I spent 2 tours in Iraq from 2010 – 2011 and 2017 -2018. I unfortunately didn’t get to see them when they were over there. Worked 12 – 15 hour days 7 days a week on average. Some where much longer. I think the hardest part is coming back home sometimes. I want to have a special shout out to all my brother’s and sisters who have held that line and for those who never came home and those still fighting. God Bless you all…
Hello all and welcome to 2019. For once I can actually say I’m looking forward to the year ahead. After this past year which started in a tent in the Northern part of Iraq, to the nowhere area of Louisiana and finally ended at home in Wisconsin with my family. This year ahead is filled with firsts and exciting milestones. To start this year out with a bang, I’m proud to say I will become a Grandpa for the first time. My beautiful wife and I are so excited for our daughter and her husband who will be welcoming their first child. At this time, we know it will be a boy, but still no idea on the name. How is that for a way to start out the year. The following month, my wife and I will be celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary. Such a huge milestone for us after all we’ve gone through over the years. Come this summer, we will be celebrating daughter number 3 and her graduation from High School. Such an accomplishment for her. She has been homeschooled since 1st grade and decided to go back to for her senior year. It has been an interesting ride for her, but she has ridden it out in her own style. Come the end of summer in the month of September I will be celebrating my 50th birthday, I still can’t believe it myself. I personally don’t feel much older than 35. Then to end the year comes a day I have been looking forward to. On the last day of the year I will be officially retiring from the United States Army. It has been a long winding road through this part of my life. It is a little unnerving to be entering a new stage in my life, but I look forward to slowing down a bit. In the middle of all these events, my beautiful wife will continue to be working towards finishing her College Degree. My youngest daughter will be continuing her journey through 5th grade going into 6th grade while possibly being the only child left in our home. As I said this year is going to be a year I look forward to. So again Happy New Year and may the year ahead be full of new experiences and be positive adventures.
Picture Credit: pixabay.com
Looking back on a childhood so long ago
I think back to my neighborhood where I did roam
A group of friends we were all the same age
We were a group of eight young boys
Times were much simpler back then
There were no cellphones or digital cameras that tracked our lives
No exciting video games and only 4 or 5 channels on the boob tube
Our neighborhood was our play land
Playing games like football in the mud and flashlight tag at night
Buying fireworks through the mail and the good kinds to boot
So many things we did, we were limited by our imagination alone
Running through the yards late into the night
Playing games like fake fight
Swimming in an old Recycle Pond
Going sledding in the dark well past one
It seemed those days would never end
But time has a way to change even those so close
High School came and we moved apart
Moving different places
Becoming parts of different groups
I miss those days, I miss those friends
But those memories are something I hold close
Oh those years ago when life was simple and friends were everything
I still talk to a few of my old mates
Some I haven’t seen since we officially became men
Now we all have families and such
But a bond built over those many summers and winters long ago
A life so simple but so yet so full of fun
Picture Credit: My Middle School Yearbook
Like angels in heaven
Playing a tune meant for creation
Upon the winds it sweeps so pleasant
A Heavenly narration
It surrounds you in joy
Making a picture of beauty
A song made just for you to enjoy
It can’t help but take away the gloomy
The call of nature is irrefutable
For its sounds are purely magically musical
Picture Credit: Pixabay.com
Prompt Courtesy of: https://puttingmyfeetinthedirt.com/2018/11/01/november-writing-prompts/
Just took a little walk around the neighborhood. Love Spring with the air getting warmer and things starting to grow back. Looking at God’s creation just brings a smile to my face. In Wisconsin we have what is called the Ice Age Trail. It is a trail system that runs from the bottom of the state to the top of the state. It is an amazing trail to walk in so many areas.
Photo Credits: Brian Cook
CRASH, BOOM, BANG
The power and the energy
Coursing through the sky
Brightness flashes across the sky
The specter in the sky
An explosion that rattles to your core
So impressive, but so dangerous
CRASH, BOOM, BANG
The capacity to bring so much amazement
Yet the ability to make you jump in fear
The power and wraith of nature all wrapped up as one
CRASH, BOOM, BANG
*Inspired by the enormous lightning bolt I saw tonight. Impressive and loud.*
Photo Credit: pixabay.com
Here is to an American Pastime, something I use to look forward to as a kid with my friends in my old neighborhood. Sitting around listening to Brewer Games on the Radio. Here are a few of the ball fields, I would love to go to. Baseball means Summer is here (almost).
PNC Park – Pittsburg, PA
Great American Ballpark – Cincinnati, Ohio
Fenway Park – Boston, MA
Comerica Park – Detroit, MI
Busch Stadium – St. Louis, MO
Waiting around the house
Watching through a dirty window
Seeing the trees barren swaying in the breeze
Mud and brown grass covers the ground
Birds flying grabbing twigs to make their nests
Snow melted away, temperatures slowly begin to rise
Sun filters through the clouds
Feeling in my mind that spring and summer will soon be here
Sun rays warming my face as I look outside
Thinking in my mind of all that will come with the new season
What am I contemplating…
All the things I need to fix, clean and do and excited about it all
Climbing on the roof to clear out the gutters and remove the sticks
Raking up the leftover fall leaves
Cleaning up the bushes and getting the mower ready for the grass
Am I crazy to look forward to all this stuff
Probably, but hey I am that way
Of course I can do without the mosquitos and all the other bugs
So here is to spring and here is to summer
May they be full of fun and times of adventure
Picture Credit: Pixabay.com
A Soldier's Walk 