Life's list...

You hear it a lot when you are in High School... "Have goals, have dreams. Some of the most accomplished people have made lists of dreams & aspirations, then have methodicaly checked them off through out their lives." We have all heard the stories and I am sure most of have the "list." It may not be written down or posted to your refrigerator, they may just be listed in your head. Many of them, I believe, have to do with accomplishment. Owning a house by my twenty-fifth birthday, married by twenty-six, or retired by fifty. The older I get the shorter my list for accomplishments becomes, sometimes I just want to survive 'til I am fifty. There are certain things I will not be doing, for sure. I will not be making any professional soccer team and I will always be any Indy Car driver trapped in a mini-van. These things are just not going to happen. I have done some things on my list... married my high school sweetheart, spent the night in a lighthouse, visit the beach at least every-other year, owned a few of the cars on "my list of favorites." Things like that.

As you get older your list starts to change, or evolve. The funny thing is it has less & less to do about you or what you want. It has more & more to do about what you would like to accomplish for or with your kids, family or spouse. I guess they call this maturity. There are many memories of special, memorable places that I have been with my wife & kids. When I found out I was going to be a father, after the initial freak out of raising a child, I started thinking about the things and events that we would get to share together. When I found out it was a boy, after the skipping down the street like Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain... my mind started to wander off...playing catch, first baseball game, first time driving a go-cart...stuff like that. This was all brought about by the events of October 6th, 2007. Again another date that will be forgotten, but an event I will never forget. This was Josiah's first trip to a College Football game. We have been to many Cincinnati Reds games, a few with Mommy & myself, and a few with it being just the two of us. We have had the father-son baseball experience. This was Big-time. A bar mitzva for a Michigan fan, his first trip to The Big House, Michigan Stadium. Just the two of us, father & son time. As you may know, I am not a tall man, but I was walking pretty tall the five blocks to the Stadium. When I saw his smile when the players ran out, jumped up to touch "the banner" while "Hail to the Victors" was being played by the marching band. I'm pretty sure a tear rolled down my cheek (it may have been sweat, after all it was 90degrees in Ann Arbor in October, but I'm in the moment of the memory). I have been to many games not sure how many, the first time with my wife was pretty cool, but this was awesome. Next time we watch the game on a Saturday afternoon, he can say he has been there...pretty cool. These are the things you dream of as parent, check one off my list.