A day downstream

I spent today relaxing and spending time with the family, or La familia to my Latino friends. We went canoeing with a local outfitter http://www.cavecountrycanoe.com on blue river in Milltown, IN. Funny thing about canoeing, you're never really sure how the day will turn out. I think it went really well, at least it did in my canoe. The other canoe, found it's own problems as the day progressed.



Felicia and I each took a canoe and a daughter and headed down river. The weather was good today for such a trip, a balmy 75 degrees, the water temperature was cool but not cold. Just about perfect, so to speak. We talked, we laughed, we splashed, and we sang.



Shortly after a swim, the day began to turn. It started with a change in the weather from sunny to cloudy, and eventually a light rain. But that even wasn't bad as far as I'm concerned. As we passed through one of the rapids along this journey, my wife encountered a rock about mid way in the canoe. Which led to her demise and another short swim. Only this time it filled her canoe with water and drowned everything she had in it. Even the dog wasn't happy about the circumstances. But that's canoeing on blue river, sometimes you paddle, sometimes you just ride, and sometimes you swim. After righting the canoe and helping another family right their canoe we continued on down stream.


As we paddled we had a chance to reflect on today. To summarize, life is full of choices. Each day brings it's own challenges much like the river. Many days are just a simple smooth ride down stream, but some days bring turmoil and problems. I took today's circumstances to talk to the kids about working through problems, keeping a level head, and making good decisions. We all make mistakes like not avoiding the rock, but we learn from them and try to do better next time. To 'steer' in the right direction.


My life has recently taken one of these turns. As I went downstream I saw an impasse much like the rock that stood in Felicia's way. Although it wasn't something so easy to avoid by turning the paddle. It involved leaving a company I had grown familiar with and starting a new relationship with another one. The impasse I came to was much like the rock sitting in the river, sturdy, unchanging, and easily seen if you know what to look for. As I came to the it I steered. It ended a season with a company I have a long history with, but opened up a new opportunity. An opportunity that I have high hopes for.


Today ended my first week with the new team, and although I'm not settled in yet, I've made up my mind to approach this change like many I've made before. To have a positive attitude, and do my best. To build new relationships and stop crying over those that have ended. To grow and learn, but also to share and teach. All we have is who we are and the time we are given. I decided to make the most of it. Jim Rohn a motivational speaker once said in a speech that "life is like the ocean, the wind is always blowing, there will always be the rise and fall of the waves. Don't ask for better wind, that's naive, set a better sail." So I set a better sail.


The trip ended with the four of us cold and wet (five if you include the dog, which we always do), heading home with the memories of a Saturday afternoon spent canoeing blue river. But deep down I felt it was something more. Today was spent on the river in a canoe, but we each learned our own life's lesson. We invested time in each other and to me that's a good investment.


Through my years as a salesman I kept a philosophy taped to my desk that I read every morning. I think it keeps life in perspective. This will clearify how if feel about my day today, and it's worth sharing.

"This is the beginning of a new day. God has given me this day to use as I will. I can waste it or use it for good. What I do today is important because I’m exchanging a day of my life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever, leaving in its place something that I have traded for it. I want it to be gain, not loss; good, not evil; success, not failure; in order that I shall not regret the price I paid for it. May I have sufficient wisdom and courage that this shall be my record for today." ~Og Mandino



Remember Look up, Live life, and Be thankful


Kevin

Family Talk

Since my wife has pointed out to me that I tend to not include my family in some of my posts, it appears the blog seems to be all about me. I assure you this is not the case, or at least not my intention. I only included them indirectly, or only in mentioning, less frequently as to protect my family from those people on the Internet that would want to cause us harm, if you know what I mean.



It has been a long spring and beginning of summer. I've traveled quite a bit across the Midwest and have spent my off time with the family. So let's catch up a little bit....



Felicia and I took the kids to Cumberland Gap and Cumberland Falls for the weekend. We did a bit of hiking and ended up getting rained on some. Miley was soaked (the family pet). But the point is we all had fun. Spending time together makes those family memories that will last a life time. As my girls grow into their teens, I know my time is deminishing quickly, so I try to make the most of it.



I've found that as we progress with technologies, such as twitter, facebook, Blackberries, Iphone, and such... we are spending less time together as a family, unless of course you keep a text count. Now I'm not against technology, surely you know this by now, but it tend to get out of balance. It is ok to turn them off once in a while.

Once upon a time families sat down to dinner and ate together. They had conversations about their daily activities, they were "fully present" to steal a term from the book "Fish!". They built relationships with each other. They were in tune if you will. Families now just pass each other on the way to activities. And an occasional vacation if you're lucky. I wish it wasn't so but this is reality. Life has become fast paced and a long marathon.

My family enjoys time together when we can. Now we get our fair amount of TV time and things, but we make it a point to spend quality time with each other. My wife and I enjoy watching DVD together, and we try to "date night" when we can. Evenings sitting around the fire ring in the back yard, or an afternoon of hiking.

We recently spend the Holiday weekend camping at my good friend Eddie's Lake, which lead to swimming, fishing, a lot of talking, and too much food of course (smoked pork loin, chicken, burgers, dogs, and everything to go with it. Hungry yet?)



Everyone has to figure out what works for their family, but talking is a good start.

Short Story...

In Jan '95 I was deployed to Haiti for Operation Uphold Democracy while I was still in the army. For the next 93 days I told myself that if I ever got back home to my girl, I would never leave her again. Well of course I was a bit naive and life has brought me to a place where I travel as part of my career, but not a day goes by that I don't talk with my family, and make it a point to 'tuck' them in a night, and pray together.



Life is short, and as said well in a song by 33 miles (One life to love) we only get one time around, one shot at this... One life to Love.

Don't miss the opportunity to spend time on something valuable; relationships. There will always be time for work, time for TV, time to waste, but don't let life pass you by. Invest in your family the time you spend has huge paybacks.

Remember Look up, Live life, and be Thankful


Kevin

Pioneer Coal Mine

Pennsylvania, Coal country. Ever wonder how they actually mine coal to turn into the energy that we use? About a month ago I took a small journey into a mountain and found out.





Here's our story:



While on a business trip I ducked off the interstate with a couple of friends to a small eastern Pennsylvania town near Bloomsberg, PA that had a coal mine as a tourist attraction.




Pennsylvania is full of coal mines both working and abandoned. This particular mine was working around the time of the depression, and if memory serves was made into a tourist attraction back in the 60's. Anthracite Coal is the cleanest burning coal that can be found and can only be found in a 500 square miles area in Pennsylvania.







Here's what the trip underground was like:







Once inside, the guide showed us what coal mining was like "in the old back days" (a direct quote from my nephew). Coal was drilled by hand in very tight areas to place a charge to blow the coal apart. Then the coal was loaded onto carts pulled by mules and hauled to the surface.



We learned a lot about how coal was mined, but also about how families survived during this era. As I had time to reflect on my thoughts of the day, I had one thought come back to mind. The families of miners and of this era gone by were real families. The kind that eat supper together in the evening around the dinner table. Not with Chinese take out, but real food. When families went through hard times like the depression, friends, and neighbors stuck it out with them, and helped them through. In today's day, many of us don't even know our neighbors. Or maybe just the ones next door that has the stupid barking dog, but what about the one's down the street. We are to busy to know them. We are so wrapped up in our own little worlds that we don't have time to maintain a relationship with them.



I said this a thousand times, we must slow down and look outside of our little boxes. The coal towns across the Appalachian Mountains have felt the turn of the economy many times over the past hundred years. Without them we might be reading by candle light.



If we would spend a little more time with our families around the dinner table, and with the people around our neighborhoods we just might find something special. The track we are teaching the Y generation is of complete self centeredness. How do we change things? I'll tell you what my Dad told me a few years ago, when we were discussing the youth of America. One child at a time.





We live in the best country in the World. I don't say that arrogantly because I'm an American, I say it because where else can anyone get a college education, or own a business? It only takes hard work, the opportunities here are endless. I've been to other countries, the third world type, both as a soldier, and a missionary and trust me, we never knew we had it so good. Read about the Holocaust survivors, or WWII veterans that liberated countries in Europe. We have it good. I'm both proud to have served with the 101st Airborne and to live here in the USA. But these kind of opportunities also requires much responsibility. What are we teaching? What we do and What we say really does change how our society sees things.

Search 'your' world and find time to relax. Reflect on what footprint you are making as you journey through this life. I hope to make our country and our society a better place. At the end of life's day I want to say I did all I could, and I spent my life well. That I made a difference.






I enjoyed my trip back in time and into the mountain. If you are ever in PA, stop by for a visit. It cost less than a lunch for one at Applebee's, souvenir included.



Remember Look Up, Live Life, and Be Thankful.


Kevin

Rocky Ridge Trail

What do you do with a few spare hours? Watch your favorite show on Tivo? Take a long over due nap? Surf the net?

We decided to grab the packs and set out for a family hike. Nothing to over exerting, we hit two small trails for a bout 2 1/2 miles.





























We even brought Miley (the family dog) as a hitchhiker.




As with most working Dad's I can always find something that needs to be done around the house.

The Daddy 'honey do list' is always a revolving list of things that never seem to get done in the time appropriated by the House Queen.

So when we get the chance to drop out of the daily grind and drop into family time, we're in. We spend time talking together, looking at centipedes, and of course trying to catch Miley who found her first outdoors adventure lot's of fun. I mean imagine a world full of puddles to drink and places to pee.

We stopped at a shelter house for a soup lunch cooked over Sterno, a candy bar, and shared some pages from Brooke's library book The beagle in the backpack.

All and all it was a great afternoon. One more day down in the family memory album. I guess I could have cut the grass, but the grass will always be there. I choose the family.

Enjoy your days there's no promise of tomorrow.


Remember Look up, Live life, and be Thankful.


Kevin

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving!!! What a time to spend with family and friends. I'm sure many of you have overdone your diet and had that mixed feeling of happiness and misery at the same time. One of the things we do around our home is talk about the things we are thankful for. In the season of Thanksgiving we should show gratitude to those we love as well as The Almighty. For both His provision and the Harvest. I had lunch with a missionary friend of mine last sunday and he was explaining how Hurricaine Noel had ravished the tomato crop in the Dominican Republic, which is a major export of theirs to the US for ketchup. So their harvest is ruined. No really, how bad are your problems? Don't you have something to be thankful for.



I just recently made another movie of pictures for my family in Florida. In editing it I viewed hundreds of pictures of the kids and my lovely lady, I felt the overwellming feeling of gratitude for what God has given me. Family, my Familia, Los ninos. All the love and special moments we've shared in our adventurous ride called life. God is so good to us and yet we tend to forget He's even around.

Fall, the air has turned cold and there's crispness in the yard. I know it's fall because I see the annual venue of Camoflauge pants and deer horns parading through town. Time to have a bon fire and relax. Park the tie for flannel and snuggle up to the fire. Smores (I hear people actually eat these things, what a waste of energy:) roast them. Fill the crock pot with Chile and relax.

I'll end with this old saying I love: Everyday is a choice. You choose if today will be a good day or a bad one.


"This is the beginning of a new day. God has given me this day to use as I will. I can waste it or use it for good. What I do today is important because I’m exchanging a day of my life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever, leaving in its place something that I have traded for it. I want it to be gain, not loss; good, not evil; success, not failure; in order that I shall not regret the price I paid for it. May I have sufficient wisdom and courage that this shall be my record for today."

Quote from Og Mandino 'The greatest salesman in the world'


Remember Look up, Live life, and be thankful!!!

Kevin