Owner: Man with Family URL:http://wwwmanwithfamily.org Join Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 13:34:11 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Man with Family follows the humorous and often insightful musings of a man facing midlife. Site statistics:Click here
Spending money's a good thing 2008-02-18 17:06:45 I was off work today. I get the banker's holidays, even though I'm not a banker. I like those few extra days a year.
I spent most of the day cleaning my den. The clutter was beginning to overwhelm me. Every so often that happens, and I need to get on top of it again. This has been my pattern my whole life, but I've decided to turn over a new leaf. I'll be working to deal with paper and mail as it comes into the house. I've reorganized a bit to be able to accommodate those changes. We'll see how that goes.
After several months, I was able to convince the Wife to go sofa shopping with me. She hates to spend money. Go figure. We've needed a new sofa for some time, but today the kids called and family a meeting (absent the Wife) and said, "Dad, we really need to get a new sofa." That tipped t Read more:Spending
When I grow up, I want to work in advertising 2008-02-16 10:15:53 While I was looking for that monster.com commercial for my previous post on YouTube, I came upon this parody that is just hysterical. Well, if you've ever worked in the Advertising Industry, it's hysterical. Judge for yourself.
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When I Grow Up 2008-02-16 09:58:53 A few weeks ago, I was an adult leader on a trip with a bunch of teenagers. When we stopped for dinner, I found myself setting across from a young man I didn't know well. We started talking about school, his pending graduation and the fact that he didn't think he wanted to go to college. He said he didn't really know what he wanted to do with his life.
In hopes of lightening the moment, I said, "That's alright. I don't yet know that I want to be when I grow up."
There was a bit of silence, and then he look up from his dinner and said, "I don't really know how to respond to that."
I laughed and told him that teachers, parents and others spend too much time trying to get us to decide what kind of career to have, but most of don't have a clue at 18 what the world is like. Many of us, even in
Splints out today! 2008-02-15 13:11:00 I was really pleased to get the splints out my nose today. I had no idea those things were so big. They had to be 5-6" long, at least. All the way through my nasal cavity and into down into my sinuses a bit.
It wasn't terribly uncomfortable to have them removed. Just a snip of a couple of stitches. The more uncomfortable part was having the doctor clean out my nose. It's pretty gross to have someone picking your nose, even if they're using medical tools and a vacuum device.
Great report from the doctor, and no need for a follow up.
I'm still breathing well tonight, although a little stuffy on one side. We'll see if it really helps with the snoring. It has done wonders already for the breathing.
There is one down side, though. I'm smelling some things I hadn't smelled before (or at least i
Happy Valentine's Day - 2008 2008-02-14 16:23:00 I'm not a particularly romantic guy, but I am sentimental.
For years the Wife and I have just exchanged cards. I generally buy one for her. She often makes one for me. Sometimes her card is very simple and practical, such as the one I found in front of the coffee pot when I got up this morning.
This year's card was an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of red construction paper, with four hearts cut out of the middle. She had written around the edges, "HappyValentine
's Day. I love you always." I smiled.
When the kids at home returned from school today, they all mentioned the red paper hearts in their lunches, each with a note and "Happy Valentine's Day!, Love Mom". They love it, but they won't admit it.
Then they noticed my card, and The Boy taped his heart back into it. Later in the evening, I saw th
Breathing again! 2008-02-13 04:43:51 Finally, I'm able to get some air going through my nose.
I know this is gross, but I'm able to blow my nose a little (it's fine, the doctor said I could). I guess the 4-times-daily irrigation of saline in the nose has paid off. The output is, well, gross. Yes, I looked.
I couldn't take the boredom any longer and started to do a little of my job from home today. Nothing major, just writing and planning--things that I have difficulty doing most days with regular interruptions. It's nice to actually make progress on those things.
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Am I having a midlife crisis? 2008-02-12 13:23:56 The Miami Herald had an article today entitled, 5 things you didn't know about midlife crisis. Among those five points were, "Am I Having one?" in which the article said doctors do believe it is a genuine condition with the following symptoms, among others:
irritability
loss of sex drive
impotence
fatigue
depression
hair loss
weight gain
loss of ability to recover quickly from injuries
It also said that a recent "Happiness" study showed that both men and women's happiness followed a U-shaped curve, with the most unhappy time being at the bottom of the curve, or about age 44.
If find all this interesting, but I have to point out that I don't possess an of the symptoms from the bullet-point list above. Except, maybe irritability, but then I've always been a tad grouchy. So, I guess I'm no
Bored out of my mind 2008-02-11 11:37:06 I don't believe I could ever retire. I couldn't do the daytime TV thing. There's just so much Dr. Phil, and Law & Order re-runs a man can watch.
I remain a mouth breather. No improvements from yesterday. Napping frequently.
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Read more:Bored
Still recovering 2008-02-10 08:23:56 The nasal stuffiness persists. I'm now officially a mouth breather.
Breathing through the mouth makes it difficult to eat or talk and breathe at the same time. Otherwise, the recovery is going well.
I'm being "babied" a bit by the fam, but I'm rarely sick.
I missed church and a church meeting tonight. Couldn't breathe and talk, so no sense trying to participate.
If you're 44, start drinking now. 2008-03-13 16:31:11 The March 2008 issue of the American Journal of Medicine is encouraging middle age folks to pick up a bottle. According to a new study led by Dr. Dana King of the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, folks who newly begin consuming moderate amounts of alcohol in middle age benefit from lower cardiovascular disease morbidity.
Results of the study indicated that the new moderate drinkers had a 38% lower chance of developing cardiovascular disease, but their was no difference in all-cause mortality between the new drinkers and the nondrinkers.
But what interested me the most, was this:
"The new drinkers also showed a modest improvement in HDL-cholesterol levels and no adverse effect on blood pressure. The researchers say that these data support the idea that initiating alcohol
Extraordinarily busy 2008-03-11 00:00:00 Sorry for the lack of posts the last few weeks. It's been extraordinarily busy around our household.
The Psychologist was home for Spring Break celebrated it by having all four of her wisdom teeth out. Much homework that needed my assistance. A few sick people. A little butt-kicking was due for The Boy to keep him working on his Scouting merit badges (he's so close to his next rank). Plus several work related activities that stretched into the evening hours.
I'll try to pick up the pace again this week.
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It's no longer "hip" to be married? 2008-03-30 11:30:48 While I was doing the previous post, I came upon a Po Bronson article in Time Magazine entitled, "Has being Married Gone Out of Style?" from October 2006. It seems that the Census Bureau has noted that homes headed by married
couples now falls below 50%.Given I'd just done a post over the weekend on the perspective of someone who had been married 50 years, I thought you might be interested in seeing this article.
What Should I Do With My Life? 2008-03-30 10:55:00 In 2003, I read Po Bronson's book, What Should I Do With My Life? as I was contemplating the second act of my career. The book profiles 50 individuals as they search for their true calling in life.
It was very interesting to me to learn the challenges of others as they made a journey similar to mine. Those stories were very useful to me as I made the work transition to non-profit industry in 2004.
If you're thinking about your second act and are unsure what to do next, I'd encourage you read this book as your first step. Understanding how others have crossed the same bridge is eye-opening.
Letter to the Lady of the House 2008-03-29 12:30:00 On a recent solo trip home after dropping The Psychologist off at college, I had the opportunity to catch up on some Podcasts from This American Life. While most of the stories were interesting, the one that stuck out for me was author Richard Bausch reading "Letter
to the Lady of the House
," from The Selected Stories of Richard Bausch. All I can say is, what a great story.Bausch narrates this fictional letter, written on the eve of a man's seventieth birthday to Marie, his wife of fifty years. He's finally reached a point in his life where he can get through the petty quarrels and tell her what's really on his mind. To share more here would take away from the richness of the essay and the depth that Bausch give to his reading. But, I was entranced as a I listened to the reading driving al
A big belly will cause you to lose your mind 2008-03-27 16:00:00 The Los Angeles Times today posted a story on a study that indicates there's a correlation between a big stomach at middle age and dementia. The article references a study by a Kaiser Permanente which said:
"Those who were overweight and had a large belly
when measurements were taken were 2.3 times more likely to develop dementia in old age than those who had a healthy weight and belly size when they were younger. People who were obese -- with a BMI greater than 30 -- and had a large belly in middle age were 3.6 times more likely to develop dementia later in life than those whose weight and belly size had been in the healthy range." "This ought to be a wake-up call to baby boomers in terms of diet and exercise," said Dr. Sam Gandy, a spokesman for the Alzheimer's Assn. who was not invo
"Survivors" or "Victims" 2008-04-22 11:30:00 The Pope's impromptu planned visit last week with victims of clergy sexual abuse has been widely reported. In a New York Times report on April 16 entitled, "Abuse Victims
Not Placated by Pope", Becky Ianni, a 50-year-old abuse victim said,
“He talks about feeling shame for the scandal but it’s a far cry from the shame that victims have had to live with our entire lives. We don’t really need his sense of shame."
She's right, of course. Yet many news outlets reported all week that the Pope visited with the "survivors", not the "victims." It seems to me that calling the victims "survivors", even though they truly are, softens the terrible act and does more to add to the shame that Ms. Ianni and so many others do note need to endure.Shame on the news media. These indiv Read more:Survivors
Wear Sunscreen 2008-04-05 21:14:00 Yesterday's post with the Kurt Vonnegut reminded me of Mary Schmich's June 1997 column in the Chicago Tribune which has been attributed to Vonnegut as an MIT commencement speech (he didn't give it that year). Schmich introduced the column as the commencement address she would give if she were asked to give one. When I went searching for it (it's listed below), I found this great little video by Baz Luhrmann. Enjoy both.
By Mary Schmich, Chicago Tribune, June 1, 1997
Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '97.
Wear Sunscreen
.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be
it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this a
Wasting time at orientation 2008-08-18 21:36:44 Earlier tonight I went to the parent's portion of freshman orientation at the high schoool. It was pretty much a waste of time. Granted, I've done this three times before, but this one took the cake. The principal spoke for 40 minutes, mostly reiterating things that were in the provided handout and will be in the student handbook. He could have talked for 10 minutes, and referred folks to th
Return to blogging 2008-08-10 04:31:11 I started this blog at the first of the year with high hopes of writing 2-3 times a week. I did pretty well until April, then life got in the way. I just had too much going on and didn't really have a passion for blogging. But, the break was good for me. I have a few things to say and I have recommitted to blogging here. I'm sorry to the 5 of you who might have started reading when I started Read more:Return
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