Video compilation

After wrapping up the month of November, and taking the time to remember the things to be thankful for in my life i wanted to resurrect this blog - sort of.  I mean, since it is not an actually living being, it never really dies.  Well... at least not in this world... but obviously in the world of TRON it would be derezzed eventually.
 

Well, over the course of time i had saved a few videos i absolutely found fun and wanted to share them somehow.  Well, sure, Facebook is the normal way to go, but hey, i never claimed to be normal, so, i thought, why not share them here.

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The first one i want to share is an NFL Play60 promo.  I first saw it while watching the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins play on Thanksgiving Day.  First, as any regular reader of this blog knows, i am a fan of the Carolina Panthers, and this one features Cam Newton, their 'prodigal quarterback'.  In his first year he set all kind of rookie records.  I was able to see him break 4 records last year, in person:

• First rookie quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards in a season.
• Most total touchdowns by a rookie NFL player: 35 (21 pass, 14 rush).
• Most rushing yards by a rookie quarterback: 706
• Most rushing touchdowns in a single season by a quarterback: 14

As well as a few Panther Franchise Records:

• Longest offensive scoring play (91) to Brandon LaFell, December 24, 2011 vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
• And longest Quarterback scramble for a touchdown (49)

I am liking that he is growing a sense of humor. He just seems to be growing into a really nice young man. A well rounded team leader, on and off the field.  I completely agree that a Rookie, and even a second year player - even one as talented as Cam is - should not be a team captain.  There are just too many other things on their shoulders to take on that role and responsibilities.  Let them mature and grow as a football player, and let them learn from the veterans around the locker room.

Anyway, i love this commercial.  It has a great message about kids eating right and exercising, along with a great tongue in cheek humor.  I am snickering even as i type this and think about the video.

The kid is priceless.

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The next one a friend shared.  I really laughed hard enough to have ice tea come out my nose when i first saw it.  It's just so NOT me and my family in style, but in content it was spot on.

There are so many times as a parent, and you are up to your eyebrows in insanity and you just snap.  There is nothing even remotely funny...not until you can put some distance of time between the present and the event.  There are quite a few things that happened around my 'dojo' that i was truly peeved... but now, it brings a smile to my face, and a laugh with the family.  The key is, don't take things too seriously.  Be honest with yourself, that you are not perfect -- and then just learn from the mistakes, and enjoy life.

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The last video in this blog entry for todayis titled, "How Bad do You Want IT!".  It is straight up a motivational deal.  There are some people that think i am like this, that i drive and drive and drive, but the truth is, there are a lot of times i take my eyes of the prize and look at the 'storm' that is surrounding me.

In one of my 'Being thankful' blog posts, i mentioned how i ran on my High School's Cross Country team two years in a row, and both years the team went to the state championships, and both years i dropped off the team - just stopped showing up to practices and everything.  Fortunately for the team, i was not one of the top runners, and this really didn't impact their performance at the finals (if memory serves they one both years).  This was not the only time i had done something like this.  In the sixth grade i had the role in a class play, and i think i was pretty good, but on the day of the play, i refused to go on.  The teacher had to get the understudy.  In many ways... i feel like i let everyone down, over and over again.  I see this video, and i want to charge right out and never let anyone down again, but i know i can't go about it that way.  But, what this video does, partnered with the grace of God i experience everyday, gives me incredible motivation to pick myself up.  To begin again, to do what i can, then get up the next day and do it again, and when i trip and fall - to get up and get on again. 

Right now, i am not there mentally... but one has to have an objective to aim for.  In driving you do not stare at the road right in front of the vehicle, you look up the road so you can anticipate the corrections needed.  When i was taught to perform land navigation in the Army, i was taught to not stare at the compass, but to use the compass to get a direction and then to look out and find an objective along that line, and then aim and head towards that objective - all the while navigating the obstacles of the terrain as needed.  I am working on this, but i have formed a saying that helps at times. 

"If you aim at nothing, you will hit it everytime."

There is, i believe, something in each of us, that want to make a difference, to make our mark in some way, but unless we actually get up and do something... we will fulfill that saying above.

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."  ~ Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt ~ "Citizenship in a Republic," Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910 

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Well, that is all i have for today.  If so inclined, please pray for me as i too strive to "take no days off", all the while, keeping a proper balance in my life with my relationship with God, with my family, and with my career.  Thank you for reading.

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Autism and the public school system

Yesterday I blogged about getting ready for the upcoming school year. I also mentioned about the struggles I am having with DS2, his Autism (Aspergers) and especially the struggles with his peers. We have a lot of things going on for DS2. His under medication to help (something I know very little about :( ), he takes 'riding therapy' lessons, he sees doctors at least once a month (sometimes just to see how the meds are working, sometimes with psycologist). We also attend - as a family usually - an Autism support group, and once a month he is in a "social skills" group. I am not 100% sure of what a blogging friend (thanks Susan) was referring to when she mentioned working with the 'socialization' within the classroom. I guess a part of me assumed that this was something the teachers and aides do. I will have to read about this some more. I was also considering taking an afternoon to go (with my beloved) sometime in the first week or two of classes to talk to his classmates about it. I've heard that was something that was pretty helpful. I think what I fear the most, is him pulling away from his family. He is so different from his brother and sister. I want so much more for him... and I am unable to give him very much. At least not in ways that I can detect him being receptive. I fear failing him as a father, and I fear - most of all - that I will somehow fail to reveal to him the Father. It feels like the world is against us, and would love for nothing more than to drive a wedge between us - isolating my son enough that he feels like he is all alone. I may know that is not the truth, but what is my son's perception? That is what matters. Verse for today: Matthew 19:13-15, ESV Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” And he laid his hands on them and went away.

Getting ready for school

Ah, it is "The Most wonderful Time of the Year". I love that commercial that shows mom and dad dancing around, buying school supplies and the kids are all mopey. It is also kind of a drag for me. I am just not looking forward of another year of battling with DS2's teachers over his individual development plan. Of having to work with my son and how the other kids mess with him. Just this Saturday we were at DS1's soccer try outs. One boy was playing with DS2. At one point this boy comes over, without saying a word, and provokes DS2 to chase him. Well, he leads my son out of my sight. A few minutes later the same boy comes up to me to tell me that DS2 was hitting on his car because he didn't want to play anymore. Apparently this boy leads DS2 around the building and gets right into his car where he rolls up the window and locks the door. DS2, in frustration, hits the window once and then leaves. I just ache for my son. I want him to have friends that don't tease him, that don't push his buttons to watch him react and then laugh at him. The problem we have is that he is not making friends on his own. Not like his older brother. I just don't want him to be alone in the world. Verse for today: 1 John 3:16-18, ESV By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

I couldn't help myself. Well, I probably could, but I didn't. I stayed up WAY too late watching coverage of the VT tragedy. I listened intently as the reporters interviewed faculty and roommates of the shooter. I listened as other people described this young man and I trembled inside. I remember being an outcast in high school. I remember not really fitting in to the college scene. A big difference was that I did actually respond to efforts of others to include me in things. I also thought of my son who is dealing with Aspergers. He often withdraws and does things that are odd. I worry about being a good enough father to lead him into better social habits. To help him deal with his frustrations and to help him learn how to interact with other people. But most of all - I really want to help him find his place in this world. To help him find the thing that he loves (that is NOT Pokemon :) ), and to encourage his desire. Please, I am not claiming my son is on the way down that road. It's just that as a parent I fear and pray for his future. Like any parent I just want the best for my children and with all that has gone on this week and has made me think and pray. Verse for today: Proverbs 18:1-3, ESV Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment. A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion. When wickedness comes, contempt comes also, and with dishonor comes disgrace.