Perception is reality

Have you ever wondered why we do the things we do? Most of us go through life doing the same things in the same way on this journey. Sometimes its nice to do the unexpected, to see things from the other side and just see if you still see things the same way. I was recently going to lunch with a couple of therapists who were riding along in my car when, out of my usual habit, I made a left turn. One asked me, Phil, where are you going? I then realized I should have turned right to get to the destination but was faced with a dilemma of turning around in traffic. I immediately made a right turn into a church parking lot that also could be entered from the other side. I commented, if I hadnt made a wrong turn then I wouldnt have gotten to see the lovely stone work and stained glass of this old church and once turned around I found myself sitting directly across the street from where I started. I also told them that I always wondered what it would be like to be coming from the other side and now I had the oppurtunity. Thats a very long, boring story but it does illustrate how it brings to light a totally different perspective when you sometimes just do something a little out of the ordinary. I dont know if they were amused or felt sorry for me but we all got a good laugh and noone died so thats always good.
Take a different route to work or try some new place to eat sometime, who knows you may just like it on the other side.

Our Dream Home

This has been a really good year for us. Somehow, even with the economy killing us, we managed to build our dream home. I dont know how long we will live in it as we really dont need this much space but we plan to enjoy it while we are here. I remember just 15 years ago when I was in Tennessee living in a single wide trailer and now we are in this monstrocity. Oh wait a minute, here I go reflecting once again...wow. Anyway, we have been blessed with our new home as well. We hope to have an open house soon as many of you have wanted to see it. My wife and i often joke that we may charge admission so we can pay for the darn thing..lol. We have only been here in this home for 3 months but since it took 14 months to build we feel totally vested in it. Now we just have to continue decorating and landscaping and it will look great.

The only thing wrong with instant gratification is it takes too long

I have found that I really like quotes. Maybe its because I use them to reflect, or maybe its because I often find humor in them, but for whatever reason I like them. I recently sat in an Executive Directors meeting and presented my reflection of our companys mission statement. My partner and I had been asked by one of the owners to do this and we certainly didnt want to let him down so we did what any good manager would do and began to delegate...lol. Ive always heard that the key to success is to surround yourself with people that are smarter than you are and for some reason that hasnt been too big of a problem for me. We decided to collect pictures of our residents on therapy outings enjoying themselves and put them on a dvd with music in the background. Thank God for technology and for competent managers as I solicited Sandy, one of my directors, to put it together for me. We used a Kenny Chesney song, "Dont Blink", which was very appropriate and also another song by Josh Grobin(I think) called ," You raise me up". She did an outstanding job, with the help of her husband, and in the end she burned me an additional 50 dvds to give out as "souveneirs" to take back to their living centers and play for their staffs. I must say it turned out quite well and the comments were all positive. I remember when I was younger and much shyer that I would have been terrified to have spoken in front of a crowd, but now as an older, more mature version of me I actually dont mind public speaking at all. Im not trying to say Im good at it, but I just dont mind doing it. Im going to try and be a little more faithful to this thing as I am actually finding it to be quite therapeutic for myself to reflect. Go figure, maybe I have been out of high school 25 years!

The Closer we get...

I recently received an invitation to our 25th High School reunion. I thought surely they must have me mistaken for someone else as I couldnt possibly be old enough to have been out that long!! Where does the time go? I am simply amazed, could it be that I REALLY am that darn old? I guess I am and maybe thats why I married someone 9 years my junior so that I can constantly try and make myself believe that I too am her age..lol. No, seriously, I thank God that I have made it to this "experienced" age and hope to be able to hang in there for quite some time. After all, Ella is going to need her dad, although older, to be around to shoo all the boys away!

On Mary Ann's latest doctors appt, she underwent another ultrasound. This one was a diagnostic one to measure Ella's organs, and to try and determine a closer estimate to her due date and her size. We were told one and a half weeks ago that she measured out at 35 weeks, thats one week sooner than the anticipated due date. Since this her first baby though, the real date is anyones guess. Ella was estimated to be 5 lbs 5 ozs and Dr Bartley thinks she will gain at least 2 more lbs before she is delivered. Mary Ann has done excellent and has only gained 22 lbs the whole time. She has also been one of those persons that hasnt looked pregnant until very recently. She does have that "glow" people talk about and it just affirms that Ella is meant to be.