Day 318 - Sockapocolypse III: Reunited and It Feels So Good

I've long enjoyed the concept of hidden treasure. The idea of something of intrinsic value lost for generations before finally being rediscovered by some intrepid adventurer. For that reason, stories about treasure hunting have always appealed to me. That's probably the same reason that Bethany and I initially took up letterboxing as well. Just to be preemptive since I realize most people haven't heard of letterboxing, it's essentially geocaching without the need of a GPS. All you need is a stamp, ink pad, a little paper, and some instructions via the internet.

I'm aware I lack most of the physical and mental abilities to become an epic adventurer discovering some long-lost treasure. I don't speak multiple languages, am good with puzzles, or can do a pull-up unassisted (maybe someday). It goes without saying I'll never be Indiana Jones, Dirk Pitt, Ben Gates or Nathan Drake. I'll never even be Travis from 'The Rundown' (Bonus points if you know that reference). However, that doesn't keep me from enjoying quests to find, let's say, less-valuable treasures in my own life. 

"Hey, remember your friend, Mr. Thunder? How 'bout his buddy, Mr. Lightning?"

Flashback to Wednesday of this week. As you likely well know, Kansas City, already blanketed in snow, is subject to single-degree temperatures to boot. Let's acknowledge the fact that most people would not choose to step foot in said conditions unless absolutely necessary. You know, reasons such as work, urgent grocery runs, or in the case of yours truly, a dentist appointment. Luckily for Ellie, Bethany's presence at home meant she didn't have to come out on this adventure with me. 

Knowing the conditions that awaited me outside, I took great care to bundle up appropriately. Warm jeans, tall socks, and hoodie under my winter coat for starters. One final step to ensure my warmth was necessary; my insulated hiking boots. As most would probably do with boots covered in a wintery-slush mix, I leave them in a place where they can't really make a mess. That being our subbasement. With everything else ready to go, I headed down the stairs to grab my boots. Upon grabbing them, I headed back up the stairs to our family room and sat down to put them on.

If you've never tried to put on shoes with a toddler in the room, take my word for it when I tell you it's not easy. As I was tying up one boot, Ellie snatched the other from the floor beside me and began running around the room happily waving it above her head. After plenty of prompting from both Bethany and me, Ellie finally returned the boot to me, dropping it on the ground at my feet, tread up. As I flipped over the boot, I was absolutely floored by the discovery of what was underneath.

To fully explain to you what that was, I need to take you back to Spring of 2017. Specifically Wednesday, March 8, 2017. As you may remember, Ellie and I had been spending a lot of time in our hammock, enjoying the beauty of the outdoors. At the end of our hammocking adventure for the day, I was wrought with despair to find something was missing. Despite all of my searching, I could not locate that precious item. 

At least that was true until yesterday as I lifted up my boot to see that long-lost item looking up at me. What was that item you may ask? Simple. Ellie's best-fitting sock! The best that I can figure, Ellie kicked her foot just right on our trip back inside from the hammock on that fateful day right as we passed by my winter boots leading to the sock gently falling inside one of them. Upon the discovery of the sock, I immediately called out to my wife to come and look. As she appeared at the top of the stairs, she was immediately overcome by intense laughter at the sight of the long-lost sock.

At long last, finally, the Sockapocolypse had achieved resolution. And all without the help of Chuck Norris...#DaddyWrite

Reunited and it feels so good...

Day 317 - "Hey."

"Hey."

What's that? No one just says "Hey" unless they want or need something? I guess you do have a point there. Generally anytime I begin a statement with "Hey," it's generally followed by something like "What do you want?". So, I understand, I really do. 

So, after that little bunny trail, I once again continue on with where I was going before I was so rudely interrupted (Is is interrupting if one does it to his/her own self?).

"Hey. Merry Christmas." 

Now, at first glance, I'm pretty much just wishing you a nice holiday season. However, Ellie and I just wanted to give you a helpful little reminder as to why we celebrate. Or, you know, at least the reason I believe we celebrate. Like most things, this blog post begins with something relatively simple that I choose to describe in an unnecessary amount of words.

The item in question today is a LittlePeople nativity play set gifted to Ellie last Christmas by her great-aunt Julie (who may or may not appreciate me using that many greats when describing her). Believe it or not, the nativity set was actually bought for Ellie two years ago when Bethany was still pregnant.

Ah, everything has a place and everything in its place...

After receiving it last Christmas, we let Ellie play with it until we took down our Christmas decorations for the season. Rather than leaving it out at that point, we decided to carefully pack it back in its box choosing instead to get it out each year when we decorate for Christmas. Since doing so shortly after Thanksgiving, the set has occupied a place of honor in our living room.

Of course, part of having a toddler (still seems weird to say toddler instead of infant) is that nothing stays nice and pristine for long, especially toys! At the end of each night or beginning of each day, Bethany or I take great care to set the nativity scene up to its original condition. By great care, I mean great care. Joseph, Mary, and the baby Jesus reside inside the stable with the wise men gathered outside near their respective animals as an angel stands perched atop the stable, arms stretched wide.

As you can probably guess, that nativity scene remains in a state of "perfection" for approximately five minutes after Ellie awakes for the day. Then, like anything else, it is strewn about the living room. Although, in a certain amount of irony, Ellie does always remove the angel from its lofty perch, choosing instead to replace it with a camel. I guess she really likes camels or something. As I stated previously, the end of each day results in us returning it to its prior condition, readying it for the next day.

Not quite how I envisioned the first Christmas...

Now, while this may seem like a fruitless exercise, I truly believe the opposite. While Ellie's still a little young to really get it, there's nothing wrong with Bethany and I striving to instill values of our Christian faith in her at a young age. Not to mention the fact that she just really enjoys playing with it. It goes even deeper than that though.

In a way, this simple process really echoes what it's like to be a follower of Christ in a nutshell. At the beginning when we as humans were created by God, we were perfect, created in His image. Just like Ellie's nativity at the beginning of each day. However, when Adam and Eve sinned by eating of the lone fruit in the garden off limits to them, we immediately were thrust into a state of disrepair, brokenness, separation from God, and drowning in our sin. In other words, we no longer were fulfilling the purpose we were meant to. While Ellie's nativity scene is meant to be played with, it certainly has more meaning when seen in a certain fashion, namely not strewn about.

Now, the important part's about to happen. Make sure you pay attention. Mankind was basically floating along destined to suffer for all eternity due to our sins. After all, if God is perfect, why would He desire to coexist with beings who are not? That was the case until the time that a miraculous baby was born to a virgin one "winter" in Bethlehem. 

33 years later, that baby became a perfect, sinless man, the Son of God, who was strung up on a cross, sentenced to die. However, in doing so, he took the brunt of God's wrath for our sin, suffering once for all. After that, the eternal life and relationship with God that was once beyond our grasp was now attainable simply through believing and trusting that Christ was the Son of God and accepting him as our Lord and Savior. Through that, we become perfect and without blemish, much like how Ellie's nativity scene returns to its pristine state each and every night.

I realize that just spitting out the Gospel in about 200 words like this is putting it all relatively simply. However, the truth remains that I believe the Christmas season exists to celebrate not only the birth of Jesus, but also the fact that He came to die for us. 

I realize this might be a little heavy-handed compared to a lot of #DaddyWrite posts which tend to verge on, well, let's face it, absolute silliness. However, I earnestly hope this Christmas season, you and yours spend some time celebrating the reason for the season.

Oh, and "Hey"...Have a Merry Christmas!!! #DaddyWrite 

Day 313 - New Blue Cars and Light Shows A-Leaping

Every so often, life happens and gets in the way of one's desire to keep a semi-coherent blog regarding a certain someone's experiences in attempting to raise a baby girl up to date. That's not necessarily a bad thing though if you think about it. It just means that I find myself with a sudden overabundance of what some would term "riches" to write about. What's that? You want to know what exactly the sudden overabundance of "riches" is? Ok, I guess I can tell you.

Since we last "chatted" with me giving you the 411 on Baby's First Car Crash, much has happened. My 2010 RAV4 was officially totaled by insurance resulting in me receiving a sizable check to go towards replacing said vehicle. As a result of that decision by the insurance company, I was saddled with the unenviable task of driving to the body shop to clean out my car before it would reach its final destination in a junk yard somewhere. 

By the way, if you've never cleaned out a wrecked vehicle, it's a process filled with a very strange set of emotions. Between thanking my RAV for keeping us safe in the accident and also thanking it for all of the adventures it took my family on, I'd be lying if I said I didn't get slightly teary-eyed. If you must know why, it's because I'm a big baby. It's also because that car was the first one I ever bought and paid for entirely with my own money giving it a special place in my heart.

After twenty minutes of pain staking work, I was successful in removing the rear license plate from the bent and twisted frame. It was then that I removed one final memento from the remnants of my cherished RAV4: the gearshift knob. Basically, I found myself remembering that old Subaru commercial where the guy took the knob from his destroyed Subaru. Since I'm a sentimentalist, I decided to do the same. Not sure if it's stealing or not, but went ahead since I hadn't signed the title over yet.

Following that experience, I've found myself living through quite the whirlwind over the past few days. I've received the payment for my RAV4, spent time on Thursday and Friday test-driving an embarrassing number of automobiles, and finally purchased a 2013 RAV4 in St. Joseph on Saturday. To that final item, most people's reaction has been something along the lines of "Didn't waste much time getting that done, did you?". To that, I say when you find a good deal, you find a good deal.

Of course, as you well know, I can't just get a new car (new to us anyway) without breaking it in on some kind of special adventure. With Christmas quickly coming upon us, I couldn't think of any better adventure for us than taking Ellie to look at Christmas lights, specifically the Liberty Light show. Therefore, after the three of us finished our dinner, Bethany and I loaded Ellie up in the back of the new car and headed east towards Liberty. 

Held in parking lot of Pleasant Valley Baptist Church, the viewing of the Liberty Light Show has become a tradition for Bethany and I since moving into our house. Therefore, it goes without saying that Ellie did tag along with us on said excursion last year. Now, it's questionable whether or not she got much out of that experience as she was passed out asleep at the time. That was not the case this time however.

As soon as we arrived, I hopped out of the driver's seat and carefully extricated Ellie from her car seat before passing her into the waiting arms of her mother. After that, I hopped back into the front seat where Bethany and Ellie were waiting. 

I may have neglected to snap any photos this year. Check out the link for the Light Show if you're into that sort of thing.

While I've always enjoyed visiting the Liberty Light Show, I had different reasons for enjoying it so much this year. As soon as the lights began flashing, Ellie was immediately captivated by the rainbow of colors before her. Of course, she wasn't just sitting idly by. She was really getting into it, clapping along with the beat of each song, forcing Bethany or I's hands to clap along in unison, and pointing out whatever she saw as the best part of the display (BTW, it was a light post with LED lights wrapped around it outside our car window). Of course, I'm neglecting to mention the resounding "uh-oh" every time a song ended and the display went completely black.   

While the past week wasn't exactly host to an ideal set of circumstances, at least we got the opportunity to polish it off in a positive manner. That, and we made it both to and from the light display without anyone bashing in the rear of our new car. I'll consider that a win every day of the week. I'm sure anyone else would too. #DaddyWrite

Day 308 - Coming Full Circle (Baby's First Car Crash)

Sometimes in life, we're forced to admit to ourselves we're not as smart as we once thought we were. It can be in the world of academia. We've all experienced getting that horrible test grade that we were absolutely positive was going to be an 100% (for the record, I had a concussion because a bathroom light fixture crashed over my head if that helps explain that 63% on my Biology 101 exam). Honestly, it's much more likely that these moments present themselves throughout the course of everyday life.

For example, throughout most of my teenage and adult years, I can remember being driven nuts by one simple thing my parents (specifically my mom) would always do. Every time I'd leave home, I would hear the same thing, "Be careful." To me, those words meant that I wasn't smart enough to be careful without hearing them first. In my head I was always saying some sarcastic like, "Well, I wasn't going to be but I guess I will now." However, now that I'm a parent, I find myself with a little more understanding as to what that means. That's especially true after the events of this past weekend.

On Saturday morning, we found ourselves with a full morning of errands that we needed to run. Chief among them was to find Bethany a new pair of eye glasses that did not result in pain to her ears and nose. For future reference, we now know that when one's prescription is bad, they don't want to purchase rimless glasses. The More You Know....

As you can probably guess, the three of us found ourselves packed into my RAV4 around 10:30 heading towards our local shopping district. After about 10 minutes in the car, the usually brisk pace of traffic on Highway 152 began to slow from the speed limit of 65. Now, since I really didn't want to hit anyone in front of me, I decided I should probably slow as well. 

Almost as soon as I made this decision, I felt a large jolt coming from behind us. At this moment, I glanced in the rearview mirror just in time to see a tan pickup truck careening into the median at a high rate of speed behind us. Bethany, upon feeling the jolt, looked at me and said, "Did the spare tire just fall off the back?" before turning around to discover we no longer had a rear window in the RAV4. 

I immediately pulled onto the side of the highway and flipped on the hazard lights before exiting the car. The first thing I saw upon walking to the rear of the vehicle was that, in addition to no rear window, the size of my cargo bay had shrunk considerably. I then moved my eyes down the highway to see that the tan truck had not only careened into the median, but had also taken out several guard rails along the way. 

As I was surveying the damage and calling 911, Bethany was opening the door to the back seat on the passenger side to extricate Ellie from her car seat. The story of what she would find still amazes me. Ellie was wide-eyed, as if in shock, covered in glass from the chest down. However, when Bethany removed Ellie from the car seat, the only issue to be found was small traces of blood on Ellie's clothes. I guess I should mention said traces of blood didn't come from my daughter. It instead was from a small, but deep cut on Bethany's finger suffered when removing Ellie from the car seat.

I never did get the full story of what occurred to cause the wreck as I never had the opportunity to speak to the driver of the tan truck since our vehicles were on opposite sides of the highway. Based off what I heard from the police, as well as a witness that stopped, was that the other driver had his airbag deploy at some point during his wild ride but the only sign of trauma to be seen was slight bleeding from his mouth. Between all parties involved, the accident could have undoubtedly been much worse as only two cars were involved and no serious injuries were suffered. 

I feel especially lucky given the fact that Ellie was in the car with us. While I'm bummed my car is torn up (and possibly a loss), I am grateful for the fact we were driving the RAV instead of Bethany's sedan. I hate to even contemplate what would have happened to us in that instance. 

RIP RAV4? TBD.

So, coming full circle, you can see why I now have a new found appreciation for the seemingly thousands of times my parents have said "Be careful." It's not so much them thinking I'm incompetent as it's them being worried about the actions of the others on the road alongside me. 

Unfortunately, knowing what I know now, I'll probably find myself driving my daughter insane some day with those two simple words every time she leaves the house. Maybe as a girl she'll be a little more understanding of it than I was as a teenage boy. I can hope that's the case at least. #DaddyWrite