Happy Birthday Ben

10 years ago today we welcomed our second son into the world. Benjamin Jacob Newman is my little artist who is everything you would think a boy should be. He loves his superheroes (Spiderman and Ironman especially), is very sweet and polite most the time, but has his moments where you would swear he is a demon spawn. But he is my Benny through and through and I wouldn't change any part of him for anything in the world. Happy Birthday Ben!

My vacation is over, but my venue has changed. I am no longer in Clarksville, Tennessee. I have a new project in a new city. The good news is that the new city is home!! So I get to see the boys and spend my time with them while I am here. I do have to make a return trip to Middle Tennessee at the end of the week, but it should be my last trip there for awhile. I will miss the great people I met there, but truthfully, I am glad to be in Columbus.

It was a very interesting vacation. I saw some people I hadn't seen in awhile, which is always good for the soul. I got a lot done at the house and even made a couple trips to Pittsburgh. But the end of the week presented a scare. I have said I am dealing with some things and needed prayers. And still do. Yesterday I spent the afternoon in the Emergency Room. As many of you know, I am not a go to the doctor kind of guy. But yesterday scared me very much. I did not have a heart attack, though all the symptoms were there. They cannot tell me for sure what exactly happened or is going on, and told me to see a cardiologist as well as my family doctor. I have one appointment set for tomorrow, and we will see what happens from there.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My son, the Bully

Last Friday, before I got home from work, there was a knock on my front door. My wife, Tiffany, answered the door and was confronted by an upset father. This man, clearly frustrated and at his wits end, informed her that our son Ben had taken part in the verbal bullying of his son Jordan. And while Ben was not the primary offender, nor had he been involved since the beginning, he was still a part of a group of kids who had been picking on Jordan for 2 years. When Tiffany called me I was floored. For those who do not know Ben, he is a great kid, the last person I had ever imagined would be involved with something like this. Sweet and always caring, Ben often will give up something he wants if someone else wants it more. He asks to help around the house and is a very even keeled kid. Still he is a little awkward, not feeling like he fits in. He is an artist while his older brother is the athlete, so Ben has always felt like his identity needed to be separate from John Michael's. Th...
Read more

Intimidation, evacuation, and an award

I need to start tonight's blog with some incredibly good news, the kind that makes Daddy a very happy person. My son, John-Michael, will be receiving the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence on June 8, 2010. He has no idea, as the school wants to make it a complete surprise. John-Michael, from what I understand, is the only student in his school to receive this prestigious honor. I am so proud of him and the man he is becoming. As I went through my day today I had the opportunity to speak to a friend. She is a new friend, just having met her in the last few weeks, but we get along famously. One thing she said that kind of shocked me, though. She said I am a little intimidating when someone first meets me. Me? Intimidating? I have never thought of myself that way. My Dad, now he is intimidating. I don't know that I have ever had a girlfriend or buddy not tell me they were intimidated by my Father. And he doesn't mean to be. He just is. Maybe that's me? I do not s...
Read more

Mr. Sparkle

Tonight I find myself sitting in my apartment, looking at the boxes and realizing another page in my life is turning. In an effort to cut costs and help a friend over a rough patch, I am moving to Buckeye Lake, Ohio tomorrow. It is going to be an interesting experience, as this summer is going to be one filled with all the things I love - the water, bonfires, good music and bbq's. The downside is that it takes me a little farther from my boys, and from other very important people in my life. But it isn't a far drive and I should be able to keep things steady while I am there. But that is not what tonight's blog is about. I remember the day I met him. Clad in a beige work jumpsuit with Mr. Sparkle branded on the name tag, Brad Stefanov had to be the most unique individual I had met since my family had moved to Columbus the summer before. It was 1988 and I had just started my first job, at Kroger in Gahanna. I was a bagger and making a paycheck and thought I was king of the...
Read more