They are back home now. North Carolina, that is. My mother & niece left Thursday morning. They got home about 7:30PM Friday, EST. It was a good visit. We played cards and I got to spend a lot of time w/ my niece. She's way cooler than I was at 13. I was such a dork, but I was too dumb to realize :-) I guess that was probably a good thing.

I think its safe to say we did some bonding. She isn't quite as reclusive as I thought she was. And I'm not quite the boring uncle she thought I was. (not that she ever said I was boring) but there were some things about me that surprised her... at least a little bit! Let's see if I can recall the things she experienced with me that were new to her....

• went kayaking in the surf and in the flats
• sea shell combing on an uninhabited (by humanoid bipeds) island
• refurbished a dog house and got to operate power tools (the cool kind that make sparks fly)
• shared a lot of music
• went to a drum circle and got to see some belly dancing (watched her uncle beating on a drum, not belly dance!)
• drank Kiwi-Strawberry slushes
• fired a rifle (just kidding Mom) LOL
• watched The Breakfast Club
• oh yeah, and talked!

Not bad for a 12 day stint.

It was a pretty cool feeling when we were listening to some of my music and she asked what song that was or who sings that... I guess the old guy has some taste, after all, huh?

One of the songs that she liked was by Michelle Branch, "Goodbye To You". I told her my favorite version of the song was in an episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Tabula Rasa for you Buffy fans). We didn't get around to watching it, but I found it on You Tube. See it here...

Its one of my all time favorite musical performances. This was actually when I was first turned on to Michelle Branch. There are a few performances that strike a chord deep within me. I will share some more in the near future.
As I'm listening to this song, I think of this summer. It has been a fantastic summer for me. Many good things happened. Not the least of which was hanging out with my niece.

Last year I told myself that I was going to spend more time at the beach this summer. And I have been. I think I have been to the beach more these past 2 months than I have in the last 5 years. I have the tan to prove it :-)

So how about a quick recap of this summer...

• went to beach... a lot
• kayaked often
• helped my mother and family move into new home
• hung out with some really amazing people that I now call friends
• learned about blogging
• started a meditation journal (but I still suck at it)
• apologized to some dear friends for missing their wedding
• discovered fruit slushes
• didn't gain any weight
• passed the state credentialing exam for Secondary Social Studies and received the certificate
• did some refurnishing at my house
• was reconnected with a long time friend
• spent quality time with my niece
• and got to know two people a whole lot better... my dad and myself

Speaking of myself, I had another good thing happen... I got hired on at King High School where I have been a wrestling coach for the past 2 years. Now I'll be working at that school too!

But the summer isn't quite over yet. Tomorrow a couple friends and I will be kayaking around down town. We are planning on paddling around the Lexington.

On a final note for tonight... I thought I'd follow up on my own little music video. Laura & Micah saw my post and of course the video with it. Apparently I have been forgiven for missing their wedding. :-) We are planning for me to visit them in the near future. I look fwd to that with great enthusiasm! I miss them. After all, they are good peeps!

Thanks again for reading.

Be well

Friendships, Now & Then... and Now Again

Here I am plunked down in front of my laptop sitting in my garage watching sweat beads roll down the side of my water glass. My own sweat has long since evaporated, courtesy of an oscillating air pusher. I spent another day (4th in a row) working in the yard with my niece. We refurbished the dog house. I think the renovations cost more than the original house! But what are you going to do? We did it up better this time, paint and all. With a 13 year old girl helping out, the house had to have colors. Blue was a must. She insisted. It stands out in the yard now. It used to humbly blend in to the background. Now it says "Pow! Look at me, I'm a colorful canine palace!" At 20 sq. ft. it is palatial, as far as pooch pads go. But I like it. It turned out nice. Now we'll have to wait and see if the new roof holds up. I'll know after the next tropical storm.

As for today's musings.... friends. For the past week or so I have been thinking a lot of my friends. Past & present. Those I'm close with now, and those that betrayed me some time ago. Then I thought of those I had lost touch with. Too many for comfort. Why do we do that?

I received a message on my Facebook account from one of those old friends. One that moved and then got married, started a family... you know, did all those grown up things. I had lost touch with her because of an ex-girlfriend. Well, my old friend found me! I was thrilled. So now we are in touch again. Cool. Very cool! A visit will be scheduled soon. :-)

But I digress... I have been thinking a lot of two particular friends, Micah & Laura. They are a young couple that were recently married. Therein lies the root of my recent reminiscence. (alliteration not intended) We've been friends for about 5 years or so. Maybe 6. It doesn't seem like it. I met Micah almost by accident. I say almost, because he was a last minute stand-in at a fund raiser to which his boss was invited. His boss sent Micah in his stead. Good call, if you ask me. Soon thereafter I met Micah's (then) girlfriend, Laura. As mentioned, they are married now. I used to tease them about that. I would tell them to hurry up and tie the knot already. They are as close to a perfect couple as I've ever seen. Of course, they might disagree, but they are humble that way. Good peeps! They are 2 of my favorite people in the world. So why am I going on about all this..... ??? Because I feel like I let them down. Yeah, I flaked at their wedding. Shame on me, I know. Especially after all the hype about getting married. I actually scribbled a message on the back of the RSVP, "I wouldn't miss it for the world.", I wrote. Oh boy.

I let personal issues get in the way and I missed the wedding. True bummer. Hence, my feelings of disappointment. Pretty easy to see why. To this day I have not called them. How much do I suck?

However, communication has been forthcoming via the digital medium. It was Micah & Laura that initiated it. Bless them. Of course the guilt rolled right in. It was there all along, but now I was faced with it. I know they won't shun me or call me bad names or anything. Like I said, they are good peeps. They are understanding and forgiving. I know this... in my head. But my heart still hurts when I think about it. Its just one of those things I will have to remedy, isn't it?

So here I go... the first step in remedying (is that a word?) my absent friendship. Are you ready for this? Oh boy... ok, here goes. (And to think I'm doing this publicly.)

I was planning on doing something kind of special at their wedding. They had no clue, in fact they won't until they see this post. It was a well kept secret. I think I only told one person... maybe 2. The plan was for me to sing a song for them. (YIKES... anyone who has heard me sing is probably rifling through their miscellaneous kitchen drawer right about now looking for ear plugs.) But I wanted to. The anxiety of that performance probably had more to do with my absence than I care to admit... but anyway, here is the next best thing... a video (I foresee snowballs in hell). The video is a little older, but its the song I wanted to dedicate to Micah & Laura at their wedding. Is my flakiness growing? But I had to do this. I had to get this out.

So, if you dare, watch the video and marvel at my lack of musical talent! But its OK. You can laugh... this time! :-) (Richard, I can hear you!)

As for you, Micah & Laura... this is love, baby! If I didn't love you, I wouldn't do this!

Best (belated) wishes to the newlyweds... from your lost friend!



There you have it, my friends.

Be well
Stephan