Thursday, May 31, 2012

Backlog Blog

Once again I find myself sitting at the computer at the last minute of the last hour of the last day of the month - for the third month in a row...  I decided this time I'm actually going to blog and try to get caught up...  To be honest, I'm getting started just a few minutes before midnight, so I'll actually be posting this blog well past the midnight deadline I typically set for myself, but I'm going to give myself credit for at least sitting down and getting started before the new month actually begins.
The last time I sat down and blogged was nearly four months ago.  Part of my trouble has been my lack of ambition to sit at the computer for very long and blog, but part of my trouble has been the amount of time I can devote to sitting down and putting everything 'in print.'  I guess it's safe to say I've just been a little too busy to waste my time with trivial things (like blogging) that I once did to keep myself busy.  In fact, a lot of things that I did to keep busy, hobbies, projects, even my health, have basically been put on the back burner for the past few months.

The first week in March marked the real beginning for me.  For the past few months I've been trying to find a way to rightly state the feelings and thoughts I have been experiencing, but I'm afraid it's beyond my ability.  I simply can't find a way to properly express my emotional roller coaster, so I guess the best thing to do is just start from the beginning and go from there.

I don't think it was any surprise for my family and extended family to find ourselves saying goodbye to a beloved family member.  I affectionately knew him as grandpa and at 91 years of age, I think it's safe to say he lived a full life.  He lost his father when he was young, grew up during the Great Depression, had his landing craft sunk by German artillery at Omaha Beach on D-Day (he couldn't swim and had no weapon), he returned home after the war and met grandma - and as they say, the rest is history.  When I really stop and think about it, he was a pretty tough guy - he was part of 'The Greatest Generation" and I think it showed.  At 80 years old he had open heart surgery (multiple by-pass) and I remember thinking back then that he shouldn't have lived through the procedure.  He was a tough guy but he cared about his family and we will all miss him.  I will especially miss his stories.
Laura decided she wanted to attend the funeral and I greatly appreciated her comforting support.  All-the-while, she was within a week of having our third baby.  I can only imagine the discomfort she was enduring, but she had little complaints.

Within a week, we were holding our third child - finally a girl! - Leela arrived March 19th, just a few hours before the official start of spring.  We checked in at the hospital and it was less than an hour before everything was over.  Laura insisted on eating supper before loading up the boys to take to my parents house before going to the hospital, but thankfully I convinced her that we didn't have enough time for that.  Leela wasn't in any mood to wait!  Our 8 pound girl was bigger than her brothers and she still is out-pacing her brothers growth, she appears to be a girl that will be able to take care of herself!

Needless to say we went from grief to joy and various mixed emotions in-between.  Add to that, a lot of sleepless nights and a lot of tiring days - we've really been experiencing all the highs and lows.

In the mean time, we've been trying to return to normal life...er, should I say we've been trying to figure out what normal life is going to be like from now on.  We're slowly getting there and with each passing day our routine becomes a little more of a routine.  Luckily for us Leela is pretty easy going as long as she gets her way (what female isn't that way?) but she doesn't enjoy being outside.  We took her camping a few weeks back and she clearly enjoyed that.  I think that means we will be going camping a few more times this summer!  We bought some new toys in April and have been able to use them a few times - hopefully our kayaks will get some good use this summer as well.  I'm hoping to make a trip on the Platte River as long as there is enough water to float and then perhaps even use them for our Labor Day canoe/kayak trip in the Sandhills.

With everything that's happened, I put running on hold for a few months.  I still went out a time or two each week, but lacked the motivation to train like I knew I should.  I ran the Lincoln Half-Marathon with a time of 1:49:01 - my slowest time in Lincoln, but it was bittersweet for me this year.  I still maintain that it's one of my favorite races around and I fully anticipate to do it again next year, hopefully Laura and I can train together and hopefully get a PR (personal record) in 2013.

I should also mention Emryk's excitement with the outdoors.  He is a child that takes after both Laura and I.  If there is an opportunity to be outside and playing games or experiencing nature he is all over it!  We attended the Outdoor Discovery Day a few weeks ago at Fort Kearny - hosted by the Nebraska Game and Parks - and he had a blast.  Arlo was pretty excited as well, I suspect they will both be outside a lot this summer.  Part of Emryk's excitement has been fishing.  He was able to do a little fishing at Fort Kearny and has been wanting to go fishing quite a few times.  During our camping trip a few weeks back he was finally able to do a little fishing and he even managed to catch his first fish.  Uncle Rylan set him up with a few opportunities to try to catch a fish and when Emryk finally caught his first fish he had a nice sized bluegill on the hook!  I did a rough measurement with my hand it was larger than my 10" hand width (from tip of my thumb to tip of my pinky).  As I came to find out, it was actually a master angler bluegill!

Anyway, that little update will get me caught up with everything that I can think of right now.  I'm sure there is more that I should mention, but without much free time these days we simply don't get out and do a lot.  I'm sure we will be getting out more this summer and Leela is starting to sleep most of the night, and that means mommy and daddy are starting to get a little more sleep as well.  One of these days we'll feel rested....right?

Until again

-=Nolan=-