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Life Interrupted But Blessings Overflowed

 Several years ago I started having some back issues. Fast forward to 2023 and I was losing all sense of where my legs were and all feeling in my legs as well. After several years with local doctors and several non-surgical options (i.e. steroids, injections, shots, etc.) and for the most part being told that losing weight would be the wonder cure or my back issues I chose to go to a different doctor in Atlanta. After several MRIs, nerve conduction study and discussions with doctors I was told that I definitely needed lumbar surgery (L2-S1) and that more than likely I would need fusion. After another MRI on the upper spine I was also told that I needed Cervical (C5-C6) and Thoracic (T2-T3) surgery. Initially I was told that surgery would be almost outpatient in that I would have surgery on one day and I would be released within two days. Surgeries were scheduled and we were on our way. When I arrived for the first surgery which was on the Cervical and Thoracic Spine It lasted longer th
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Unlike Me... and That's ok!

 A black man, white man, Hispanic man and Asian man walk into a church…. Sounds like the start of an interesting joke. I didn’t say good joke but interesting. As a white male I have been struggling over the last few months. It’s hard to know exactly what to say to my black or Hispanic brothers and sisters given the climate that we now live. It’s hard for me as a white man to understand or comprehend the otherness that other racial groups feel when approached by police. It’s easy to make comments that ‘if they have done nothing wrong then they have nothing to fear!’ Coming from my worldview I have no frame of reference to fear others in authority, i.e. police or law enforcement. I didn’t live through jim crow. I am not an undocumented person cringing when I hear the acronym I.C.E. The idea that I have not had these life experiences and have no way of ever understanding fully the plight of the minority ways heavy at times. I care deeply for many in the minority. It hurts me when I se
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2018

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As I close out 2018 and look forward to 2019 I can't help but feel an overwhelming amount of thankfulness and end this year with a single word: Blessed. The year did not start with a feeling of thankfulness and honestly blessed was the not part of my January. In fact I started this year with a mixed bag of emotions and most of them not very pleasant. I began this year with a lot of feelings of hurt and pain. I was about to embark on the biggest change of my life. I quit my job in HR as of February and went to work for my wife in March as the Operations Manager of her quickly growing business, Wholistic Therapeutic Services. I had worked in HR for over 17 years and had honestly thought that would be where I retired but circumstances dictated that I had to make some changes and with a huge push Lexi and I felt it was the right time for a very big change in my career. 2018 saw her business grow from a 2 person office to ending in December with a 6 person office and a change of a
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Turning the Page

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I’m about to start a new chapter. A new adventure. There will be mountains to scale and rivers to cross. It’s going to be epic. What’s even more exciting is the pages are blank. It’s up to me to write a comedy, drama, self-help, or tragedy. I get to decide how the story will develop. I tendered by resignation at my current job. Many might think I have lost my mind. I have a stable job with great benefits. Why not ride it out until retirement? I could do that easily. I could lay back in comfortable complacency and traverse the next 15 years with little to no professional struggle. That sounds like a pretty good place to be doesn’t it! I can’t be satisfied with that life. I’m at a pivotal moment in my life and career. I have come to a crossroad and I can choose to maintain the smooth sailing I’m on or I can choose adventure. As Ralph Waldo Emerson stated I want to ‘...leave a trail’ rather than ‘follow a path...’. My wife started her business one year ago and it has grown e
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I Wouldn't Believe It....

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I have always held a healthy level of skepticism. I know I don't have a long lost Ethiopian uncle ready to wire a million dollars into my bank account. Money unfortunately does not grow on trees. About five years ago, Lexi was tired of being her doctor's guinea pig for any new drug that came out so she decided to try using a more holistic approach to her health and began using essential oils. At first my skepticism was through the roof. In my opinion, it was all in her head that these oils made her feel better. Other than the great smell when she diffused them... I wasn't convinced. After a few months, I decided to try it for myself. I had always had digestion issues and eating Prilosec daily was my routine. We had bought an oil blend called Digize from Young Living and after much prodding from Lexi I gave in. I was willing to try it if it would curb my constant nausea and sour stomach . I was amazed! In just a little while I felt much better. It became what I reached
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Sit on the Potty Your Way!

Having children is a disruptive adventure! Parents expect their children to be mini-adults and to automatically know how to behave and do ‘things’. At least that has been my interpretation. I catch myself in that same vein at times and thank goodness I have a way that brings me back to reality and reminds me that this IS their first ‘rodeo’. They haven’t been here over 40 years and are learning the ‘how’ and ‘why’ and often the ‘what’ of appropriate behavior. Three children has been super fun and super exhausting. I applaud anyone who has more than one child. I have found that having more than one has been quite an act in discernment. The blame is always given to someone else and the times a child accepts blame you secretly want to tell them... ‘honey that was not something to be proud of and you should have blamed your sister!’ But instead you cheer their honesty and try to acknowledge that it is great to own your own behavior. To say having a child with special needs is tiring w
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2015

As I sit in my recliner with 15 minutes left in 2015 I can't help but feel very content. This was a year of very important events in the life of my family. Here is a short list of my most memorable thoughts. We began 2015 with a bulging 3 bedroom apartment. We were on our way to adopting Brittany and Maddie Brooke and our apartment was getting smaller with each passing month. Unfortunately when we moved to Tifton the housing market was not very robust and it didn't seem to get any better. We began refinancing our home in Valdosta around March and started thinking seriously about building. As we completed the refinance of the Valdosta property in April we began discussing building a new home here in Tifton with Lindsey Framing. They were developing three neighborhoods in Tifton and we were very impressed with their homes and their attention to detail. The home prices were also well within our budget so we started this new adventure in May. Once the home build started we also
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