Blog Archives
Roll of the Dice
My wife and I are confronted within the next year with an interesting quandary. Come August, we will be empty-nesters at a young age. Our children will be either on their own or in college. This puts us in a unique position to move onto the next stage of our life. We still have around twenty years left in our professional careers, but where do we want to spend that? Do we stay in our beloved small town?
At this point, it does not look like our children will stick around to start families here so there is really nothing other than a lifetime of friends holding us to this town. We will however, keep our house and possibly move back here for retirement. Do we take the plunge and move somewhere totally outside of our comfort zones and reap the rewards. Do we live the life of nomads moving every couple of years to a new town just for the sake of new and exciting opportunities? We almost feel like high school seniors trying to pick the right college. What do you think?
What Are You Working For?
I’ve been asking myself this lately as I prepare to move into a new phase shortly with my youngest daughter being a senior in high school. For the last twenty years, it was providing for my children and family to make sure they had opportunities for growth and development. Now my youngest will go off to college and our home will be quiet.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not kicking my children to the curb, but they don’t need my security as much as they prepare to spread their wings and fly away. My wife and I love to travel and I love SQL Server, so I will most likely dive more into my career with the intent of traveling and spending more time with her as well as socializing more in order to fill the nest so to speak.
It’s a great time to be alive, but what are you working for?
Father’s Day Weekend
Today my family cooked and prepared a nice ham dinner for my wife’s father and mother. Or should I more appropriately say that my wife prepared the meal and I used my excellent meat cutting skills to slice the baked ham. It is days like today that we live for, sharing stories, a good meal, and love. I enjoy SQL Server and technology, but I love my family. They are priority number one. They are the reason that we go to work everyday.
I appreciate you reading this blog, but get off the computer and spend time with your family.
Who’s You’re Daddy?
Sitting around my Dad’s house for the Memorial Day weekend which always coincides with my birthday celebration weekend, the subject of ancestry always comes up. My sister and I have been tracking our ancestry especially with my parents are getting older this becomes more important for the two of us to pass this along to our children.j
My wife enjoys listening to the numerous stories of my childhood and all the stories of our family and our crazy relatives; when you’re from the South you always have crazy relatives. The repetition is helpful so that these stories are remembered, now my wife is recording all of this into ancestry.com to coincide with her history. My sister has recorded part of this history, and thankfully we have a Civil War heritage that does not include any Yankees, which would’ve been disgraceful for any self-respecting Southerner. We are also part Native American, as well as Irish and Scottish so you can guess that we have a rich history with alcohol and fighting.
With all of this being said, I am reflecting on family and the greatest lesson I have learned in life is that no matter what happens in life all you have is your family, treasure it! Spend this wonderful weekend with your family. Enjoy.
Rites of Passage
Today my youngest daughter will take her driving test. She is the third one in the house to take the exam and you’d think at this point I would be a pro at this but I’m a nervous wreck. I think I’m more nervous than she is. This rite of passage moves a child along on the journey to adulthood and while I wait here in the office for the results I’m faced with dealing with them growing up. Parenting is a tough job but worth every minute of it. Hug your children and enjoy every minute of them!
Commencement
This week marks the beginning of the end resulting in my daughter’s high school graduation. The commencement. In school, I knew the meaning of the word and was confused as to the usage since the ceremony was the end of an era. Things were never the same after that point for me. Friends drifted apart and out of my life. My adult life commence and my childhood ended.
This is our third child out of four to soon leave the nest and it does not get any easier. We have already become grandparents. This is an amazing stage in our lives as our children become adults and begin their own careers and families. What an adventure! This is the commencement ceremony for the rest of their lives! Enjoy!
Boyhood Field of Dreams
Father and Son at Turner Field
Baseball is a family game where fathers teach their children the beauty of the Gentleman’s game. We share memories, we share moments, we share stories and and we share statistics, but most importantly we share our passion for the game of baseball. My son and I have a shared love of Atlanta Braves baseball. There are teams in Florida now, but when I was growing up, the Atlanta Braves were the team of the South, they were America’s team.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the Tampa Rays because they are our hometown team, but my real passion is the Braves. Growing up, I would come home from school and watch the Braves on the SuperStation TBS at 7:35 PM each night from Fulton County Stadium. Then, I shared that love with my son as he was growing up. I coached him for years and he ultimately played high school baseball before a broken leg ended his playing career.
With his baseball and football schedules, there was always something that got in the way preventing us from making a trip to Turner Field. This weekend the opportunity arose as we travelled to Tennessee for him to begin a summer internship following his freshman year of college. However, we could not catch a game as the Braves were in Tampa to play the Rays. There has to be some irony there.
We did the next best thing, we took a tour of the Stadium, and it was amazing watching my son walk upon his field of dreams. Moments like these are priceless for a parent. Enjoy!
Chipper Jones Stands Right Here
The Braves Locker Room
Cody and his Field of Dreams
SQL Swampland 