New arrival

Our new grandson entered the world Thursday, April 18^th at 7:26 a.m., weighing in at 8 pounds, 2 ounces. Baby, Mom, Dad and grandparents are all doing well.

Since he was born by a scheduled C-section, we awaited his birth in a hospital waiting room with our daughter-in-law’s parents. We knew she was going into the OR at 7 a.m. At 7:45 a.m. we were starting to get a little anxious, when through a window in the waiting room we saw a gurney being rolled into two double doors and taken down a hallway.

A split second after seeing the gurney whish by, we realized it could very well have been – and probably was –the mother of our new grandson! We all four jumped up, but by this time she was long gone.

For about 20 minutes, we debated whether or not that had been her, when finally, Younger Son appeared through the same window and then stepped into the waiting room to confirm the arrival of his new son. All had gone well, he said, and Mom and baby were resting comfortably.

We asked him if that had been his wife rolled into the hallway, and he said he assumed that it had been, but apparently he had been brought through another door, because we had not seen him with her.

It was a couple of hours before we got to see the new little bundle of joy.

This is grand #6 for Wife and me, but his arrival is no less thrilling than the other five.

We are already over the moon – and in love – with this little guy.

Fun facts awaiting the birth of grand #6

My youngest, sometimes referred to in this space as "Younger Son" will become a father in a couple of days. 

This will be his first, and our sixth grand. Once it started happening nearly seven years ago, there has been steady growth for our family. 

This one will be a boy, making a total of four grandsons and two granddaughters for Wife and me. 

My side of the family is heavy on boys. My parents had two boys (my late older brother and me). My brother and his wife had three boys, who had a total of five boys. I have two sons and, as of this Thursday, four grandsons. 

So, from my parents' union, there have been 16 boys (my brother, his three boys and their five boys) and three girls (my daughter and two granddaughters). 

Who knows why that happens, whether it's strange happenstance or some scientific reason for the tendency to produce male offspring? 

My newest grandson is breech, and not inclined to turn, so he will arrive by C-section this Thursday morning, April 18th. Wife and I will drive down to Birmingham, where the expectant parents live, tomorrow (the 17th) and be there for the arrival Thursday morning.  

He will have my middle name, which is the middle name of his father (Younger Son), his grandfather (me), his great-grandfather (my father) and his great-great grandfather (my grandfather). I never particularly cared for the name as I was growing up, but it eventually grew on me, and I am honored that Younger Son wants to have it continue. 

The Psalmist wrote "children are a gift of the Lord" and "How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them." 

Here is one blessed man who could not be happier to add to the quiver. 

Check back later this week for an update! 

Exceeding expectations

Front of Lincoln Presidential Museum

Wax figures in front of Lincoln White House exhibit

My visit to Springfield, Illinois this past weekend exceeded my expectations! 

I expected to enjoy the Lincoln Presidential Museum, but not nearly as much as I did. I also did not expect to enjoy the town of Springfield as much as I did. So, the little weekend jaunt was a success. 

The only slightly unpleasant part was the drive to get there Friday. I left about 3 p.m. I am south of Nashville, and getting around downtown and then north of Nashville was slow, with afternoon traffic being heavy. I think it's even heavier on a Friday. 

Not long after dark fell, it began to rain, and it rained on me the rest of the way. What my maps app told me would take five hours and 45 minutes took about seven hours. The return trip was much easier. The weather was beautiful Sunday, and it took just under six hours. 

The time in Springfield was delightful. The Lincoln Museum is very well done, with just enough artifacts and exhibits to keep me interested, as well as some interactive exhibits and films. 

The museum is divided into three parts: Lincoln's childhood and time up until he was elected president; the White House years; and "treasures" which includes historical artifacts and additional information on the Lincoln family. 

I came away an even bigger fan than I was of Lincoln and his presidency. His genius was in making his enemies his allies, as Doris Kearns Goodwin described in her excellent book Team of Rivals, which I read a few years ago. I don't doubt that politics was nasty and polarizing then, as it is today, but I believe our current presidential candidates could take some lessons in civility from our 16th president. 

I spent the morning at the museum, taking my time and reading almost every word-narrative that went with the exhibits. I also spent some time talking to volunteers who were placed strategically throughout the building. It was a rather slow day there (which I loved, because I did not have to navigate through crowds), so they were eager to talk and share interesting information. 

I had looked up places I might have lunch, and found a great local brewpub. I went in, saw one stool available at the bar and took it. I ordered one of the local beers and told the bartender I would shortly order food. 

Being introverted by nature, I am not one to always strike up conversations with strangers. But the guy sitting next to me on my right looked to be about my age, so I took a breath and asked him if he lived in Springfield. Turns out he was born and raised there. He told me he was an architect and was working a few hours on this Saturday, so decided to come over to this establishment for lunch. A very interesting conversation ensued, and I am so glad I spoke to him. 

He gave me all types of information on what I should see the rest of my time in Springfield, and being an architect, had an abundance of knowledge of buildings in the area. He was tremendously interesting to talk to, and I consider it a great stroke of luck to be able to talk about a place that was new to me, over beers with a local. The lunch -- a turkey burger with potato salad -- was great, too. 

I spent the afternoon going to Lincoln's home and the surrounding area, which is a national park. I went to the visitors' center, saw another film and walked around the neighborhood. 

From there I went to the state capitol, which my new friend from lunch had told me was must-see. Like so many buildings of its kind, it had a beautiful dome and I walked up three flights, just below the dome's top, to look up and down. I was too late for a tour that day, but enjoyed what I could see for myself. 

From there it was to Lincoln's tomb, where he, his wife and three of his sons are buried. 

It would not be inaccurate, with me as the only traveler, to say a good time was had by all! 

Traveling solo

Anyone who stops by here with any regularity knows I enjoy travel. Most of the time, I am accompanied by Wife, who not only is a good planner, but has a keen sense of direction. 

That is not one of my gifts. So, when we are traveling, I depend on her. 

Like so many, we rely on the GPS built into our phones. She also uses the one in her car. My car has one, but I have never used it. 

She and I are, of course, old enough to remember when we depended on maps. We even remember when gas stations had them. 

And I remember, when traveling with my family, how hard they were to refold after they had been unfolded. And as someone mildly anal-retentive, that just didn't work for me. I would fold and refold until it was back to its original configuration. 

We still love to look at maps and atlases. Before we go on a trip in the U.S., we'll look at the atlas to see where we're going. And often, I'll look at it again when we return home to look back at where I went. I'm odd like that. 

I think my affinity for maps is one of the reasons I so enjoyed the book "The Cartographers" last year, even though it has a fantastical element that is usually a turnoff for me. All the maps information piqued my interest.

But I digress. I started his post not to tell you about maps, but what I am doing this weekend. 

Tomorrow afternoon, I will drive to Springfield, Illinois, and Saturday I will visit the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. I have wanted to go for years, and with Wife otherwise occupied this weekend, I decided this would be a good time to do it.  It looks like it will take about 5.5. hours for me to drive there.  

I will be relying on my GPS to get there, and to get around once I arrive. I've glanced at a map, and I'm sure I will look at it again when I return to once again look back at where I went.  

I thought about asking a friend to go with me, but I decided it would not be fair to either the friend or me. I really enjoy museums, and, unlike many folks, I like to take my time and read the narratives that go along with the exhibits. The person going with me might not want to do that, and the both of us could end up frustrated. 

So, this is a solo trip, and I am 100 percent comfortable with that. I will take my time, meandering not only through the museum and library, but the streets of Springfield as well. I plan to walk around the neighborhood where the Lincoln home is located (apparently, the only home he ever owned), a nearby park and anything else I see that looks interesting. I don't know that I will have time to visit the state capitol, but I will at least go by it. 

I will drive home Sunday. It will be a short trip, and I would not want to be gone much longer than a weekend traveling on my own, but I am excited. Look for a report and pictures next week! 

Eat with Eight

Our church has started a new ministry for we older folks. It's called, simply, "Boomers," borrowing from the term used for the period of life in which we were born. 

That would be the post-World War II "baby boom." "Boomers" has caught on as our label. Sometimes the term is not used in a complimentary way, so I did not necessarily agree with the name given to this initiative. But nobody asked me, and I don't feel that strongly about it, so I'll keep my opinions to myself, except for this one time mentioning it here. 

One of the purposes is to give people in our age group an opportunity to meet other people in our age group. Because our church is what is commonly defined as a mega-church, with several thousand attendees and multiple services on two different campuses, there are many church members we do not know.

So, one of the offerings of the Boomer ministry is "Eat with Eight" dinners. Eight people, composed of couples, singles or both, gather in someone's home, have a meal and get to know each other. In theory, you don't know these people until this meeting. 

We do, in fact, know a lot of folks at church, and we are involved in a small group that meets regularly. But, still, there are many we do not know. 

Wife volunteered to host one of these "Eat with Eight" dinners in our home last Friday night. 

She had been given the names of three other couples who wished to participate. She contacted each of them and gave them assignments of what to bring. 

As I wrote in my last piece here, I am an introvert. I love people, but for whatever reason, they make me tired and sometimes anxious. And in a new situation where I do not know the people, I can become particularly uncomfortable. 

But I also believe God made us for relationships. Although because of my personality I keep events such as this to a minimum, I can rise above my comfort level from time to time.

It helps to prepare myself well. I tell myself there will be a starting and an ending, and I know we also gather for a common purpose. I also take cues from a book I recently read (How to Know a Person by David Brooks) in which the author contends all people, at some level, want to be seen and heard. All of this helps. 

Wife knows me and my personality, so she agreed to take the leadership role. In addition to being in charge of getting everyone here, she had a mental list of conversation topics and kept things going throughout the evening. I think she also had some type of game in mind in the event of a lull, but it turned out she did not need it. 

For us, Eat with Eight became Eat with Six. The husband from one of the couples who was supposed to come got sick, so that couple canceled. 

It ended up being enjoyable, and I did fine. Guests arrived at 6:30. We had appetizers for about 30 minutes, then sat down to dinner. We sat at the table until about 9:30. I finally had to get up and stretch because my legs get stiff after sitting that long. (After all, I'm a Boomer.) 

I was not in any way signaling that people needed to leave, but that kind of gave rise to departures. By the time everyone gathered up their dishes and coats, it was 10 p.m. 

The people were very kind. I was the only one who still has a day job (not retired) and I was also the youngest one. (I did not hate that.) I did not ask for the age information -- they volunteered it. 

I think we are supposed to have a couple more of these, so I will await Wife's further instructions. As long as they are appropriately spaced, I'll be a willing participant. 

Branching out

I am in the sunset of my working life. I will find myself retired in about 18 months, perhaps sooner. 

I have all kinds of feelings about my working life coming to an end. Wife and I believe we are prepared financially, but it will be strange not to have an employer that deposits money into my bank account every other Friday. It will now be the government and pension plans making the deposits on a monthly basis.  

That, however, is not my main concern. What I mostly think about for the time I'll not be employed is how I will fill my time. 

And that's really not the main concern, either. What I most fret over is how I will establish a routine. 

Today my weekdays revolve around what I do between the hours of 8-ish a.m. and 6-ish p.m. My mornings before I start work generally consist of exercise, some reading and devotions, and making a quick morning run to Sonic. (Don't judge me for that). 

I think working exclusively from home has prepared me for not getting up and going somewhere. That' has been the case for four years now, and before that I did it a couple of days a week. So, I have that part well established and I like it. 

But will I have the discipline to still get up and have some type of routine? I will definitely need to do that as I am a creature of habit, and you know what they say about idle hands. 

I've joined a couple of groups lately that, even though I am not yet retired, should be a nice addition to my schedule when that day comes. 

First, I joined a community chorus. I grew up singing in choirs, both at church and school. I love choral music and I had some wonderful choir directors. In my adult life, when I lived in Little Rock, I continued to sing in church -- in the choir, ensembles and even the occasional solo. 

But when we moved to the Nashville area in 1997, we joined a church that does not have a choir. Our music is contemporary, and it is fine, but there is simply not a place for me. Over the years I have thought of going to another church just to sing in their choir, but Wife and I have always loved our church here and it's a big part of our life, so not having a choir, or music I like, was certainly not a reason to join another church. 

I have thought of asking one of the denominational churches nearby if I could sing in their choir without being a member. I am guessing they would have let me do that, but to date, I have never gotten around to pursuing it. 

Recently I learned that our county parks and recreation department has a community band AND a community chorus! An audition is required, so on January 4th I showed up to try out. I was candid with the director, telling her it had been a very long time since I had sung, and I would understand if, after listening to me, she told me I simply didn't have it anymore. 

After all, I'm no spring chicken and vocal cords age like any other part of the body. And I was woefully out of practice. 

She looked at me rather skeptically but let me proceed with the audition. She had me sing a familiar song ("My Country Tis of Thee") acapella. She had me sing several lines of music I did not know (sight reading) to assess my ability to read music. She had me go through vocal exercises, singing up and down the scale. She had me match pitches with her. 

"Well, I think you still have it," she said after going through the aforementioned. She then proceeded to tell me she had only six openings for the spring semester, and at that time she was not sure where those openings were. In other words, I might have to wait until a spot opened up. 

I told her that was fine, and I appreciated her letting me audition. Someday, I thought to myself. I had at least put myself out there. 

The next week I received an email with an invitation to join! I have been to three rehearsals, and I love it. Even though it has been well over 25 years, it all seems very familiar -- the black folder of music that has my name on it, with a pencil pouch and pencil; the vocal and breathing exercises; and, most significantly, hearing the beautiful harmonies and blends of my fellow choristers all around me. It is as if something that lay dormant in me has been reawakened. 

The music is challenging, but not overly difficult. I seem to be picking it up fairly well. 

I did not know one person in the chorus (there are a total of 96), but everyone, especially those in my section (tenors) has been kind and welcoming. We will perform in concert May 5th, then will be off for the summer. 

So, there is that. 

In addition, in January I attended the first meeting of a monthly book club that meets at my favorite brewery. Like the choir, I didn't know anyone there. There were about 20 of us, from various walks of life, and it was great. We discussed Beartown by Fredrik Backman and I thoroughly enjoyed it (both the book and the discussion).

I am an introvert by nature, and walking into a group where I don't know anyone is way outside my comfort zone. These two groups, however, are perfect for me, because there is a purpose, meaning something that takes place other than small talk. I don't have to worry about going and standing around and thinking of something to say. There is a beginning and an ending. 

In both cases, I have ended up talking briefly to people, but again, since we are all there due to a common interest, it is not uncomfortable. 

Wife says I am branching out. I guess you can call it that. 

And hopefully I'll be prepared when retirement comes. 

Life change

 The title of this post is intentionally misleading, and definitely with tongue planted firmly in cheek. 

What I am writing about is most certainly not life-changing, not in the truest sense of how that term should be taken, something that alters the course of one's life in a permanent or semi-permanent way, whether for good or bad. 

Getting married or having a child? Definitely life-changing and hopefully for good. Sustaining an injury can be life-changing in a not-so-good way.

So, with that out of the way, I will tell you what has happened with yours truly that I have laughingly called life changing. 

I am no longer carrying a wallet. 

Months ago, I noticed a friend whose phone case opened up to reveal his driver's license and a couple of pay cards. I told Wife I might like something like that for Christmas. It's the only thing I asked for and the only thing she got me, and she hit it out of the park. 

If you are a Seinfeld fan, you might remember an episode in which George Castanza catches grief for the thickness of his wallet. Well, I might not have been as bad as George, but until recently one could almost always detect a bulge in my backside from the little leather holder in which I would carry my valuables. 

I have now made the change. If there are any downsides, they are (a) I can't get as much cash in this, but I don't carry much cash these days anyway, so it's not a deal breaker; and (b) I always feel like I'm missing something because I figure I have carried a wallet about 55 years. I find myself reaching for it and, at first, I had some mild nanoseconds of panic thinking I had lost it! 

But so far, I like the new arrangement and it's certainly less to keep up with. That is progress, I suppose. 

Not what we are accustomed to

We have been blanketed with snow here in Middle Tennessee for the past several days, and with temperatures barely rising above freezing for only a few hours, it has largely remained. The photo below was taken out my front door this morning. 

We get snow only occasionally, so it's a big deal. This was a good one, with about six inches of accumulation at our house.

Schools and many businesses close when it snows here. When it is in the forecast, grocery stores are overrun with folks buying provisions as if there will be food shortages and they'll never get out of the house again, with bread and milk being the biggest sellers. I have no empirical data, but I suspect beer and wine don't do too badly either. 

As it so happened, Wife and I flew to Naples, Florida last Friday night to visit friends who are renting a place there for a month, seeing how they might like the snowbird life. We have other friends from here who have bought places in that area (already snowbirds), and we all got together for dinner Saturday and Sunday nights. 

They were saying how lucky they felt to be there when we would be having this Arctic blast in Nashville. 

Me? Not so much. While I enjoyed our trip and being on the beach in January, I was disappointed to miss a good a snowfall. 

We were supposed to fly home Tuesday, but received notice late Monday afternoon our flight had been canceled. Seems the winter storm had a ripple effect at airports across the country. We were rebooked for late Wednesday afternoon. 

Our friends we were visiting were kind and understanding, and since we were staying with them, it did not cost us anything extra. Since I still have my day job, and I did not take my laptop with me, I had to spend some time on the phone during the day Wednesday. 

It was a nice trip, and I am still getting to enjoy the snow. I only missed the anticipation and the fun of watching it fall. 

Belated Merry Christmas . . . from Korea

This year's international Christmas Eve for our family was Korean. 

Shortly after Thanksgiving, Wife and I went to a local Korean restaurant and thoroughly enjoyed the food, so much so that we decided they could do it better than we could, so we would get it from them! We talked to a nice lady there who told us to call a few hours before we would like it, and she would have it ready for us. Let me tell you, this made preparation and cleanup much easier. 

We did the usual of drinks and apps in the entry hall, with steamed and fried dumplings, and a seafood pancake which may sound strange, but was awesome. We made a couple of cocktails from Jinro, a Korean spirit, and I bought some Korean, rice-based beer, most of which is still in the beer fridge in the garage if that tells you anything. 

The main course food included bibimbap, Korean barbecue and bulgogi, all served with rice (bibimbap actually has rice incorporated into it and mixed in a bowl) and sides of kimchi. 

As usual, it was a fun evening as we expanded our knowledge of cuisine and culture. Some pictures below, as well as a video I hope you can open. 

Korean cuisine

Drinks and apps in the entry hall