Dave and Joe
I received a Facebook friend request recently from Noy, my former wife from another lifetime. I accepted her request with hopes of finding her sons, David and Joe among her contacts. I didn't stay in touch with Dave and Joe after Noy and I divorced in March of '98 and I wish we had but I wasn't going to intrude in their lives, plus, I figure that in this digital age they know how to easily find me if they ever want to, and I hope they do.
I looked through Noy's collection of photos and found recent photos of them both that she had uploaded but I found no links to Facebook pages of their own. Still, it was nice to see them again. I believe Dave is still single and Joe is married with two boys and a girl living in Pittsburg, Ca, just east of San Francisco.
Dave will be 45 in September and Joe will be 40 in June. I still think of them often but especially on their birthdays.
I used to be self-conscious about being a dad to boys who weren't all that much younger than me. Dave is only 14 years my junior, the same age difference between my oldest and youngest brothers. I was a good dad to them but I was also too hard on them at times and I'd love to be able to take all those moments back. I do remember feeling a lot of the time that I was in a thankless position and not appreciated for the sacrifices I was making for them but it wasn't their fault.
I was with Dave when I got the news that my dad had died in September 1995. He was in town after having been discharged from the Navy and we had just returned from golfing at Hyland Hills in Bloomington. We attended my dad's funeral together in Michigan's Upper Peninsula before he left for California. That was the last I saw of him. I last saw Joe ten years ago in May of 2006 when he came into town to move his mother to California to be near him.
There's a lot I could write about from our days together but I've never gone there in my blog. I suppose that on some level I've taken those memories, boxed them up and stored them away in a closet in my mind. We did share many good times but we also had our share of strife. We've all moved on but perhaps someday I'll find a way to work in some of my memories with them into these pages. I would like that.
I've found a nice rhythm to my workout routine the past few months. One of the things I used to dream of when I was employed was of the day when I'd be retired and much more able to find time for my workouts without being so rushed to make it happen. I'm doing that now in ways I was never able to before. It's nice. Tammy has embraced this new lifestyle as well. She joined Lifetime Fitness last November and loves the various classes she takes there in the evening, and it shows! I'm happy for her.
I finished work on my most recent stained glass panel a couple nights ago and I've put my glass tools away until next winter. The piece (photo to the left) measures 4.5" x 8". It's small but I love the challenge its size presents. I've had a good run the past few months as I was regularly going down into the shop for a few hours at a time, cutting and fitting some pieces together while letting my mind wander.
Here's a link to projects I've done this winter.
I've already got ideas for some designs I'd like to play around with next winter—possibly some intricate landscape or floral scenes of about the same size as these smaller panels I've been working with. I can't think of anyone who works with pieces this tiny so perhaps that will be the niche that can set me apart.
I do have one other project I'd like to begin before the pull of warmer weather is simply too strong for my desire to do indoor stuff and that's a model car I purchased one year ago but never got around to sizing up. I hope to begin work on it tonight.
I've gotta run. We're taking a class at Gertens Greenhouse this afternoon about getting a jump on flower planting season with our own flower starts inside. Tammy's idea!
I looked through Noy's collection of photos and found recent photos of them both that she had uploaded but I found no links to Facebook pages of their own. Still, it was nice to see them again. I believe Dave is still single and Joe is married with two boys and a girl living in Pittsburg, Ca, just east of San Francisco.
Dave will be 45 in September and Joe will be 40 in June. I still think of them often but especially on their birthdays.
I used to be self-conscious about being a dad to boys who weren't all that much younger than me. Dave is only 14 years my junior, the same age difference between my oldest and youngest brothers. I was a good dad to them but I was also too hard on them at times and I'd love to be able to take all those moments back. I do remember feeling a lot of the time that I was in a thankless position and not appreciated for the sacrifices I was making for them but it wasn't their fault.
I was with Dave when I got the news that my dad had died in September 1995. He was in town after having been discharged from the Navy and we had just returned from golfing at Hyland Hills in Bloomington. We attended my dad's funeral together in Michigan's Upper Peninsula before he left for California. That was the last I saw of him. I last saw Joe ten years ago in May of 2006 when he came into town to move his mother to California to be near him.
There's a lot I could write about from our days together but I've never gone there in my blog. I suppose that on some level I've taken those memories, boxed them up and stored them away in a closet in my mind. We did share many good times but we also had our share of strife. We've all moved on but perhaps someday I'll find a way to work in some of my memories with them into these pages. I would like that.
I've found a nice rhythm to my workout routine the past few months. One of the things I used to dream of when I was employed was of the day when I'd be retired and much more able to find time for my workouts without being so rushed to make it happen. I'm doing that now in ways I was never able to before. It's nice. Tammy has embraced this new lifestyle as well. She joined Lifetime Fitness last November and loves the various classes she takes there in the evening, and it shows! I'm happy for her.
I finished work on my most recent stained glass panel a couple nights ago and I've put my glass tools away until next winter. The piece (photo to the left) measures 4.5" x 8". It's small but I love the challenge its size presents. I've had a good run the past few months as I was regularly going down into the shop for a few hours at a time, cutting and fitting some pieces together while letting my mind wander.
Here's a link to projects I've done this winter.I've already got ideas for some designs I'd like to play around with next winter—possibly some intricate landscape or floral scenes of about the same size as these smaller panels I've been working with. I can't think of anyone who works with pieces this tiny so perhaps that will be the niche that can set me apart.
I do have one other project I'd like to begin before the pull of warmer weather is simply too strong for my desire to do indoor stuff and that's a model car I purchased one year ago but never got around to sizing up. I hope to begin work on it tonight.
I've gotta run. We're taking a class at Gertens Greenhouse this afternoon about getting a jump on flower planting season with our own flower starts inside. Tammy's idea!
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