Halftime

Today is my 41st birthday - HUZZAH! I do mean that, with all my heart - I'm not worried about age or feeling the least bit nervous about what's coming next. That having been said, one does begin to ponder one's mortality - and so one goes off looking for stuff to make that pondering a bit more fruitful.

According to the Social Security Administration's Life Expectancy Calculator, I have reached the halfway point of my life expectancy today. What follows is a brief imagining of my least favorite part of any college football game: the on-field interview with a coach going into the locker room at halftime.

My Birthday Wish

This was supposed to post first thing this morning, but before I could finish it, I had to take our 13 year-old cat Ike to the emergency vet clinic.  I didn't get back until 2AM, and my Beloved let me sleep in, so I'm just now getting started on my day.  Ike is okay - damaged nerves and broken ribs from what was likely a fall somewhere (we didn't see it happen).  Anyway, here's the post that was halfway finished before evening prayer last night.

Six Sixes For 36

Hi there - remember me?

In the time since we've last been together, I turned 36. Thirty-freaking-six. This is not a complaint - this is reality landing on my head. I am fully and completely, 100% an adult now. I actually have been for some time, but the combination of kids/age/working with actual college students/starting to go bald just hit me harder this year. Again - not complaining, just amazed. From here on out, I'm going to be living in an age I can remember my parents occupying.

So, then, to commemorate the occasion, here's a list of six sixes for 36. These are by no means comprehensive, they are rather the scattered thoughts of a frazzled husband, father and preacher who is having the time of his life (for the most part).

Six People (or groups of people) Who Mean The World To Me

1. Beloved - natch.

2. The Sisters - you get one spot because I don't want to put one of you in front of the other.

3. My Brothers, Brian & Kevin - see above.

4. My Parents, Alan & Eunice - see above above.

5. The Cape Cod Boys and everyone connected with the Cape Cod "Gang" (You know who you are)

6. Anyone who's ever spent a summer working at Carol Joy Holling Camp in Ashland, NE.

Six Things I Want To Do Before I Die

1. Take Beloved to Europe for a major anniversary trip, and while on that trip drink a pint of Guinness in Dublin and a pint of dunkelbier at the Kartoffelhaus in Lutherstadt-Wittenberg, Germany.

2. RAGBRAI and BRAN. (Fun fact: My uncle rode BRAN a few years ago and rode through our hometown on his 50th birthday. I think that's just cool)

3. Go to the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Glacier National Parks with the kids.

4. Own a motorcycle.

5. Qualify for Boston (hey, I didn't say I WILL do it, just that I WANT to...)

6. Publish a novel (see above).

Six Books I Plan To Read Very Soon

1. Rabbit, Run by John Updike.

2. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner.

3. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

4. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

5. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

6. Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger

Six Things I Want To Do Around The House This Summer

1. Repair the drywall and replace the light fixture in the downstairs bedroom.

2. Tear down, move and rebuild the storage shed in the back yard.

3. Prepare a garden for next year.

4. Build a new gate for the west entrance to the backyard.

5. Paint the dining room table and chairs.

6. Install a "work sink" in the basement.

Six Bloggers Who've Inspired Me

1. Jules. Our family and hers are occupying a similar reality separated by approximately eight months (I think). She's been a good friend and internet shoulder throughout.

2. Tripp. Dude is the most Lutheran AngloBaptist I know. Also, he likes celtic music and plays in a band. Pretty cool.

3. Gordon Atkinson. I remember someone mentioning, "Hey, you should check out this guy who writes at reallivepreacher.com sometime - he's a Baptist, but he gets this ministry gig." And how. How can you not love a writer who dreams about Martin Luther, Canned Soup and Diet Coke?

4. Jan Edmiston. The most consistently valuable blogger - Jan is "here" every day, and always chewing on something worthwhile. The fact that she's a Lost fan is just a nice bonus.

5. CoffeePastor. Protestant pastor/philosopher who likes coffee, college football and reading good books. Need I say more?

6. Chris Duckworth. East Coast Lutheran who loves politics, baseball and talking about grace and faith. Kind of a nice, Lutheran, Democratic-leaning George Will? *

Six Great Places/Things/Whatever That You Might Not Know About

1. The Cafe, Ames, IA

This has rapidly become our favorite restaurant here in Ames. The Cafe offers incredibly good food, fast, friendly service and ridiculously reasonable prices. We are blessed with some good restaurants for a college town this size, but for our money the Cafe is head and shoulders above the rest.

2. "Once"

"Falling Slowly" won the Oscar for Best Song a few years back, but I'm still as impressed by this movie the longer out we are from it. This is a beautiful little indie film that feels about as real as it gets.

3. The Fargo Marathon

My first marathon was in Fargo in 2006. I have yet to have a race experience to rival it. The town turns itself out for this race, whether you're doing the half or the full, and you always end your run on the big screen inside the Fargodome. If you're a runner in the midwest, this is worth your time and training.

4. Every Day Should Be Saturday

Not for the faint of heart or small of mind, and most certainly not for children. But it's a rare day when something on this awesome college football blog doesn't reduce me to snorting coffee out my nose.

5. Almond Bark Espresso Peanut Butter Fudge

Well, according to our babysitter, that last ingredient isn't in there - it's just what her concoction most resembles when she's done. Basically, you melt Almond Bark, mix in peanut butter and ground espresso beans, pour into a cooling dish and enjoy sweet caffeinated goodness when it's set up. Nummers.

6. Timberpine Lodge Bed & Breakfast, Adel, IA

Beloved and I stayed there last summer to celebrate our 5th anniversary. Lovely secluded B&B with a friendly staff and good coffee. The jacuzzi tub is a definite bonus.

So, that's the story a week out from 36. See you next year for something completely different.

Grace & peace,

Scott

Pics of the Birthday Girl

Hard to believe it was a year ago today that we first said hello to our little girl. Here she was, all seven pounds and two ounces of screaming fury that first night:

AAAAnd here she is today, twenty-some odd pounds of still screaming fury, as we've found out the last two nights about 4:00 a.m. But we had a good moment this morning:


Happy Birthday, Tootie. We didn't get you a present yet because we're going to celebrate with Grandma & Grandpa Johnson and Uncle Brian & Aunt Donna & Zach in a couple of weeks. Grandma Mooneyham was here today, but we needed to take her to the airport, so we didn't even have a cupcake with a candle in it for you. Yeah, we suck. But we love you!

Friday Five: It's My (Birthday) Party!

I wanted to post pictures of my own first birthday party, but couldn't find any in my parents' albums. So I just posted these from thirty-two years and some odd months ago. The picture above is me with my Grandpa Johnson - the picture below is me with my friend Karla, who graduated from high school with me and (I hear) checks this blog regularly. Hi, KB!

From Songbird at Revgalblogpals: I hate to say it, but over the years I've been to too many parties where I, or the birthday child, has felt much like the chorus of Lesley Gore's old tune. I am therefore not the biggest fan of birthday parties. For this Friday (which happens to be my birthday), tell us these five things about parties, birthday or otherwise.

How fun! I'm visiting my parents today, and tomorrow is my 33rd birthday, so a party meme makes perfect sense!

1) Would you rather be the host or the guest?
I would rather be both. A couple of times in the past few years I've celebrated my birthday by inviting friends to join me for dinner at a favorite restaurant, at a friend's home or at our own home. What's far more important than hosting or guesting (yes, I just verbed "guest" - deal) is being with those you love as you celebrate significant milestones.

2) When you are hosting, do you clean everything up the minute the guests go home? Will you accept help with the dishes?
I will ALWAYS accept help with the dishes, and we do usually clean after the guests leave. Credit that to a wife who hates to leave dishes unwashed even during a meal; but that works out well for me, since I LOATHE doing the dishes.

3) If you had the wherewithal, and I guess I mean more than money, to throw a great theme party, what would the theme be?
I would throw my own eleventy-first birthday party! I draw much of my thoughts on birthday parties from Bilbo & Frodo Baggins' joint celebration at the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring. I would love to throw a gigantic party, inviting all the people I know half as well as I'd like and all the people I like half as well as they deserve. There would be good food, good ale, small gifts for everyone from me, and a big fireworks show. Oh, and Longbottom Leaf as well.

4) What's the worst time you ever had at a party?
I'll amend this to focus more on birthdays, mostly because I don't think I've ever not enjoyed a party. The worst birthday I ever had was my thirteenth. I finished dead last in both shot put & discus at a junior high track meet, a girl I liked sent one of her friends to tell me she wouldn't go to the end of the year dance with me, and an 8th grader who saw it teased me mercilessly the whole bus ride home. Talk about miserable.

5) And to end on a brighter note, what was the best?
This year is shaping up to be a great birthday celebration. I'm home visiting family, my brother is receiving his Master's degree tomorrow, and on Sunday I'll run the Lincoln Half-Marathon with friends and enjoy a joint birthday celebration with LutheranHusker and some of our friends. So, a Happy Birthday to you, Songbird, and also to anyone else celebrating this weekend!