Friday, September 25, 2015

Three Weeks In

    We have been at school for three weeks now. Second grade is going well. William really seems to like his teacher and he is trying hard on his homework. He has gotten mostly good reviews on the reports coming home with the worst thing so far is not listening. That is much improved from last year. I keep encouraging him to do the right things. I think he is feeling better about himself now and it is starting to show.

    William was telling me a story on the way home from daycare yesterday. He asked me if his teacher had called me and I told him no and asked why she would need to call. He told me that he had been tripped at school during gym and that he had gotten hurt. He told me that the other student that was involved did it on purpose. He told me that he got very mad but decided to take a breath and not react. I told him that I was really proud of him for making a really good choice.

    I will keep working with William and encourging him to do his best. I am going to try to find the things that we can celibrate together and keep him pointed in the right direction as much as I can. I am keeping my fingers crossed on school this year.

One month down,

Your Loving Dad

Friday, September 18, 2015

A love story.

    We were watching a movie last night "For the Love of the Game" with Kevin Costner. It is about a pitcher with the Detroit Tiger, Billy Chapel, at the end of his career. He is playing a game against the New York Yankees. The team he has been playing with for 19 years was just sold and he has to make a decision about his life. He is pitching the best game of his life and he is thinking back over his life while trying to make this decision. This movie also has a lady that Billy meets during the movie. He falls in love with her and she for him, but having him travel all of the time makes their relationship hard. As the movie progresses you find out that this lady had a baby when she was 16. She was strong, as she recalls she she threw her baby on her back as they left the hospital and had two kids growing up together.

    Billy meets her daughter and they become a family of sorts. This whole thing takes place over a five year period of Billy's life. The good the bad and everything else. There is a part of the movie when Billy is talking to the daughter. They start talking about her mother. She asked him if he is her mother's boyfriend. He tells her he doesn't know because of how things are in their life. She goes on to tell him about her mom and the things that she remembers. She tells him that she thinks that her mom has never really had a love story in her life. Later on in the movie the daughter is grown up and in college. She see Billy sitting at a table and stops by to say hello. The first thing that she ask him is does he remember her.

    So you are probably asking am I doing a movie review. No I am not doing a movie review but this move is very good. I wanted to give a little background before I started telling how this movie moved me last night. I have seen this movie before but many things have changed in my life now so I see things from a different perspective. There is the part where the daughter comes to talk to him and asked if he remembers her. This hit close to home for me as it made me think about the children that were in my life for so long. I wonder if they would have to walk up to me and ask if I remembered them. I would hope that they know I will always remember them and I loved them very much while they were a part of my life. I hope that they can remember the good things that we did together and the love we shared. This part of the movie made me cry. I never had this connection to this movie until last year. The feeling of having children in your life that are not yours but where special to you.

    Now there is the part about the love story. Have you ever had a love story in your life? There have been times when I think I was in love with someone. It seemed that I gave a lot but didn't get much back. I was asked during the movie if I believe that you can have a love story. When I was younger I would have quickly answered yes. Last night though, I had to think back on the times when I thought I had a love story and for the first time in my life I had to answer "I don't know". It kinda scares me to think about having someone that I trust with my heart that much again. Is there such thing as a love story? I think that there are a lucky few that find a true love story. They are willing to work through the tough times and find the path together. They stand beside each other and lift each other up. So I find myself wondering if I am in my love story. I have someone in my life that compliments me on pretty much every part of my life. She makes me feel good about who I am and encourages me to achieve. She makes me feel like I have wings and for the first time in a long time I have dreams again. I am talking about future dreams, thing that I hope happen and things that I am trying to make come true. I am scared that this will fade and eventually we will start taking each other for granted. I am afraid that this feeling will fade and there will be nothing left. It is hard getting around those feelings considering what the last one did to me. I am here right now in my life just trying to figure things out.

    At the end of the movie Billy finds out the day of this game that the lady is moving to London. She tells him that she never felt like he needed her and she leaves. Billy still has to pitch this game with the thought of losing her and the pending sale of his team. As he makes the decision at the end of the movie he decides this will be his last game. He is pitching the perfect game. No hits, no runs..... the perfect game. As the movie is coming to a close Billy does pitch the perfect game. This should be one of the happiest moments in his life but he goes back to the hotel and cries. He packs his bags to go to London to find his lost love only to find out that she is still at the airport. Come to find out she missed her plane so she could watch him pitch that last game. He tells her that he loves her and that he does need her.

Is there a love story? Time will tell.

Your Loving Dad

Monday, September 14, 2015

I am a man now.

    We got up for school just like we do everyday but his day was a little different. Usually I get a shower and then go in to wake up William to get ready for school. When I got out of the shower William was down stairs and I could hear him clanking things around in the kitchen. I finished getting things ready to go and went down stairs. William had gotten things out for breakfast for both of us and he had even started making his lunch while he was waiting on me. It was really sweet to see him taking that independent nature and putting it to good use. It was even sweeter that he had gotten out a bowl for me for breakfast too.

    I pulled out his meter and checked his finger. Then I measured out his food and milk. I decided to ask him why he had done all of this. He told me "I am a man now". He is seven right now. I just kind of smiled and kept asking him questions about why he thought he was a man. He told me that he could do everything on his own and that a man doesn't need help. I told him that being a man doesn't mean that you do not need help. The best men that I know need help every day. Being a real man is knowing when you need to ask for help and knowing who to ask. I told him that being able to do something yourself makes you independent.

    A few days later William did pretty much the same things for breakfast again. He told me that he wanted to be a man. I am glad that he has the spirit to become independent. I do not want him to grow up too fast but I do what him to take more responsibility for what he does and says. He wanted to enter all of the information for his breakfast into his pump by himself. I let him for the first time ever. He got everything correct. I was happy that he was paying attention so much. I am very proud of him. I told him that he was never to enter anything into his pump without someone there to make sure he had all of the numbers correct.

    William had a great first week in second grade. He was very excited and came home ready to go back. He got his homework done quickly and correctly everyday. I was amazed at how fast he got things done this year. The first few times he had homework he had around 30 math questions. I sat him down at the table thinking it would take him a while just like last year. Within a few short minutes he came and told me he was done. I thought to myself there is no way he could have gotten them done. When I checked his work he only had one wrong. I am proud.

    He does get closer to being a man everyday. I am glad and sad all at the same time. I want him to be successful in his life. I want him to be happy and find things in his life that bring him joy. I want him to find the same joy that I have teaching and giving back. It took me a long time to find something that makes me truly happy inside other than my children. I hope he finds his thing earlier in life than I did. I hope to be a good example for him to make that decision on.

I love you little man,

Your Loving Dad

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Another day in your life and big things are happening.

    This day feels like so many that have passed recently. Yesterday you built an FM radio using the snap circuit kit that you got for Christmas. You put the circuit together and we read the instructions on how it works and then we heard music. You were so excited that you wouldn't take the circuit apart. I am proud of you for being able to do that all by yourself. I enjoyed watching you find all of the pieces and snapping them together. I really enjoy seeing you get excited about learning new stuff. I still see you getting frustrated at times but you are learning to deal with that frustration much better.

    We are continuing on the series of books that we have been reading this summer. We are on book nine. That is pretty awesome since each book has between 15-18 chapters. You have gotten so much better at reading. Freddie and his friends are cleaning under Freddie's bed in this latest book. It is called "Attack of the Dust Bunnies from Outer Space". Last night something grabbed the broom from Freddie while he was cleaning under his bed. Was it a monster? Was it something scary? We get to find out tonight. I am really glad that we spend time together reading through these adventures.

    My big second grader. Today you start second grade. You were so excited about going back to school that you could hardly sleep last night. I am glad to see you get excited about that since you had such a tough time last year. You were very excited about your best friend (Noah) being in your class with you this year too. We have talked to you about making good decisions and listening today. I really hope that you find a new path for yourself this year that makes your life easier. I am hopeful that second grade will be better.

    It was Lucky's birthday on August 31st. He turned three this year. I was glad to see you celebrate his birthday. We went to the pet store and got Lucky some toys and a bone. I knew going in that the toys wouldn't last long but you and Lucky were both very excited about the toys. I got Lucky a grey and white animal that squeaked. You got him a multi-colored snake that has five squeakers. The white and  grey toy did not last an hour. Lucky ripped it apart as soon as he heard the first squeak. He loved playing tug-of-war with it until there was nothing left. I thought this one might last a little longer since it had a heavy rope inside holding it all together. I am not sure if Lucky likes the new bone or not. It is a real bone and I have not seen him chewing on it much yet.

Back to school, homework and snow,

Your Loving Dad

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Here Comes Second Grade

    William starts second grade in just a few more days. He is excited about going back. He tells me that he misses his friends and his teacher. He was very excited to find out what teacher he has for second grade. I am a bit nervous about him starting school. He had some major issues to deal with last year and many times did not deal with them well. He has started to swear at friends at daycare. He has learned this behavior from someone in his life that should be a responsible example for him, but isn't. He has told me many times where he has heard these words and has asked if I want to know all of the words that he says. It is tough knowing that others bad choices make my sons life even harder than it already has to be.

    I got the list of things that William will need for school. We got a new backpack with the University of Michigan on it and lunchbox and all of the supplies that were required by school. William is very excited about getting to use all of this new stuff. I guess it would be like me getting a new phone. I just want to play with it and learn all of the new stuff it can do. We got a new pencil sharpener too. The last one was cheap and did not work well. The new one makes the pencils so sharp it should come with warning labels.

    Life is tough for a seven year old with two chronic diseases. He is a trooper and doesn't complain much. He tells me at times "I wish I didn't have celiac" or "I wish I wasn't diabetic".  These are the times when I lift him up and tell him how proud that I am that he is strong enough to be a good person in spite of this. I tell him that I wish he didn't have them either but he is strong enough to do it. How bad ass do you have to be to have your finger poked 10 times a day and have your sites changed every three days? I don't know many people that would be willing to sign up to be poked by needles 75 times a week and that is the easy part.

You are my hero and I hope I earn your love everyday,

Your Loving Dad

A Story by William

William's letter about Lucky     William sat down yesterday an wrote a letter about Lucky our dog. He wanted me to publish it. So ...