Back to the Future

It's Friday morning at 8:42 and I am already pooped. It's been a miserable week for me at work and, as a result, I have felt extra tired and worn down. I'm telling you - in sales if you are having a bad week, it seems like your life is crashing down on you! Then again, when you have a good week, you feel invincible. This year has been great for me professionaly...until this week. Brutal! But when things are going bad, you always hope there is some sort of light at the end of the tunnel. For me - that light is this weekend.

Tonight I am off to the Phillies game with Elijah. Father and son. Baseball. It's heaven for me.

Tomorrow is my birthday. Now, I admit I have had problems with my birthdays in recent years because...well...that means I am older...BUT - this time I am OK with it. Maybe it's because my family is "complete" now with Hannah having arrived. Maybe because it's 36 and NOT 30 or 35 or...{puke} 40. 36 to me just seems like a number. I didn't even realize that my birthday was coming until a few days ago. Mom and Dad are hosting a breakfast for me. Complete with all the sausage and eggs I can eat!! YESSS!! Those of you who have eaten with me the past four months know that I am a devout follower of the Atkins way of eating and sausage and eggs are my soup and sandwich.

The best part of the weekend, however, will be on Sunday. There is an important picnic at my parents house. EVERYONE will be there. Who is everyone? Man, how do I explain that. Hmmmm..... Well, I guess I can ask the question, "When you were growing up as a young person, what or whom motivated you to become the person you are today?" I grew up (until age 12) in Middletown, NJ. Our street had more nice and friendly people on it than ANY street in the WORLD. I am serious! People waved at you and everyone knew eachother. From that ONE street (Richard Terrace), my family gained over ten lifelong friends. Count the offspring and you have 20-30 people just from Richard Terrace! My parents have not lost touch with ANY of them and its been 32 years since they met. How many of you have had ONE friend for 32 years?? We are blessed in the fact that we moved to Middletown at all!! Some of the very best and warmest memories of my life happened on Richard Terrace. Whether it was in the "circle" or in someone's backyard playing whiffleball or having a picnic by the pool. I still remember the sign on Alice's pool - "Welcome to our ool. Notice there is no P in it. Keep it that way." Mark had a pool too. He learned a valuable lesson one day. DON'T sit on the edge of a 4 foot ABOVE GROUND pool. He still has the scars where the pins were placed in his arm. John's pool had a HUGE wooden ledge that went around the whole pool. It was huge! He had a huge yard - we could play whiffle ball and then jump in the pool. Ahhhhh....

That was my life in the 70's. Made me who I am today. So many influential people - all so different but all special in their own ways. Johanna is John's mom. She's STILL influential in my life - she's motivated me to keep writing on this site!

So Sunday everyone congregates at Mom's house. Everyone will be meeting Hannah for the first time and Mark had a new daugter Katherine too. My hope is that Hannah and Katherine and all the kids have people in their early lives like I did. 32 years from now, maybe they will be able to say the same things!

Have a great weekend everyone...I know I will!!

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