Category: Friends

That cliché post about old friends

I have known a lot of people over the years.  But my life has been one of a nomad.  I have moved so many times that I have developed very few of  those really deep friendships that require years to develop.

Friday I had a chance to see one of those friends.  Dean Curtis is The friend who has done the most to stay in close contact with me over the many years.  We developed our friendship starting about when our two boys were born in 1992.  His son Andy and my son Brandt grew up together.  They attended play groups and daycare together, our wives worked together, and our families spent a lot of time together.  We got to be very close over the years.  Then in 2001 when we moved to Australia, Dean was there for some 15 or 20 going away parties as our departure date to move to Australia kept getting moved back in the days following 911.

Photo of a photo
Dean captures a screenshot to upload to social media.

When we can back to the US in 2004, the welcome home party was at Dean and Cindy’s house.  We haven’t seen each other too many times since then, but I often get a phone call from him.  He is always telling me to eat my green leafy vegetables and has a fun inside joke that I won’t embarrass my wife by sharing the details.

Anyway, we got a chance to see his family again this Friday at his son Andy’s Senior Vocal Recital at St. Olaf. College.  His son performed one of the most amazing shows I have ever seen by an amateur.  And we were there.

It was great to see our old friends who have gone out of their way to maintain our friendship.  And as the cliche goes, it was as if we had seen each other yesterday.

PEACE!

KT

Day 28

Categories: Friends

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Today I was Adopted

I am 49 years old, and today I was adopted!

There is an advantage to hitting this stage in life.  I still have both my living parents.  My children are adults, or near enough to call it so.  That comes with the joy of seeing that I haven’t managed to destroy them as I raised them.  Actually, both of my boys are fantastic men with great hearts, incredible insight and compassion, and both with very promising futures ahead of them.  My wife Tina and I did alright raising our boys, and that is the most important job I have had.

Along with the boys comes access to their friends.  I get great joy out of spending time with young people.  It is one of the things that makes teaching a career of my choice.  I have gotten to meet some really great young people along the way.

One of the special ones is Mackenzie.  She is an extremely talented musician and is a freshman in college this year.  We hit it off right away when we met doing a show several years ago.  She carries a smile that lights up any room she enters.

Kezie
Kenzie carries a smile that lights up the room.

Kenzie is the first one that every adopted me, she calls me Uncle Kevin.  I like that!

But I have never had a daughter.  Until today when I was adopted.  I didn’t see it coming, but when it happened it was subtle, almost silent, and so cool.

Facebook posting
This is how I learned I was adopted.

I answered her post, telling her how I store my kayak and canoe.  Then it dawned on me.  Katie had called me her “outdoorsy dad”.

Katie is another one of the special ones.  I liked her the moment I met her.  She works with my wife Tina and that is how I know her.  They are frequently seen around town doing things for the community related to wellness.  Katie also has one of those smiles that you can’t help but notice, but her smile comes with a little bit of mischief and tells the story of a person who just absolutely loves life and is going to get everything she possibly can out of that life.

Katie and Tina
These two ladies always seem to be having a ball when they are together.

Now maybe I am reading too much into this.  Probably I am.  Maybe I am just a sentimental old fart (I definitely am).  But to me the use of the names Uncle and Dad when used in this way are terms of endearment.  What was it that Sally Fields said… oh, never mind.  The point is that I am touched, I am honored, and it fills me with joy to have been adopted in this way.

Thank you very much Katie, you made my day.

Katie and her dog
Katie and her dog out enjoying life

PEACE!

KT

I left out last names to protect these ladies from the glaring spotlight of the Internet because you know, my blog is so heavily read.  But that’s what we do, we protect our family even when they don’t really need it.

Day 13

Categories: Friends

Day 5: Our remains are not all that are left behind

Dried Daisy seed pods
Looking at the remains of life, we see only the path that was taken and  the things encountered along the way.

Walking through the garden when winter is leaving and spring hasn’t arrived gives you a chance to reflect on what was, think and plan for what will be.  Every year I say that my garden is too big, and next year I am going to cut back.  Every year, my garden gets bigger.

Last year, I was finally successful in giving my wife a garden of white daisies.  She had subtly hinted about it for several years and I finally picked up the hint.  Those beautiful white daisies, petals withered and dropped to the ground, left behind a sculptured garden of patterns and the illusion of motion.

Stiff enough that they don’t blow in the breeze, they illustrate the paths that each stem and flower took to find a way to find the light that they needed to grow and to thrive.  They also left behind patterns in their skeletons that some would say are as beautiful as the flowers were themselves.

I guess that is true of all things to some degree or another.  We sprout, we grow, hopefully we thrive, and all the while we are taking a path that no other living thing has ever taken before, and no other thing will ever take again.  And then we die.  And what we leave behind is the shell of our living self, the path we took, and all the things we encountered and influenced along the way.  For good or for bad, this is the way of life.  That is why we are here.

The only way to have an interesting life is to do interesting things.  Live your life in a way that you will be proud to look back on when you have nothing left but the path you chose and the interactions you left behind.

Peace!

KT

Categories: Friends garden Pondering