Random Post of a Youtube Video I just found Inspirational

Originally posted on http://digitaldiatribes.wordpress.com on July 4, 2008.

What makes it inspirational? I don’t really know. Part of it is the music. Part of it is the guy’s willingness to just reach out and have others join in and show some random expression of joy. Whatever it is, all I know is, as I watched it, I wanted to be this guy. Not in a jealous way, either. In an appreciative way.

So, just where the hell is Matt? Check it out and let me know your thoughts…

Whether it’s Camping or not, it’s for the Kids

Originally posted on http://digitaldiatribes.wordpress.com on June 26, 2007.

We have a 32 foot camper parked on a lake up in northern Wisconsin.  This last weekend, my Father-in-Law and Mother-in-Law joined us up at the grounds with their two grand-daughters (those would be the cousins to our kids for those of you who have trouble with those kinds of things).  In addition, Wendy’s brother and sister-in-law also made the trip up with their two kids.   Throw in our six kids and you have yourselves a whirlwind of non-stop activity.  And noise.

 

But, the kids love it.  And we all must remind ourselves of this fact when we are cooking and cleaning and changing diapers and wet clothes (only to see the dry clothes become dirty or wet again) and screaming and getting too close to the fire and wanting to fish and just being kids.  There is a four word mantra that we adults must repeat a few times throughout these weekends:  “It’s for the kids.”

 

Ah, yes.  Camping.  OK, my Father-in-Law broke down and actually bought a pop-up camper before the trip.  (My Mother-in-Law wanted nothing to do with tent camping.)   His issue is that this isn’t really camping.

 

So, let’s make one thing perfectly clear.  I don’t wish to argue about whether or not we are camping or not.  We are heading up north to swim, fish, eat somores, sit around a campfire, and relax.  If that’s not camping because I can actually sleep in a bed in a camper, then fine.  Call it “going up to our camper” if you wish.   But if you think that we should be “roughing it” in a tent with six kids ages 11 and under, I would basically laugh at you and call you insane.  It simply would never happen, anyway, so this gets us up there and gets the kids enjoying the outside.

 

So, anyway, this all came about because 3 years ago I happened to just mention to my boss that Wendy and I casually keep an eye out for campers because it’s one of those things we’d eventually like to get (because tent camping is insane with all the kids).  As it so happened, his mom was selling their old camper and he was selling the truck we’d need to pull the camper.  To make a long story short, we ended up taking advantage of a great deal and purchased it.

 

The next thing to do was find a place to park it.  I did not want to haul that thing around to different campsites throughout the summer.  I wanted to find a permanent spot in a private campground.  We were very disappointed with many/most of the ones we stopped at.  We wanted a regular campground.  We didn’t want a petting zoo, a public pool, a playground, and all that stuff.  We also didn’t want to be crammed into a spot surrounded by a gazillion other campers.  We were quite disappointed after our first few stops.  We did find a couple of opportunities that were OK, but nothing all that great.

 

Finally, we stumbled across a place on the Wisconsin/Michigan border.  It’s a small, privately-owned campground that is pretty much for camping, fishing, and swimming.  The surrounding area has hiking paths and bike paths, as well.  We felt fortunate enough to find this place, and we’ve called it “home” for three years now.

 

These are special times.  I am hopeful that the kids grow up with many fond memories of their time spent there.  They enjoy fishing, especially Sweettooth.  The boys, I’m sure, will take to it more as they get older.

 

Prior to getting the camper, I’d never driven a boat, let alone owned one.  I didn’t really fish, either.  I have found that I immensely enjoy fishing and boating.  I am learning as I go along, and trying to pass on what little wisdom I have to the kids.

Wendy and I have managed to “get away” without the kids a couple times, and this gives us a nice place to go.  It’s a great getaway.  We’ve even spent the occasional evening or two solo up at the camper for some short periods of contemplation.

But, in the end, we know that when you take six kids camping, it is not a relaxing weekend.   But these are special times.  I am hopeful that the kids grow up with many fond memories of their time spent there.  They enjoy fishing, especially Sweettooth.  The boys, I’m sure, will take to it more as they get older.

 

It’s for the kids.

Headin’ to the Shedd

Originally posted on http://digitaldiatribes.wordpress.com on February 26, 2007.

As you have probably figured out by now, I don’t exactly dwell in the big city.  We live in the country outside a relatively small community.  It’s the kind of place where you question what the heck is happening if there are more than 4 vehicles at a traffic light.   I greatly enjoy the stress-free lifestyle of the smaller community.  It fits me perfectly (i.e. I can sleep late and then scramble to take a shower and brush my teeth and almost make it to work on time without worrying about traffic delays).

But every now and then, our adventurous spirit overtakes us, and we are inclined to visit one or both of my sisters living in the Chicago area.  And so we did this last weekend.  Our primary purpose was to visit the Shedd Aquarium.  We had gone there last March, and it was only a few dollars more expensive to buy a full membership for the family as it was to pay admission for the day.  We thought, “heck, we’ll get back here again no problem.”  Of course, that didn’t happen, so in order to get our money’s worth on our membership, we decided to pay too much money for gasoline and head on down!

Friday afternoon was a half day on my part, in order to get going right away.  A mere two hours later, we were on the road.  “Getting going right away” means something different than it used to with six kids in tow.  And we didn’t even eat lunch.  But in the spirit of the event, I had a surprise waiting for them.  In heart-healthy fashion, I handed out Pringles.  They love me.

After a quick detour to finally pay off my truck’s engine fiasco and our new oak table that seats 400 people (thanks to my tax return), we were on our way.  Our trip started with a Rosary for a number of intentions, including safe travel.  It’s about a 3 and a half to 4 hour trip to my sister’s, depending on traffic and weather.  But never underestimate the most dangerous delayer of time – the potty break.  Two such breaks were required on the way down.  It drives me insane, because I let it.  I end up saying stupid things like “You’re never drinking anything again!”

After needing to sell my winter coat in order to pay for tolls, we made it to my sister’s home (an BIL’s).  Cheese Pizza awaited, and life was good.   When we awoke on Saturday morning, we ate a quick breakfast and went to the Shedd.  The first thing that must be done is to suck on a tank of oxygen while I get acclimated to driving in a big city.   Oh, I have done it before, and I lived in Milwaukee for a summer.  I know that you get used to it and all that, but when you only head down once or twice a year, it’s a whole new world of driving fun.  I always wonder if anyone actually knows who’s honking at whom.  But we made it safely and parked under the parking structure where the hated Bears play their football games.

The goal of my children differed throughout the day.  Thumbsucker, of course, had no clue what was going on, but did really well.  The two year-old was fascinated by all sorts of things that you would expect little boys to be fascinated with.  The goal of the three-year-old was either to lag 15 yards behind at all times, or run in front of the stroller and get rammed in the back.  And one would think that a sand shark swimming directly in front of you would be much more attention-grabbing than a red button on a box.  Not to the three-year-old, though.   I’m not sure he actually looked at an animal the entire time.  But he loved every button on every display.  The older kids had more of an appreciation for the creatures we were seeing.

It never ceases to amaze me how short the attention span of a kid can be.  We were at the Beluga Whales exhibit.  “Can we see the Penguins?”   So we go the the Penguins.  “I wanna see the dolphins!”  So we go to the dolphins.  “Where are the Sea Otters?”   At this point, I forced them to stand there and watch the dolphins.

Since we got in free, we decided to go eat lunch at the restaurant and spend twice as much as we should have.  The upside is that it was more relaxing than the cafeteria.  Then, because we didn’t pay to get in, we bought stuff in the gift shop.  And there’s a lesson here…   If you want to save money, pay admission.  Sheesh.

Back to sis’s, we enjoyed some interesting conversation.  For example, the sis tried selling me on the merits of undergoing colonic hydrotherapy.  According to her, John Wayne had 44 pounds of, well, crap in his intestine when he died that accumulated over the years.  This may seem like an unusual topic of conversation, but it’s really the norm for my family.  I’ll spare you the details on how this hydrotherapy is performed.  But then I learned that soaking nuts and seeds in water, and then sprouting them, and then eating the sprouted seeds and nuts are good for me because of some magentic life-force that is emitted.   I asked why it matters that the food I eat is giving off a life-force, to which I was told that I shouldn’t want to eat something that’s dead.  I asked her if I should eat my beef while it’s still alive.   Then, my Brother-in-Law talked about the impending ice age while we watched hockey.

There’s nothing quite like good conversation with family.

Traveling back on Sunday was a treat.  We returned to the second largest storm of the winter – the largest occurred the weekend we traveled before Christmas, which is another story.  Another Rosary was said on the drive home.

All in all, a nice weekend with the family.  And if you’re ever in the Chicago area, I highly recommend the Shedd Aquarium.