Footing the bill to college!

Last weekend we were lucky to take the boys to an indoor soccer game at the new Independence Event Center with a few friends and their kids.  Ever since the game our boys have really been loving playing their own version of the fast-paced game in our basement.  Yes, it is true, our youngest has yet to even crawl, but he still loves participating with his very active, older brother.  I caught a quick excerpt from their last match- before, of course, a riot broke out in the stands.

As you can see, our youngest is anything but a push over, and quite clearly already a standout talent.  We have sent this video to several D-1 schools and have opted to forgo a college savings plan, judging by how likely it is he and, in reality, his brother both will be receiving full scholarships!  We just couldn't be happier.  

Winter blues

Even I have to admit there's a very brief period of appreciation for the freshly fallen snow and its pristine beauty.  But three minutes later I'm going crazy, ready to hop a flight to Mexico.  I would do it too if I didn't have the endless responsibility of shoveling and then reshoveling snow (yesterday I shoveled three times before nightfall.)

Luckily for me, today was a snow day at school.  And it's always great to get the call, or in this case, text, that school has been canceled.  This is the third snow day in two weeks, so we've had our share of rest.  Don't get me wrong, I love my days off as much as the next person.  But joy is only temporary as you begin to realize why you're actually out of school.  Reality hits when you want to get out of your house and off the property you've been shoveling for weeks, only to find you're snowed in!

I've about hit that point of winter madness or snow time blues.  It's taking its toll.  Real productivity and heavy snowfall seem to be inversely correlated in my life:  The more the snow falls, the less I seem able to get done.  I've created a chart to demonstrate my recent struggles, because everyone knows charts don't lie!

New you resolutions

I again chose not to participate in a New Year's resolution at the start of 2011.  In truth, they have never really been a practice of mine and not for lack of things worth changing or fixing.  To make resolutions is healthy human nature, of course.  It shows we are ready to grow.

It's not too late for me, though, to throw my hat in the ring and give it a try.  If I could influence one element of my life for the better, it would be in reducing moments of regret.  Regret of course is a discomfort or an unsettling one feels after their own action or inaction.  Regret often manifests itself after making a clumsy decision, or impulsively reacting.  It also waits behind, lurking for us to say no to a good opportunity met with varying levels of resistance; a missed chance, a moment of inaction.

Regret is fortunately not an unforeseen side-effect.  Rarely are people completely sideswiped by regret.  Our hearts are filled with tools to recognize moments of grace, if you would, and consolation.  These "hints" try to direct or aid each of us in the right decisions.  But even our heart's inclinations are often ignored or misdirected, choosing the immediate over the sustainable.

Opportunity: Alarm goes off.  Response: I'd rather sleep another hour than run.  

Opp: An old friend calls.  Re: I'm just too busy to talk right now.  

Opp: The opportunity arises to see an elderly loved one.  Re: We can catch up next visit.  

The situations above offer varying chances at possible regret.  Missing a morning run, I'll concede, is trivial in comparison to missing a chance at telling a loved one how you feel about them.   Regardless, the reality remains, our lives are a collection of moments, seized or otherwise.  Answering the small calls prepares us for the harder ones.

Several months ago I had an opportunity to be a faculty leader on a student retreat.  Students shared touching stories and testimonials with their peers and many expressed the pain they felt in ignoring these natural inclinations.  I've experienced enough of this pain, too, to know that regret can take its toll.  Nobody likes to look in the rearview mirror and see countless moments that could have gone better.

So for the upcoming year, and hopefully well beyond, I'm going to try and affirm these desires of the heart and hopefully avoid the moments of regret.  It is my hope that such decisions will lead to a life looking forward to the future, as opposed to peering backward to the past at what could have been.

Kindles and kids

One of my favorite gifts of the holiday season has been my Amazon Kindle.  In fact, I couldn't wait to open it upon its arrival, two weeks before the big day, in a clearly marked Amazon box, fit only for a Kindle, of course.  But that's another story entirely...

But, nevertheless, the box is open and the device, a digital reader, has been nothing if not intellectually captivating, with its endless opportunities for continuous discovery.  This excites me.  Nerdy, right?  I like to think that I came to an appreciation for the whole 'quest for knowledge' thing later in life; after high school and college.  This is not to say I did poorly in college.  However, after starting grad school a year ago January, an excitement for learning has been awakened within.

The Kindle only serves as aid to my newfound appreciation.  Amazon offers a vast library of digital works.  Many out-of-copyright classics are offered free to download or are quite inexpensive.  Libraries are more commonly offering digital versions of books for rental.  And, I've even downloaded a textbook for my current class on the American presidency to the device.  Overall, the Kindle has proved a great gift.

But wait...

Soon after the birth of our first son, I entered what I can only call a period of introspection.  This is probably natural for new moms and dads with the prospects of molding happy and socially healthy sons and daughters.  The fact that my children will first learn from me and their mother is a powerful thought.  Therefore, the earliest actions observed are quite important.  Of course, with intention, we stress important qualities like love, forgiveness, and sympathy in our daily interactions.  But what about the less intentional, observed actions that also display where we place value and how we proceed?

I've had an iPhone longer than I've had children.  My wife has an iPod touch, which at home operates similarly.  I have tried to limit how frequently I use the device in front of my children, as I feel it could send mixed messages with regards to proper communication skills and fear such devices can present obstacles to active listening.  And I am also conscientious about how my kids feel about me giving divided attention to, at most, a glorified facebook checker.

The Kindle is different though in its content.  Rather than surfing mindless tweets or emails, contents of a substantive nature are more characteristic.  I know this.  My wife knows this.  But do my children?  Before we had the Kindle, we subscribed to the Kansas City Star and I would read the paper in front of my children.  Now, I receive the e-version of the same Star, but the Kindle fetches it.  The same is the case with the books I am currently reading.

In most studies aimed at getting kids excited about reading, often the best tip is to read in front of your children.  Show them you love to read, too.  Does using an electronic device change this?  Maybe not.  But, as more and more kids are raised around iPads, Kindles, and Nooks, less kids will be able to differentiate Mom and Dad's Kindle content as newspaper or video game.  The observation becomes: Dad's on his device.  And instead of valuing the act of reading as Dad does, the value is in the device, rather than the practice of reading and decoding.  The parameters of an iPad or Kindle are far different from those of a sports magazine or mystery book.  Just doing anything on an iPad or Kindle is a far cry from just simply reading anything.