Thinking...

My life is pretty darn blessed.

I follow several bloggers... a few are family, a few are bloggers I stumbled on in some random place or through other people's blogs. One such blogger is Fat Cyclist (http://www.fatcyclist.com/). I first linked to his blog through my IronMan cousin's blog. For more than a year I have read the fatcyclist.com blog (which is, at its core, about cycling) and followed along with his family's battle against the cancer that is slowly tearing his wife Susan from from them. This man, Elden (the fat cyclist), is a man I've never met; a man I never will meet. But I feel like I know him. He is an amazing writer, and an even more amazing husband/father/person. And he regularly brings me to tears. Today I read that the end of this awful journey is near for his family. Today my heart aches.

Update: Susan passed away the evening of August 5, 2009.

Happy Pumpkin Day!

I don't have one particular topic to discuss today, but Happy Halloween to everyone! I am (mostly) off today. I did work on a white paper for a few hours this morning, but I'm not in the office. :-)

Random Topic #1 - Hockey
Keeper Boy had a rare, weeknight hockey game last night. It was his turn to be the door keeper, and, as usual, he did a fine job. Hubby was on penalty box duty. I'm sure he felt right at home as he spent many a minute there in the first several years he played hockey! But back to the kids... Keeper Boy's team won 3-2. The team is now 4-1 in league play. Next game tomorrow afternoon. Keeper Boy will be in net.

Random Topic #2 - Grandparents
We had a quick, somewhat last-minute visit from my parents last night. They used our place as a layover on their way to my brother's new house a little further west of here. They spent some time with the boys, Dad went with me to see Keeper Boy's hockey game while Mom stayed home with J-Mav (and got beat in a spirited game of Trouble). They ate breakfast with us this morning and headed out when I took the boys to school. A nice, but short, visit. We'll see them again soon for Thanksgiving!

Random Topic #3 - Pumpkin Math
I volunteered this morning for the Kindergarten Pumpkin Celebration at J-Mav's school. For two hours, I ran a center for four or five Kindergarteners at a time where we did "pumpkin math." The three activities were estimating how many plastic links it would take to go around the pumpkin (24), estimating how many blocks would need to be stacked to be as tall as the pumpkin (11), and estimating how much our pumpkin weighed (10.5 lbs.). Once we established what "estimate" means, the kids had fun tackling the activities, though the estimations were fairly outrageous. Nonetheless, it was good time, and I saw some of J-Mav's friends as they rotated through the classroom I was stationed in.

Random Topic #4 - Blogs
My brother-in-law (BIL) and sister-in-law (SIL) both have blogs... mostly to keep each other up-to-date on their goings on while he's in Iraq for the year. If any of you is interested, his is http://www.cavalryguy78.blogspot.com/ and hers is http://jenrie.blogspot.com/

There's another blog that I read daily, called Fat Cyclist. I stumbled across it a little more than six months ago, after clicking a link from my cousin's blog. Though I've never met him, I am amazed by the man who writes this blog. He is an avid cyclist, a fabulous writer, and an absolutely amazing father and husband. His wife has terminal cancer, and the end seems to be near. I have never met, and will never meet, Elden or any of the people he talks about in his blog. But I feel like I know them. And my heart breaks for all of them as they deal with the decining health of an amazing woman, wife, and mom.

Random Topic #5 - Politics
Is it over yet?!?!

Might as well face it...

... I'm addicted to blogs!

I have several blogs that I follow on a regular basis. Some are friends or family. Some are just random blogs I've stumbled across and enjoy reading. Here's my must-read list (in no particular order):

Dad Gone Mad - I've been reading this blog the longest of any. The guy that writes it is hilarious... and he's currently writing a book! The blog is just about his life as a dad, husband, brother, little league coach, etc. TOO funny!

Ted's Take - Ted Leonsis' blog. He is the fabulous owner of the Washington Capitals. He writes about a variety of things.

Mayhew Mayhem - One of my good friends talking about the crazyness in her day-to-day life with her husband and two daughters.

Fat Cyclist - I clicked a link off my cousin's blog and instantly became a devoted reader of this blog. I am not a cyclist, but I find "Fatty's" blog enjoyable anyway. And his stories of his awesome kids and his amazing wife, who is battling cancer, are wonderful. Win Susan!

Nasal Passages - A friend from college... random postings... fun to keep up with what's going on with him and his wife, with whom we also went to college.

Mellon's Head - Wife of Nasal Passages blogger... infrequent postings... but again, good to keep up.

Musings of a Hockey Mom - Found this link on the Ted's Take blog one day and started following it. Her kids actually play hockey at the same rink mine do, though on different teams. I've never met her, but I'm sure I will sometime since we both spend so much time at the rink!

RDMathers.com - My awesome cousin's blog and podcast. Check it out!

the other brother - Another awesome cousin's blog (brother of RDMathers.com blogger).

The Official Blog of Chris Cooley - Let me say up front that I am NOT a fan of the Redskins. I am an Eagles fan through and through. However, I do like Chris Cooley. He calls into the radio station I listen to every Monday and his blog is just fun.

Iraq Updates - BIL's blog from Iraq. I don't know how frequently he'll be updating it. He's in Kuwait now waiting to move into Iraq. He's posted once in the five days he's been there so far. Not bad.

If I set my blog page up correctly, links to these blogs will appear on my page somewhere...