Surprise!!

Tonight I spoke at a Court of Honor for the Scout Troop that I was Scoutmaster of from 2005 to 2006. When the Ward I was in was split, I moved on with the new Ward and became Scoutmaster of the new troop. I have since been released as Scoutmaster of the new Troop and am now the District Training Chairman and an Assistant District Commissioner.

So, when I arrived at the CoH tonight, I noticed several scouts from the second (most recent ) troop I was Scoutmaster over. I didn't think too much of it. I figured they were there to support me as I was the guest speaker. Just after I had sat down, the scouts from my most recent troop were invited up and they presented me with the Scoutmaster Award of Merit. This is an award applied for by the boys and not the adults. They nominated me and did all of the work for the nomination.





They presented me with a Certificate, a large patch, and the above pictured knot. In a million years I would have never guessed that this was coming. What an honor it was to be their Scoutmaster and to see how well they have progressed and to see what fine young men they have become. I very much appreciate the kind words they said about me.

The Van

The van arrived last Thursday. It does have a slight purple hue to it. I have pretty pleased with what I received. The person who had the van before me added on the Roof Rack as well as the Rear A/C system. These would have had to have been paid for out of his own pocket. I was not willing to pay for these myself on the van I ordered. So, I lucked out.

The down side is that when I received the van, the person who delivered it mentioned that the "Check Engine" light was on. So, I have an appointment to take it in tomorrow morning and have it checked out. If the dealer needs to keep it, I will keep driving the venture until the Uplander is fixed.

A "New" Van

With my new career, I was given a company vehicle. One of the other guys just got a new Chevrolet Impala. Usually when you get a new vehicle, you turn your old one in. Instead of giving it back, he held on to it and I received it when I started.

I am dirving a 2002 Chevrolet Venture Van. It is really nice and has 74000 miles on it. In the month that I have had it, I have grown attached to it. The van drives well and has a good, strong engine. This is quite the step up from my previous vehicle, a 1992 Ford Ranger.

On Christmast eve, I received the paperwork to order a new vehicle. The van I am driving is a temporary, since it has already been replaced. It was kept around so that I would have something to drive.

I was given the choice of four vehicles. A Pontiac G6, Chevy Malibu, Chevy Impala, or a Chevy Uplander mini-van. It was a tough choice, but I chose the Uplander. I have some pretty rugged and remote locations to travel to and want something that will do better in those locations. I couldn't see taking a car to the top of a mountain on a snow packed road.

The only other part I was able to choose was the exterior and interior colors. I sent the paperwork in to my boss for his approval and he passed it on to the folks that order the cars. Now it was time to sit back and wait until the spring when my new van would arrive.

Thursday evening, my boss called and said that he had received word that there was a 2007 Uplander available and the fleet folks were wondering if I would be willing to take it instead of a new one. He didn't know the colors or the mileage. What was I supposed to say? I of course said yes. He sent me a message a bit later with the colors and the mileage.

The van is Light Amethyst (silver) with Gray interior. It has 6740 miles on it so far. It should be delivered on Monday or Tuesday. So much for sitting back and waiting.

Where has the time gone?

I just realized that it has been two months since I last posted. What a slacker!

A lot has happened since my last post. I quit my job and went to work for another company. I am a Systems Service Engineer in the Process Control Industry.

I was reading a friends blog, who is also a former co-worker. He was lamenting the stress that happens for I.T. between semesters where he works. I don't miss those days. The holidays were not ususally a happy time for me. That was when I had to work the most. Everyone else was out enjoying their families and I was stuck getting things ready for the students to come back from their break. I never looked forward to those times.

What I do miss though is the daily interaction with my friends. I am closer to those guys (and gal) in many ways than to my own brother and sister. I guess that came from being around them every day and sharing the daily struggles of life with them. I consider them my best friends.

The forbidden question...

This is a copy of an email I sent to my boss just a few minutes ago. I couldn't make this up if I tried.

Someone just had to ask the forbidden question…”what next?”

Well, we received word that Marni’s Grandmother (not the one whose husband just passed away) is in the hospital with pneumonia, a bladder infection, and gall stones. And as if that is not bad enough, we just discovered that Carolyn had thrown up some time after we put her to bed earlier tonight and she had been asleep in it since. Marni opened the door to put some clothes away and almost passed out.

We came home a bit earlier from a family birthday gathering with all of the cousins, that will make their parents really happy.

Carolyn had dried puke in her hair and on her face. I have discovered that strawberry shampoo only makes the smell worse. I am thinking of sleeping in the car tonight, it may be colder, but the pleasing odor would be better than what I am getting in here.

So, I am not saying I will not be in, I don’t know that yet. I am just notifying you of the possibility that (Yuck!! Carolyn is on bended knee, paying homage to the porcelain king again) I may be needed here in the morning or that I may not get much sleep tonight since Sammy was complaining of a tummy ache earlier as well.

This November is going to go down in the Journal as a not fun one, one to be hopefully forgotten very soon. Between the dishwasher, the washing machine, Melanie’s cough freaking me out every few minutes and the foul odor wafting through the house, I could be in for a long night.

Hopefully dreaming of a peaceful Thanksgiving,

Jamie

Parting is such sweet sorrow...

Marni's Grandfather passed away today. I don't imagine there will be any rest in Heaven tonight. There is much work to be done, and a man who knows how to work has just arrived.

I finished a book tonight, Baden-Powell: The Two Lives of a Hero. Near the end there is a poem that I thought seemed good to share.

Few pioneers live long enough to see
what they have done;
Most men are glad if they can leave
the world a single son;
Did ever a man, before he died, see
such a dream come true?
Did any leave so many living
monuments as you?
A.P. Herbert

Grandpa is a hero to me. I did not know him for long, because I married into his family, but he taught me the value of hard work and of a strong testimony of Jesus Christ.

Sleep? What is that?

Last night I was sitting on the couch next to my wife reading when my cell phone rang at 9:31 p.m. It was my Dad. Not out of the ordinary for him to call me on a Sunday evening. I had not spoken with him for most of the week, life is busy. I figured he was calling to check in on the family.

The conversation started out with the normal greetings and how are people doing type questions. And then Dad's tone changed a bit and I realized that something was up. He told me that he had Mom in the hospital again.

Mom has not been feeling well for the last few weeks. Really it goes back to June 1st when Dad called to tell me that Mom was in the hospital and had been since very early in the morning. She woke up with pain in her back. Twelve hours later and a whole lot of tests, it was discovered that mom has an enlarged heart and was in congestive heart failure. Her heart rhythms were out of whack and she was in critical condition. She spent most of a week in ICU while the doctors worked to get things back to normal.

Three weeks ago, Dad had Mom in the hospital again for severe abdominal pain. she had a CT Scan and a few other tests that did not find a real cause for the pain other than some possible diverticulitis and another minor issue. She was referred to another physician. He sent her home with some medicine and to check her wallet at the front desk.

Back she was again last night not feeling well and suffering from abdominal pain still, a fever and an elevated white count. During the course of the tests, Mom's Coumadin INR was found to be at nine. Pretty high by any standard. When I arrived at the ER, they were preparing to admit Mom to the medical floor. She needed some plasma transfusions to help bring her levels down (I don't know if they gave her anything else along with the plasma). Mom's blood was tested again before the plasma was administered and the INR was 10.5 (going the wrong direction).

Dad and I waited until they had started the first transfusion before we headed home for some rest. I got home around 1 a.m.

Around 6 a.m. when they were about to start the third bag of plasma, Mom had a reaction and started to shiver and shake. The nurses covered Mom with a lot of blankets trying to keep her warm. They stopped the transfusions and actually found that the INR had come down to a normal level. Mom was monitored for the rest of the morning and afternoon and was allowed to go home around 5pm.

I called Dad tonight and he reports that Mom is feeling a ton better and actually at some pudding, soup, and crackers for dinner. That is more than she has eaten in the last three weeks. I am glad to hear she is feeling better.

I am headed to bed early tonight!