Time Travel

I wish I could go back in time. I want to return to the days when my sons were very young. I want to watch again as they play Kitty-Kat Football. I want to sit through their plays again. I want to listen as they pray before going to bed. I want to watch them riding bicycles. I want to hear them playing music in their rooms. I want to be in the passenger seat as they drive for the first time.

I just want to be with them.

Shane's A Blogger

My youngest son has started his own blog, and I am so proud!

His new blog has closed the circle for me. I started writing when I was a freshman in High School, or at least that is the first time I remember stringing words together in a way that I was proud to let others read. I have tried to pass that along to my sons.

My oldest son has a blog, too. For a while he wrote in it often, but now it sits on the lonely Internet frontier like a bull’s skull laying on the abandoned prairie.

Shane’s blog, however, is alive and well. You should visit it. He is really quite talented in his writings (he gets it from his dad).

If you would like to take a look, go to http://www.onthebelltolls.blogspot.com/.

Let me say again, in a humble kind of way, I’M SO PROUD!

Morgen Gave Me A Hug

Morgen gave me a hug. It was a simple act. It only took a moment.

I was sitting in a devotional at church tonight when my brother’s grandson, Morgen, walked by me. He stopped, turned around, and walked over to me. With a big smile on his face he just reached out and hugged my neck. He didn’t say a word. He just gave me a hug and walked away.

I was touched. Maybe he sensed I needed a little hug. Maybe he was just being nice to Pappy’s brother. Regardless of the reason, I needed and enjoyed that hug.

I can’t help but remember when my own little men would do the say thing: just give me hug without word or warning.

I miss those hugs.

Amazing Things Over The Years

Throughout the years, I have marveled at the ingenuity and imaginations of my sons. These boys have never ceased to amaze me by the things they have said and done. Here are some things I thought I would share.

No sleep before moving a cemetery.
A knife and an electrical outlet.
Catching fish while breaking all the fishing rules.
Burning marshmallows to flannel shirts
Kitty Cat football
Wrestling in the living room
Singing contests won
Football practices and games played (wins or losses doesn’t matter)
Wisdom beyond your years
Laughter above measure
Long walks and equally long talks
Shooting the Clicker
Semi-automatic pistols
Beautiful wives (physically, emotionally, spiritually)
Driving lessons
Car accidents
Moon Pie bribes to Police Officers
Driving without headlights and getting caught

I guess all I am trying to say is, I love you guys…a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck.

I Miss My Sons

I miss my sons. I miss their laughs. I miss their smiles. I miss our quiet talks and our lively debates. I miss getting to watch football with them. I miss their wives, too. I miss seeing their interactions with my sons. I miss getting the opportunity to see how they have grown alongside their wives. I miss playing games with them, telling them jokes, and playing tricks on them. I miss going camping with them, and to choir concerts, and to singing competitions. I miss getting to worship God with them. I miss getting to put my arms around them. And, I miss getting the opportunity to tell them everyday that I love them. I miss my sons.

Slow, Easy Changes

Teaching your sons to drive a car is often a very scary endeavor. I taught both my sons to drive. We would get in the car and drive down a country road very slowly. The boys face’s crinkled with concern. I tried to act more confidently than I actually was. In a veiled attempt to calm my own nerves, I repeated softly to them over and over, “Slow, easy changes. Slow, easy changes.”

I think the same advice I gave them so many years ago is good advice still. The Road of Life requires “slow, easy changes.” Like getting behind the wheel of a car, we become more confident the more we do it. The more confident we become, the faster we go. The faster we go, the less of life we will be able to notice. And, if we get going too fast, we may end up in a ditch...stuck.

I remember the stories. There is the I-wasn’t-going-very-fast-but-I-slid-25-feet-across-the-grass-and-into-a-ditch story. Then, there is the spider-got-on-my-chest-and-I-drove-into-the-ditch-trying-to-get-rid-of-the-spider story. By the way, that last story about the spider ended with my son trying to give the investigating Police officer Twinkies from his now popped open trunk.

The fact is I would not trade anything for my experience teaching my sons to drive, not one bruise to my head from being thrown into the passenger window because we were going around a curve to fast and my son slammed on the brakes, nor one whip-lash from teaching them to drive a stick shift.

My sons are good drivers now. I just hope they will always remember that whether driving or living “slow, easy changes” are most often the best course of action. With that in mind, let’s get on the road.

My Sons

I've lived on this earth now for 50 years, 31 of those years married to the most beautiful woman on earth. Before marriage we discussed children, you know stuff like how many children we want to have and when to have them. Although I can't remember how many we said we would have, I do remember saying we wanted to wait 3 to 5 years before becoming parents. Six months into our marriage, I was ready to have kids. So we did. Over the next three years my beautiful wife gave me two sons.

As time flew past us, our little boys grew into good men...great men! I always told them "You are more son than any man has a right to have." And, they are. I admit it freely. My sons didn't grow up like me, they became better than me...better than I could have ever imagined. My oldest son is married and lives in Tennessee. My youngest son is also married and lives in South Carolina. While I don't get to see either one of them as much as I would like, I know our love for one another runs deep.

So in this post, I want to thank them and praise them for all they have been, are, and will become.

I give them praise and thank them for many reasons. They love the Lord and serve him faithfully. They love their wives and are true to their vows. They love their parents and give us great respect. All of their lives they have been a blessing to their parents. They care about people...the poor, the homeless, the rich...it doesn't matter. They are loyal men in all their relationships. They tell the truth. They are free from the vices that capture the hearts and lives of lesser men. They speak out against injustice and stand for what they believe is right. They use their God-given talents. They work hard to provide for their wives. They laugh when something is funny, and they cry when something is sad. They are good men...great men!

I know some may read this is and say, "He is just a proud poppa." But I assure you if you knew my boys, you would be singing their praises as loudly and with as much enthusiasm as I do.

My boys are good men...great men!