Crawling and Angst

Some big news emanated out of New Hampshire this past weekend and no, we’re not talking about the BRS’ toilet training. BR3 decided to start crawling for the first time! As usual her motivation was food. She has been on the brink of crawling for a long time but this weekend she saw her dad eating a snack and decided she wanted part of that. Before he realized what was happening BR3 had crawled across the room in search of a handout. She’s been a chow hound since her first days which apparently provided the needed motivation. In similarly great news BR3 also popped her first tooth this past weekend, which may explain the sleepless nights over the past few weeks.

Mobility Enhanced and Toothed Up

In other granddaughter news the FBR and Pee Wee the cat are engaged in a contest for my daughter’s affections. The cat used to run screaming from the room whenever the FBR was present. I can’t fault him for that as anybody who has seen a toddler interact with a cat can understand. Pee Wee has learned to tolerate the FBR who has matured enough not to immediately launch a bone crushing hug upon spying him. Whenever the FBR climbs into my daughter’s lap to snuggle Pee Wee now jumps into the same lap and tries to intervene between the two. I saw this phenomenon in a call earlier this week and couldn’t stop laughing.

Pee Wee Intervening

One of the aspects of life I find myself thinking about a great deal as I get older is how I got to this place. I remember worrying intensely what I was going to do with my life as I entered my last year of college. It had all been fun and games up to that point (and continued, of course) but it dawned on me that I probably ought to figure out what I was going to do with my life. I wasn’t one of those guys who had a definite plan or road map to guide me. With the future staring me straight in the face I stressed about what I would do. The general consensus in the family (meaning my mother) expected me to go on to law school which was the meandering course I’d followed through college.

Co-Existence/Snuggling

I decided that wasn’t what I wanted to do, mostly because I couldn’t afford it, but also due to a real lack of interest in 3 more years of school. I ended up being a college graduate back in my home town, driving a school bus, trying to figure it out and, to be perfectly honest, not devoting a lot of time to the effort. That all changed when I walked into an Army recruiter’s office. One of my life’s goals had always been to see Europe and the Army was only too happy to make that happen in exchange for the next three years of my life. It seemed like a fair exchange at the time. The three years turned into 27-year career that I never imagined when I signed up in February of 1978.

That is the best advice I can give a young person struggling with what their future holds for them. You will find your niche, as I did in the Army. I know it’s scary but life has a way of seeking you out. Just be open to possibilities when they present themselves. The best weapon you can possess is a work ethic, be willing to do the hard work when it comes your way, eventually your path will become clear to you. I know it’s tough for parents seeing their kids struggling with these decisions but, as long as you’re willing to work, you will find your niche. One of the most telling examples of this I observed was a leadership presentation about fifteen years after I graduated from college. The presenter asked the group, all college grads, how many were currently working in the field they studied in college for. Less than five people out of the group of 50 raised their hands. I was, of course, one of those who couldn’t raise my hand. I would never have guessed I was destined to be a career Soldier but I found my niche and reveled in the military which has, to a certain extent, defined my life.

Less than 300 days to Christmas!!! (298 to be exact)

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RECURRING CHARACTERS                                           

BR3 – granddaughter #3, BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter, ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete = my daughter in law; Wingman – my son in law; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Soxfather - my brother in law; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Pittsburgh College Roommate – high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member, Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn