To the Country (and Grandma's House)

While Jenny made a trip to OKC last weekend to visit her college roommate, the kids and I skipped the city and headed to Grandma's house in Desert, TX. Desert, where I grew up, is nothing more than a couple dozen houses spread across the north Texas countryside, along with a Presbyterian church, a few herd of cattle, and a maze of dusty, white-rock roads. In the past couple years, a traffic light, convenience store and welding shop have been added to the landscape. I suppose it won't be long before Desert becomes engulfed in the ever-expanding suburban sprawl of the DFW area.

We had a great time outdoors, soaking in the sunlight, riding trikes, scooters, and four-wheelers, shooting hoops, hitting golf balls, swinging, sliding, and running. The kids saw dozens of different kinds of bugs--it was fun to see them marvel at the little things underfoot that rarely exist in the concrete jungle.

Being in Desert reminded me of the things I miss about the country. Open spaces, natural variety, simplicity, and life at a manageable pace. In the city, our lives are often overrun by a myriad of things that are small and insignificant compared to the more important things of life. But we're moving at such a frantic pace that we seldom take the time to realize it. More often than not I find myself engaging in things, trivial things, as if to keep my mind from fixating on the reality that this life, and the way I live it, are not what they are supposed to be or intended to be; a sort of holy discontent that forces me back into the fight to hold on to the things that matter and that leaves me feeling unfulfilled when I don't hold them close. Do you know what I mean? Probably not. My short stint in the country reminded me that few things are really worth the trouble; I have renewed my striving to focus more of my time and energy on those more important things.

A Day at the Nelson

Yesterday I attended my very first PGA event--the EDS Byron Nelson Championship in Las Colinas. A good friend of mine, Chris Owen, came by some tickets via his wife's work, and so we spent the day cruising the beautiful course architecture of the TPC Four Seasons Resort. And best of all, we didn't spend a dime!

After arriving and watching some warmups, we checked in at the "Chairman's Guest" tent (yes, we were the special guests of the Chairman) to receive our colored wrist bands. Those bands were our tickets to breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and drinks. All you could eat and, yes, all for free. (Thank you Mr. Chairman!) Following check-in, we parked ourselves next to the 1st green and watched some of the early groups play through.

After a while, the group we had been waiting for finally came through. Phil Mickleson, Vijay Singh, and Cory Pavin were approaching the green. Phil hit an amazing approach from the cabbage (for you non-golf types, it really wasn't cabbage, just a very lush, thick, DEEP layer of grass off the faiway that can gobble up a golf ball in an instant) that lipped around the cup; an easy tap-in birdie for Lefty that greatly excited the gallery.

Well, we followed Phil's group for a few holes, then took up residence at the 8th green to bask in the sun and enjoy some conversation. Once our group caught up again, we watched one more hole and then headed for lunch (mmm...lunch!). Following lunch we found a seat on the balcony of the Chairman's Tent overlooking the 17th green. It was great just to sit and chat without a million things competing for my attention. I can't remember the last time I was able to spend 15 minutes, much less 7 hours, of uninterrupted time with a true friend. After the day I could feel the comfort and joy in my soul. Its somthing that I've been missing for a long time; I just didn't realize it.

After some time our group came through. Phil lost a stroke on the par 3 17th and another on the par 4 18th--not the way you want to finish an opening round. Chris and I poked around a while longer, watched Phil graciously sign autographs (even after the tough end to his day), and then headed out.

Yesterday was a great day.

The "F" Word

Well, since I've been a neglectful blogger, I thought I would return to my blogging ways with one that would catch your attention. A couple of weeks ago, I was reminded of the sweet innocence of our children...and how quickly it can be taken away.

One of the things we try and do as a family each week is make a trip to the gym. The local LA Fitness is great for us because it offers so much for mom and dad, the kids love going there, and it isn't near as crowded as the one in Keller! (Sorry Jenna). Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, Cloe and I were visiting in my office after school, preparing for a trip to the gym. She was telling me that she hoped a certain gym-friend, we'll call her Penelope, was going to be there. She LOVED playing with Penelope because they had so much fun together. That's good, because it helps mom and dad go if we know the kiddos are having a good time in the Kids Club.

Well, as the conversation went on, Cloe mentioned that, sometimes, Penelope wants her to do things that are gross (dad's attention is piqued here). I responded, "How so?" Our daughter went on to say that sometimes Penelope, who, from this point on will be referred to as "P", wants her to pretend to do things, like the "F" word. [At this point I had a major Matrix-moment where the whole world slows down and you hear nothing but your heart beating as the room slowly spins around you. Thoughts flooded my mind of horrible things being imposed upon my little girl in the tunnels of the once-happy-place Kid's Club. I think you parents can relate.] WITHOUT breaking composure, I calmly asked, "What kinds of things do you do when she asks you to play that way?" "Oh, you know, we pretend to throw up and do the thing that I'm not supposed to say that starts with an "f" and ends with "art"."

Have you ever had a moment when you felt like the world had just been taken off your shoulders? I had that moment then--it was nice. In the end, we both agreed that P's friendship was not worth the cost of compromising proper behavior. And, in the end, innocence was saved for at least one more day.

Trip to Holly Lake

This past weekend we took a family trip to Holly Lake Ranch in east Texas. We were all very excited to get out of town. Once we got to the resort, the kids quickly saw the very large bathtub, so they took a swim in the tub for a bit. Cole did not like when we turned on the jacuzzi, but he recovered! Friday morning the kids and I took Tim to the golf course and then we went back and played at the playground. They had tons of fun, Cloe would zip here and there and Cole of course was close behind. They played their first game of tether ball. Cole finally figured out he didn't have to chase the ball around the pole. It was pretty cute to watch! We played at the mini golf course, Cloe made a hole in one on the 9th hole. She could hardly wait to ask Tim what he scored on the 9th hole where he played. We met Jeff and his sweet family in Gilmer for lunch. He showed us his church, and then we were able to spend the afternoon with them at their new house. We enjoyed our time with them so much. This trip was a wonderful kick off to a great Easter weekend!

Catching Up, Part 1

Since our blog is new, and since I'm not good at coming up with interesting things to write about, I thought I would start a series to catch you up on some of the things that happened prior to our blogging days. Of course, I'm banking on the idea that someone other than me will be reading these posts some day. :)

A few weeks ago, Cole had his tonsils and adenoids removed. We finally convinced the ENT that they needed to be taken out when they became visible with his mouth closed. (OK, those really aren't his tonsils, just some string cheese) The surgery went very well, but the recovery was a bit rough. Mom used up her spring break trying to get the boy to eat and drink again. Cole went a good 5 days without eating. Most days he walked around with a mouth full of slobber because he was afraid to swallow. But we're past all that and he is finally sleeping through the night! And most mornings (except this one) he sleeps beyond his usual 5 AM wakeup time. Yea! I guess we'll pay the bills after all.