One of the worst jobs as a parent

No parent likes seeing their kids hurt or sad or distressed in any way. Sadly though, those days come along some times. Today is one of those days.

My son Tyler has one of the biggest hearts I know. Especially when it comes to animals. Today I was forced to tell him that his dog passed away. Cookie, our pug, was only 3 years old. He was Tyler's dog. We got Cookie after a lot of begging and pleading from every angle around me. I reluctantly agreed. Once we had him though, Cookie became a dog I absolutely loved. He was fun, He could be goofy at times and you could not help but laugh.

Being a pug, breathing was an issue constantly. Pugs have pushed in faces. The heat seemed to make it worse. I honestly think that perhaps Cookie had a medical condition that caused him to succumb to the heat. He passed away this afternoon when my wife was out. My wife is feeling extremely guilty, Though it was not really her fault. It is just one of thos freak things that happens.

So today I had I had to be the grown up and bury one of my son's best friends. All the while, trying not to fall apart myself. I can honestly say that this is one time that parenting sucks. I was going to include a picture of cookie but, I just cant bring myself to open one right now..........

It's that time of year again

It has been 25 years since the last major hurricane on Long Island. We have had several near misses over the years since Hurricane Gloria hit. We are well over due. Normally an impending storm gives me a major adrenaline rush. It is too early to tell if that will happen the next time. However, there is a storm out in the Atlantic right now that has my stomach in knots. I do not have a good feeling about this one and it is literally scaring me.

So, remember this name: Earl

Always have a Plan B

Every summer we take the kids to PA for a couple days. The first day we spend in an amusement park called Knoebels. The second day we spend in a water park called Camel Beach. Knoebels is in Elysburg, PA. It is approx. 4½ hours from my house. We normally drive there early in the morning. After spending a day in the park we spend a night in Mifflinville and then back toward eastern PA to camel Beach in Tannersville. It is a trip we look forward to. This year, because of financial issues, we were faced with not being able to go at all. I did some budget crunching and was able to arrange it so we could do one of the 2 parks only. this past Monday was the day of the trip

The plan was we would do the water park since it was the closer of the two. Since it is only about 3 hours away, I planned on going and coming home the same day. It has been a very hot and dry summer here on the island. In fact we have had no real rain in about 2 months. So the water park seemed to make sense. As this last weekend approached, the weather men began talking about rain. Not just a little bit either. With school approaching and other commitments we had not alternatives on dates. I was off on Monday and Tuesday. I figured if we woke up Monday and the weather was lousy we could just do Tuesday instead. Sunday the rain moved in. By Sunday night it was pouring. We woke up Monday to it still raining. And Tuesday;s forecast not looking any better. Now what do we do? While the water park doesnt close simply for rain, there was thunderstorms predicted. On top of that, instead of the temps in the upper 80s we had been having, it was in the low 60's. Now what do we do?

On to Plan B. Looking at the weather map it seemed to be less rain in Elysburg. I figured it was further west so we may luck out. So we hopped in the car and headed to Knoebels. I am glad we did. We had an awesome time. It did rain lightly later in the day but we were prepared for it so it was not an issue. My daughter was a little bummed about not making the water park but she understood. The kids got to ride the rides all day. We did our round of laser tag as well. I was wiped out. Luckily I called the motel and was able to get a room. And since the owner knows we come every year, she gave us a nice discount. I am glad we stayed and just drove home Tuesday instead.

So even though we had to go to our back up plan, it all worked out just fine. We all had fun and that was the whole point all along!

We take a picture of the kids in this same spot every year. The first time we did, Kevin (far right) was in a stroller!

Katie and her cousin.

We always stop here for breakfast on the way to PA. This trip we also stopped on the way home.

Katie and I waiting to ride the roller coaster.

Modern Day Loitering

Let's face it, every generation loitered. Maybe the places changed over the years, but every one of us has had a place where we would hang out either with friends or alone. For me it was in front of the local deli. For my son, it is outside of Starbucks. No matter where it was, it was always "the place to be!"

In the municipality where I work, the place to be for the kids is outside of 7-11. (They don't have a Starbucks here). Today I went for my afternoon caffeine fix and found a teenager sitting by himself in front of the store. He looked quite comfortable. What made this particular kid different was the fact that he was sitting there texting away on his cell phone and the phone was plugged into the outlet on the wall of the store!

We used to choose our spots based on things like girls, drink availability, a Space Invaders arcade game, girls, a high flow of people willing to flip you a quarter to play Space Invaders, and did I mention girls? It seems today that all the kids need is a place with a strong wifi signal and a place to plug in when they have a low battery!

Losing a friend....

About 6 years ago I met someone online. I was at an extremely low point in life and really needed the support of as many people as possible. One of the people I became friends with, was a divorced mother of 4 named Sue. Sue lived in PA with her kids. When we met, she was working part time as a receptionist in a church. Her mobility was hindered by the need for a hip replacement and that grew progressively worse over time. Eventually it kept her pretty much home bound.

Sue was one of those people that are very close to God. Every decision she made was with Him in mind. She did her best to lead a good life despite suffering from her own depression. She never blamed God for any of the misfortune she suffered. I remember many times talking to Sue about her daughters. They were her reason for living each day. She loved them dearly. It pained her to not be able to give them the life they deserved or to be able to attend certain functions with them. But, she never missed a chance to tell them she loved them.Eventually, Sue got her hip replacement. With her refound ability to walk, she was able to go with her daughters. She could once again walk across a soccer field to watch them play. She was able to get a new job. Her life was finally back on track.

While Sue was in the hospital having her hip done she changed a bit and we grew a little more distant. I really am not sure of the reasons behind it all but, it happened. Despite all of that we did manage to reach out from time to time. Just to touch base and catch up a little.One of the times we did that was on birthdays. Sue was one of the few people that would always remember mine and send me some sort of greeting to wish me a happy one. Mine was July 8th. This year she missed. I thought it was odd but, since we didn't talk as much as we used to, I assumed she had just gotten busy or maybe forgot. Yesterday was Sue's birthday. I remember it each year. I went to her Face Book page to leave her greetings and noticed that a couple people had already left her well wishes. She had a very limited amount of friends online but, she did have her daughters. However, there was something different about the messages. There was a sadness to them. I started to read some of the older posts. People were talking about missing her. My heart sank. What happened to my friend? I scanned her list of posts and found one from her daughter. I quickly sent a message. I expressed my concern and prayed for the best. Last night I received the following response:

Hi Tom I remember my mom speaking of you a while back. I don't know how to break this to you as I am in shock myself still and haven't really taken it in yet but my mom passed away in her sleep on June 29th. The cause is still unknown at this point but my best guess is that is that it was heart related.

I am still in shock. I have lost a very dear friend........Sue was not that much older than me. Certainly way too young to be leaving this life.

Sue, I will always remember you and the friendship you have given me. You were always there to listen and were truly an amazing person. While I regret the distance that grew between us, I know that it never made us any less of friends. I happened to find several old emails you had sent me. I will eventually forward them to your daughters so they can see who you were. What dreams you had and what your fears in life were. I know that God saved a special place for you in heaven. I will miss you dearly..........Tom

Driving 101

I just returned home from taking my son for his road test. I woke up this morning more nervous than he was I think. He seemed very confident that he would ace it. I think perhaps too confident. We arrived early and got on the line at the testing site. It really didnt take all that long before it was Kevin's turn. The tester approached and after going over all the paperwork, he had Kevin start the car to pull away from the curb. Sadly Kevin failed to notice a car that was approaching as he pulled out and proceeded to pull out in front of it. The tester grabbed the wheel and turned the car back toward the curb, Instant failure.

So, now Kevin is really upset with himself. And in typical teenager style, blaming every one under the Sun instead of himself. I do feel bad for him and wish I could calm him down. I failed my road test twice before I got my license, but even that is not consoling him. Tonight he can call DMV and schedule another road test. I am pretty sure he won't be making that same mistake next time. Hopefully lesson learned.