So now, an Ode to Mom -
Hospitality - I can barely remember a summer where we didn't have 4 kids of a different family running around our house, playing with our NES, Army Men, Legos, etc. Each of the kids was the appropriate age to be a friend of mine or my older brother... It did not occur to me that my mom was babysitting these kids, I thought they were mandatory summer friends.
That started (or continued) a long tradition of my house being the place where my friends would hang out, there was enough room for 5 or 6 of us to crowd around the TV in the living room and watch a rented VHS of The Rock, with Nicholas Cage and Sean Connery. (not "the Rock" the wrestler, although we thought his movie "The Rundown" was pretty good.) We'd have neighborhood-wide games of hide and seek, with one particular tree in my yard designated "Safe." And it wasn't because I was the "coolest kid in school," believe me, I was a nerd. Still am.
It was really because my parents would let us get away with the most shenanigans, because they knew we were mostly harmless. Mostly. Only two of us were ever stabbed in the eye, with an actual sword, and only only one of us bled... He then said, "Nah, it's just a flesh wound! Let's keep going!" And that event did not occur at my house.
I could go on and on about the ridiculous things that would happen at my house, but many of those can be saved for a later (and entertaining) post.
More Hospitality -
My mother (and father) are so accommodating, that my long-distance friends would stay at their house in order to visit their girlfriend/boyfriend the next day. And this was 3 years after I had gotten married and moved out. Most of them are married now, so that doesn't happen so often.
Come to think of it, prior to our getting married, my wife actually lived with my parents while I moved closer to work. Because it was a more convenient alternative than her living in the mountains with her mom (who is awesome and an amazing photographer Check it out, here,) but whose internet was slow.
This gave way to my house being a home for everyone who didn't want to be at their own. I kept it stocked with Coke, Vanilla Coke, Mt. Dew, and plenty of Sunchips. Not only would both of my bands (One Less Star and Kardia) practice there, but another; a hardcore band, called Nigh is the Hour would occupy our rehearsal space while 10 other people hung out in the living room, playing Super Smash Bros Brawl, watching Joss Whedon's Firefly (the best freaking show to ever air on television) and downing copious amounts of sugary goodness (Mountain Dew) and pizza.
Of course, now I don't have the room to host 4 people, let alone the 15 who used to live at my house. Such is the fate of an apartment in a city. Maybe someday.
Frugality - I will forever look at the unit price of an item before purchasing it. Smaller might be cheaper for now, but next week, I will run out of coffee and you will not want to hang out with me. Price per pound, per ounce, per each, etc. If your mother wasn't awesome enough to teach you that, then let mine.
Always purchase based on the lower unit price.
Brothers -
By the time I was old enough to appreciate the things I could learn from my older siblings, the older of the two was married and living a few hours away. And this was before the days of Facebook an Skype. Fortunately for me, he taught me (without realizing it) to focus on what's important.
Focus and Passion -
He uprooted himself and his family from what I thought to be a comfortable life, with a well-paying job that he enjoyed, and moved back to our neck of the woods, where he cooks awesome food for a bunch of ravenous teenagers (and adults) who most likely demand bacon for every meal.
Is cooking food his passion? Maybe, you'd have to ask him. But from the outside, it sure looks that way.
Not only is he a lunch lady, but he does it at a Christian Camp where he serves as an example of how to live a Godly life for the kids who work there, and probably some of the ones who attend notice as well.
Patience -
You ever cook bacon for 120 different kids every week?
He has a teenage daughter with an iPhone. I think I'd lose my mind.
Despite his love for what he does, his family comes first. That may have been the real reason for uprooting and coming back home. It's a good place to raise a family.
Sarcasm (again)
He can dish it out with the best of them, and so he is a keeper of the Spiritual Gift of Sarcasm. If you didn't guess, sarcasm has played a major part in my life.
The Other Brother
This brother was a few years older than me, and still around during my formative years.
Quality Entertainment
Star Trek, Star Wars, Legos, Dragonball Z, Nintendo, Tom Clancy novels, Orson Scott Card novels, Sister Hazel, Foo Fighters, James Taylor, Billy Joel, The Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, Saved by the Bell, Boy Meets World, The Postman, etc.
Pretty much anything that occupies my leisure time (now and back then) has been influenced by this guy. And yes, there is a reason Star Trek came first. Yes, I'm a nerd.
Marching Band -
I always enjoyed music. I sang, played a little trumpet, tinkered on the piano, but it wasn't until the summer before 7th grade when my true love of music really took hold. I joined marching band as soon as I was able, and my intense love for music was born.I had little time for anything else, and he helped nurture the seed that contained the discipline planted by our father. I wanted to quit. SO many times. But after sticking with it for years, and years, and years. I wouldn't be the person I am today without the militaristic discipline instilled in me. Had it not been for my brother's heavy involvement in it, I'd have never stuck with music.
But why was I REALLY in marching band? Well, I was no good at sports, as many friends can attest. So I had to get girls some how.
How to Get Girls -
I met my wife through marching band and I'll tell that story at some point. So yeah. Chris taught me how to get girls.
For a long time, my motto was as follows.
Marching band is life, the rest is just details.
Yes, I'm a nerd.
Firefly
Yeah, this has its own section, and it will probably have its own blog at some point. Because as I mentioned before, it is the BEST show to ever air. My brother told me to watch this show for years, and after 8 years of ignoring him, I watched the first episode... And finished the rest of the show within a week. Got my wife hooked. Got my friends hooked (the ones that weren't already into it)
My dad would have liked it too, but he recently explained that he doesn't enjoy unresolved issues in story telling... And for those of you that know Firefly... You understand the problem.
Yes, I'm a nerd.
There's a crap ton more that I learned from these people, but I'm trying to keep these posts under 5000 words.
Not only is he a lunch lady, but he does it at a Christian Camp where he serves as an example of how to live a Godly life for the kids who work there, and probably some of the ones who attend notice as well.
Patience -
You ever cook bacon for 120 different kids every week?
He has a teenage daughter with an iPhone. I think I'd lose my mind.
Despite his love for what he does, his family comes first. That may have been the real reason for uprooting and coming back home. It's a good place to raise a family.
Sarcasm (again)
He can dish it out with the best of them, and so he is a keeper of the Spiritual Gift of Sarcasm. If you didn't guess, sarcasm has played a major part in my life.
The Other Brother
This brother was a few years older than me, and still around during my formative years.
Quality Entertainment
Star Trek, Star Wars, Legos, Dragonball Z, Nintendo, Tom Clancy novels, Orson Scott Card novels, Sister Hazel, Foo Fighters, James Taylor, Billy Joel, The Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, Saved by the Bell, Boy Meets World, The Postman, etc.
Pretty much anything that occupies my leisure time (now and back then) has been influenced by this guy. And yes, there is a reason Star Trek came first. Yes, I'm a nerd.
Marching Band -
I always enjoyed music. I sang, played a little trumpet, tinkered on the piano, but it wasn't until the summer before 7th grade when my true love of music really took hold. I joined marching band as soon as I was able, and my intense love for music was born.I had little time for anything else, and he helped nurture the seed that contained the discipline planted by our father. I wanted to quit. SO many times. But after sticking with it for years, and years, and years. I wouldn't be the person I am today without the militaristic discipline instilled in me. Had it not been for my brother's heavy involvement in it, I'd have never stuck with music.
But why was I REALLY in marching band? Well, I was no good at sports, as many friends can attest. So I had to get girls some how.
How to Get Girls -
I met my wife through marching band and I'll tell that story at some point. So yeah. Chris taught me how to get girls.
For a long time, my motto was as follows.
Marching band is life, the rest is just details.
Yes, I'm a nerd.
Firefly
Yeah, this has its own section, and it will probably have its own blog at some point. Because as I mentioned before, it is the BEST show to ever air. My brother told me to watch this show for years, and after 8 years of ignoring him, I watched the first episode... And finished the rest of the show within a week. Got my wife hooked. Got my friends hooked (the ones that weren't already into it)
My dad would have liked it too, but he recently explained that he doesn't enjoy unresolved issues in story telling... And for those of you that know Firefly... You understand the problem.
Yes, I'm a nerd.
There's a crap ton more that I learned from these people, but I'm trying to keep these posts under 5000 words.
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