a few neighbors and I shared what I had learned.

So, I waited. I took a short nap.

The first wave of thunderstorms rolled through, then power came back on. We had been without power for twenty-three hours.

We still had one more wave of weather to roll through and it would be the most severe of the week, possibly the season. But I was relieved and I could start thinking, again.

The last line of storms passed through with the worst of the storms passing south of our home. And the electricity stayed on.

Friday morning, I drove to the lake, stopping along the way to visit my brother and his wife at their campsite in Holland, Michigan. Yesterday, they joined us at the lake for a visit and dinner. Today, we hope to take a ride on the lake and finish the day with dinner.

Until then, I need to get moving and jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Today is going to be a great day. Making the Days COUNT, one day at a time, slowing down to restart thinking.

Have you ever had a moment like the sign read?

 

 

 

Taurus the Bull – 11 years later

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IMPORTANT – A couple of notes on today’s post….. it’s long, it’s personal, and it’s a re-post from 2015. Enjoy.

My dad was a Taurus. Today would have been his 82nd birthday. He passed away after a brief illness on July 20, 2009. He was 76, too young. His passing took me by surprise, though if I had been paying attention I would have known, or at the least been more prepared, more ready.

My dad and his mom - one year old - May 1934 My dad and his mom – one year old – May 1934

It seems like just the other day, but it was almost six years ago. It was at the end of the school year and I remember the entire event unfolding in slow motion in my memory, as if it were yesterday.

A year after my dad passed away, my brothers and I escorted his cremains to France and spread his ashes where he wanted to spend eternity in the countryside of northern France. Since that summer, I’ve been on a quest to recapture and gather my history, my story – who I am, where I have been, and where I am headed. In a way, MakingtheDaysCount.org has been my journal and my travelogue. Continue reading Taurus the Bull – 11 years later →

Sign of the Week – Mother’s Day

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I have a few signs of the week that haven’t made it to the blog, yet. I am not sure if any of them are relevant anymore as time ran out before I could write the post.

This week’s sign is too good to allow to wither away on the vine. I found it by accident. I drove past this week’s sign Saturday morning. I was in the left lane and didn’t see it until I was almost past it.

This morning, I went back to capture the sign I missed yesterday. I’ve have added the sign to my ‘must curate’ list, and I will be driving past it more often!

Mother’s Day in our house means celebrating my wife by weeding, spring yard cleaning, and spreading mulch, and getting the yard and garden, and anything outside looking great for spring.

It’s a labor of love.

At the end of a day’s work, we sit down and have dinner together on the deck, if it’s warm enough.

Mom, me and younger brother Warren. My youngest brother hasn’t arrived yet. late 1963, or early 1964.

Every year on this day I think of my mom, and my stepmom.

Those two moms shaped me onto the person I have become. Like the craftsman that shapes a block of wood; my mother sculpted me by knocking off corners first, then craving, and sculpting me before sanding to finish me. My stepmother aided in the process. I would not be the person I am without those two.

photos of my stepmother – upper left clockwise – dad and her, as a baby, probably her mum, and Juliana was a young woman – long before my father met her.

And the rough spots that remain, are the dominion of my wife (and daughter) who continue the work of removing any blemish or growth that remains.

It’s a labor of love.

I am work in progress and I am trying to be a better every day.

I am already behind my self-imposed schedule so; I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Today is going the be an amazing day. Making the days Count since 1961, one day at a time with the help of some very special women.

What are you going to do to celebrate the day?

Sign of the Week – detours

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I am little behind on my Signs of the Week posts, but school is back in session and it seems I am busier than ever. Sometimes I worry too much about posting when I should be focused on being my best self.

I found these gems on a sign back to back in front of the First baptist Church along Β M55 in Prudenville, Michigan over the Labor Day weekend a few weeks back. I found a couple more that’ll have to wait for another week or so, depending on what I find in my travels this coming week.

This is the other side of the sign, it was on the sunny side, facing west.

I was reminded that detours can be good, even if they don’t seem to be at the time.

Yesterday, while volunteering at Loaves and Fishes on my normal Saturday morning shift I got to talking with a fellow volunteer whom I have worked with many times before – at east the past couple of years…..the conversation went like this…….

Me: “What do you do when you are not volunteering at Loaves?”

KS: “I work in IT.” What do you do?

Me: “I teach middle school science?

KS: “Really, where?

Me: “Scullen Middle School…”

KS: “Really, I have 6th grader at Scullen…..”

Yep, and she’s in my class, my tenth period class which is my last of the day and a great way to finish every day.

It’s a small world and sometimes our detours are really good things.

I am wrapping up my sixth year of volunteering at Loaves and Fishes. I started volunteering because I wanted to be a positive example for my son, who’d landed in a tight spot and needed some community service hours. He volunteered and served the hours he needed, but has since moved on to other things. Things he should be focused on – marriage, parenthood, building his career, and other things a late twenty-something should be paying attention to.

And me a sixty-somethings? I am doing what I should be doing with the detour, practicing for retirement and staying active in the community. Β I get as much if not more from my time helping others get what they need to thrive.

I have a few more years before I hang up the chalk for good, but I am always learning, always thinking, and always being curious. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, and trying to look at things differently, even detours.

Have you ever Β had a detour that turned into a blessing?

And by the way, if you missed my post about my visit to the Netherlands, check out Operation Market Garden…

London to Swansea

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Our trip caught up with us on Friday. After two days of sight-seeing, we were spent.

I was able to finish sign of the week before breakfast, even after promising myself I’d have it ready to go ahead of time.

Over breakfast we decided to make it a β€˜museum day.’ We ended up taking the underground to Bond Street and then walking to the Wallace Collection near Marlylebone, where we had been Thursday. As we walked, I recognized some of the places we had passed the day before and I was thankful the museum was air conditioned. After viewing the first gallery together – paintings and other art work from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, we separated. My wife went upstairs, to explore and I explored downstairs and te the collection of English armor.

The tile and statue are reproductions inspired from the Near East – reproductions of the tile are in the restrooms..
The armor opposite the chair I took a break to rest my eyes…

I was able to sit quietly and people watch in one of the chairs set aside for visitors like me.

When my wife was finished, she texted me and went to find her. We talked next steps and decided to visit Ottolenghi, the restaurant we had enjoyed the day before for a β€˜petit repas,’ order it to go, and enjoy it in al fresco. The server recommended a small shaded neighborhood park close by Β and we found it after a short walk.

The park was the ideal location to enjoy a bite to eat , people watch, and talk about what we wanted to do with the remainder of the day – our last FULL day in London. In the end, we decided to return to the hotel, take a short nap, freshen up, and decide about dinner afterwards.

The short nap and freshening up did wonders for our perspective and we decided to enjoy the local culture of an English pub. On the recommendation of the concierge (and a fellow America) we chose a pub nearby the hotel. It was an excellent recommendation. I ordered the Scotch egg (below) and fish and chips, and Β my wife had the Beef Wellington, the house specialty. All of it was delicious washed down with a pint or two of the local beer.

We finished the evening at Hyde Park listening to Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts finish their set. We were back at our hotel well before midnight.

Saturday morning we woke early, it was a traveling day. After breakfast we returned to the room to pack before catching a ride to Paddington Station and the train to Swansea.

Before we left, I asked the concierge if there was a mailbox close by and he point ed at one I had walked by at least two times without noticing. You would’ve thought I would have noticed something so large and RED! I mailed the post cards we had written.

 

We had a date with the Great Western Railroad to celebrate Juliana.

My father and Juliana lived in England for less than a decade in the from about 1976 to 1983 before relocating to Paris. During our summer and winter breaks, my brothers and I would visit them though we always we went separately I went by by myself and my two brothers traveled together. Juliana and my father lived in Reading which is a bit more than a half hour train ride from London through Paddington Station. I remember traveling through Paddington to Reading and back during my trips – sometimes with them or by myself, then using the underground to get around the city. That was a long time ago and my to Reading and England was Christmas break of 1982 when I was a junior in college.

In the late 70s British Rail introduced these engines which traveled 125 mph, they still do…
The countryside west of Reading farms and less people

Our trip to Swansea would take us to Reading and Bristol, Cardiff, and terminate in Swansea where we would meet up with my brother and his wife and Juliana’s English family.

Saturday was for traveling, then gathering with family to honor Juliana and dad, and that is for another story.

Today has been an amazing day, it too was a travel day. Swansea to London, the the Eurostar to Paris. It’s been a whirlwind of a day, though I don’t know if it could top Saturday. That is for another post.

Today would have been Juliana’s 91st birthday. I know she was with us yesterday, likely wondering what all the fuss was about.

At the moment, I am traveling south from Lille to Paris at 186 mph (300 mph) and I had better wrap up this post before we arrive at Gare du Nord and begin the French portion of our trip begins. I have already jumped up, jumped in, and seized the day. Today has counted in so many ways – by car and rail and so much more. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, even when I am posting at 10:40 PM (local time).

When was the last time you posted late in the day?

Tuesday’s Tune – Leaving on a Jet Plane

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Tuesday’s here and shortly, we’ll be on our way.

I’ll be trading my summer office for a hotel room, park bench, or cafe somewhere or someplace.

β€˜Cause I’m leaving on a jet plane,Β 

I remember when this song was popular. It was 1970 and we were living in Venezuela and preparing to move back to the states. I can remembering hearing this song playing on the record player in our home as my mom packed the house before Β the movers arrived to load everything to return the states. We weren’t much help – me aged 8, and my two brothers aged 7, and 5; likely more in the way than a help.

Jet travel was new and novel, and probably very expensive. But for an eight year-old, it was a wonderful experience and lasting memory. It was a propellor plane to Caracas and jet plane to Miami, then another jet home to Houston. Even today, when I smell diesel exhaust which Β smells similar to jet exhaust, it takes me back to those early days of jet travel.

my mom – 1966 Paris at Orly, watching planes with us

Funny, but I am not alone. Every year when I teach the unit on smells and particles, the students make a list of smells they like and don’t like and we compare as a class. Invariably, there is always at least one kiddo (or more) who says they like the smell of diesel exhaust for the same reason; it’s usually a boy.

β€˜Cause I’m leaving on a jet plane,Β 

Today is going to be a great day, it could be a million and six times better than yesterday. So, I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Still need to finish packing and taking care of things around the house. Making the Days Count, one day at a time going back and forward all at the same time.

Do you remember travel Β when you were a kid? Continue reading Tuesday’s Tune – Leaving on a Jet Plane →

Sign of the Week – June 21st

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It’s the first FULL day of summer in the northern hemisphere. It’s where I live and where most of the world’s population lives also – it’s approximately a 90-10 spilt! It’s largely due to equity of land distribution – 68-32 spilt in favor of the northern hemisphere.

But this isn’t a geography lesson.

I saw something recently that explained one of the reasons for the decline in cognitive ability in aging adults (and that’s me) is when we stop creating.

MtDC is fifteen years old this summer going on sixteen and I’d like to see it continue to grow.

TRUE – a wonderful thought for the first day of summer, Wheaton, IL Friday, June 20, 2025

I have a blogger friend who β€˜s Saturday post is always – Photos of the Week. Each week Wynne includes a sign she has come across in her travels during the week and it is always a good message. She peppers it with images from her family’s weekI look. I forward to her posts each Saturday morning.

Continue reading Sign of the Week – June 21st →

Three things for a Father’s Day morning

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It’s Father’s Day and I have already gotten my gifts. We are at the lake, my daughter is upstairs sleeping after, our son is home with his family after travelling home yesterday, and the dogs are curled up sleeping. It is a quiet Sunday morning, and the lake is still, cool, and overcast.

It’s been almost sixteen years since my father died. For me Father’s Day is a quiet day best spent with family. This year, it’s special as it is my son’s first Father’s Day.

Family at the lake
This past week my son and his family visited us at the lake. It was exciting, fun, and a whirlwind having twin grandies and their parents join us at the lake for several days. It was fun hearing them babble, cry, crawl, eat, and grow.

our first family photo from last summer….
Weston and Hudson!
Weston rides Archie with O’s help
Hudson and my wife….
already printed, framed, and on display…

I remember his first visit as an infant and our daughter’s a few years later. We enjoyed their visit and celebrated several firsts – especially our first three generations photo!

Father’s Day
My daughter gave me my Father’s Day gift a few weeks ago. It is a hummingbird feeder with a camera. I opened the box this past week, installed it, and have been enjoying the feeder and its images since.

I am thankful to my blogging friend Margaret for encouraging me to be a birder with her book’s post from April 2018. I did read the book Where the Poppies Blow, and I am excited to return to Europe this summer and travel through the battlefields of northern France and the Netherlands. Also, I am thankful to the COVID lockdown for accelerating my curiosity and wonder for birds.

Sometimes we simply need a gentle push and I’ve been enjoying since. Continue reading Three things for a Father’s Day morning →

Three things for the first Sunday in March

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…and the first post of 2025. I started this post in January and didn’t finish. It happened again in February. I am going to finish it today and get on to the other things I need to finish for the weekend.

I’ve been following along on other blogs and I last month I read the sad news that another blogger I’ve followed for years has decided to stop posting. I was sad, because the thought crosses my mind from time to time. I was in late 40s when I started Making the Days Count dot org and now, I am in my early 60s, a fact I find difficult to believe. But I am here as stubborn and resolute as I was the first time I pressed β€˜publish.’ I am hopeful too that my stories and posts show that I am still making my days count.

MOM DAY
Today is mom’s day. It was six years ago this morning when I learned my mom had died after a brief illness. I was talking to my brother David when he told me he needed to take a call. He called me back a few minutes later to share the sad news.

Her death wasn’t unexpected, she’d been moved to hospice weeks before she died. But six years later her passing still resonates with me.

I got my curls from her, or the bread crusts she coaxed me to eat. My mom as a child in 1938.

This morning, I was looking for a photo of her I could post, and I searched through the boxes I packed when she moved out of the house, we called home in 2028. I brought them home the summer after she died. They’ve been stacked unopened near my desk since. Continue reading Three things for the first Sunday in March →