Soldier Ready

I have to do something this next week that I wouldn't normally want to do. For one, I'm traveling - hate traveling any time, to go any where. Two, it's over a 20 hour flight. Three, it's not the nicest of places. Four, I hate traveling.

Why am I doing this? I'm bringing home my Stella.

When we decided to adopt again and began narrowing our country of focus - these necessities I mentioned above weighed heavy on me. However, we felt in our hearts this is where our daughter was and we moved forward.

As the day to go get her has gotten closer and the reality of what we are doing - where we are going - has become a reality, my emotions were all over the place. However, I was given perspective yesterday that has focused me completely.

My brother said that I have to look at this like a rescue mission. You need to go over there, get your daughter and bring her home safe and sound. Something clicked with this mindset. All of the "woe is me" feelings I was having were completely overshadowed by the sense of immediacy and importance of what I needed to do.

While I by no means am claiming to have the honor and dignity of a true soldier, this is my calling - this is my objective - this is my mission. I am ready to put my self, my feelings, my wants, wishes and comforts aside to do my part. Am I nervous - yes... do I wish there was an easier way - hell yes... is there anything that will stop me - only God calling me home.

I won't be posting for a week or so because I'll be on my mission and then after that, I'll be falling madly in love with my new little baby girl.

BITE life

Rough Stuff

My son is all boy. A special treat for him is playing rough since we are constantly trying to teach him not to be rough or hit others. Almost every night when I come home from work he will say, "I was a good boy today Dad, we get to play rough stuff."

When he actually was a good boy and gets to do play rough with me - O.M.G. he is happier then a tree frog in May. He laughs the whole time and sweats like none other so I let him take off his shirt which leads to him wanting to take off his pants too.

Lily joins in to a degree which is actually really good for her "rule following mind", but she is definitely more interested in controlling the flow of play. "Daddy, lets imagine that I'm the princess and you are the Monster and Miles is my prince." All the while I'm throwing pillows at the both of them, Miles laughing uncontrollably, Lily pleading to stop and listen. My rules during rough stuff - no rules - so you can imagine for my son that is heaven and for my daughter, well it's learning time.

Come to think of it, rough stuff is my sweet spot too because seeing my son so happy, so alive, so full of joy - it just does it for me.

BITE life

Perfect

My 4 year old daughter is already showing pseudo-OCD tendacies (blankets need to be perfect in bed, crayons lined up when coloring, no kissing when someone is sick). She is a rule follower more then OCD but I'm sure part of her behavior is most likely a result of how me and her mother run our household in regards to cleanliness, order and structure.

There was a period of about 2 - 3 weeks where she was obsessed with having the bed (a shoe box) for her stuffed animal guinea pig (aka Mini) set up "perfect". Sometimes the little napkins wouldn't sit right or the mini toys weren't staying where they were supposed to and it would bring her to high levels of frustation and even tears.

What's beautiful about children (and especially my daughter) is that we are able to teach them and help form their thinking, and generally they accept that. Case in point, now when we say something is "perfect", regarless of the context we are speaking, she corrects us and says, "Nothing is perfect, just try your best."

Wise kid eh? I think she IS perfect.

How much do you love me?

Sorry for the hiatus from blogging, I got insecure about a couple of different things, but now I'm good.

I give my kids a bath usually every other day (or so). It's a fun way for us to connect since I really only see them for a couple of hours every day during the week. They both do something that cracks me up but to me there is deeper meaning behind their actions.

When it's their turn to get washed, I lay them down on their back to get their hair wet. When I stand them up to wash their hair and body, water starts to fall from their head across their face. Without fail they will take their face and rub it on whatever shirt I'm wearing to keep the water from going in their eyes. 55% of the time there is no reason to do this.

When this first happened about 2 years ago, my daughter Lily was only 2 and much more afraid of water on the face and in the eyes. I'll never forget when she started crying because she was sure the water would hurt. I instinctually grabbed her and pulled her close and rubbed her face on my shirt. She looked at me with surprise because she could see I was soaked. When I didn't react negatively, she was perplexed in a 2 year old kind of way. From that day on, it's become our little love test.

How much does Daddy love me? How willing is he to make sure I'm OK? Let's just say, I'm all in.

Health

I had to go get my small intestine checked out today - its most certainly nothing and if it is something its probably nothing major. But it does make you pause... and if you are healthy, thank God for the blessing of your health.

Today I'm breathing, I can see, I can hear, I'm generally sane - I'll BITE that any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Anything New

Today we had a guy start work at my office. He's in a fairly high level position and so he is being introduced to everyone. I can just imagine what must be going through his head: Will I like this place? Do they like this place? Do I fit in? What do they think of me? etc. etc. etc. - All the questions you probably asked yourself on the first day of anything new.

As I sat back and watched him I realized how wonderful of an experience this can be if you embrace it for what it's worth. A chance to start anew? That doesn't come around very often. I'm not implying that you become someone all together different but you do get a fresh start to be a "better" vesion of you. How many of those opportunities do you get in your life today?

BITE life and go try something new. Go meet new people, go learn to play an instrument, go try new food. Don't sit back in the comfort of your day-to-day familiar life - expand it.

Special Visits

About once every month my wife surprises me and stops by the office with our 2 kids. Well, today was one of those lucky days. I can always hear them coming from a mile away but I still act surprised when they pop their heads into my doorway.

It's amazing how my spirit changes when I see their smiling, happy faces. I instantaneously snap out of my "business mind" and turn into "Dad". I love that moment because it's such a great way to remember who we are and what our purpose on life should be. Don't get me wrong - I do need to work, I do need to be good at my job, I do need to like my job. But my job is the ends to justify the life I live and love.

So the next time you need to transition from "business mind" to "Dad or Mom", BITE life and go 'all in' on the parent roll. You'll feel the difference between the two mindsets but your kids will feel it more.

First BITE

One of the ordinary, everyday things I love, and what gave me the idea of doing this blog, is how wonderful a nice warm shower is. We do it almost every day (or more if you are like my wife) and yet every shower brings me to a great spot every time. The warm water, the rain-like soothing affect, the cleansing - it's actually a fairly symbolic metaphor for how to close out or start your day.

First of all you have to get naked and look at yourself in a mirror - a little self evaluation can be humbling both physically and mentally. Thoughts like this pop into my head while I'm waiting for the shower to warm up... "I wish I had better posture. I need to start working on that sooner then later." or "How's my golf swing looking? I bet if I did 'this' (insert any new swing technique I've recently seen), I could be much more consistent." or "I really loathe getting up this early and having to travel. Mental note to self: always try to schedule things later if I can."

Then you get in the shower and you have to adjust the temperature to what you can handle, where you're at - sometimes I can't get it hot enough, other times luke warm is just fine, and still other times I start off luke warm and end up at sizzle. Either way I think there has to be something in relation to the temperature and where your mind is at. Regardless, the beauty of the shower is it meets you where you're at and will go with you where you need it to go.

Then the therapy begins - warm up your body from head to toe. Wash away the dirt, the worry, and watch it go down the drain away from you. When you feel your clean skin and clean hair, you start to feel slightly 'new' again. Stay as long as you like (or as long as your hot water lasts), most of the time it's your call when you are rejuvinated and ready.

I can hardly remember a time when I stepped out of the shower and didn't feel like I have a fresh start. Yet we don't walk around saying how thankful we are for showers and how much they help us wipe the slate clean and face new challenges each and every day.

So I'd like to propose you BITE life when you shower - stop, think, and approach your shower a little different the next time you take one. Appreciate the process, embrace the notion that you are going in dirty and coming out clean.