Good For The Soul

I grew up on an avocado ranch in rural San Diego County and absolutely loved it. Evey day during the summer months I would hike the hills, swim in the ponds, and scout for squirrels, rabbits, and snakes. I truly connected with Mother Nature and loved being outdoors. I think that’s maybe why I also love playing golf so much. The smell of the morning dew on perfect green grass and the beautiful tall trees reaching up through wispy white clouds as if attempting to touch heaven, makes me feel like my soul has its own little personal piece of heaven.

My wife grew up a lot like I did, playing outdoors from morning till night. She discovered softball as a little girl and played it all the way through high school. She also fell in love with swimming and would put in hours at the pool swimming laps over and over again to her heart’s delight. She became an extraordinary swimmer and still is. In fact, when I married her I promised her I would build her a beautiful home with a large swimming pool, and I did. And she loved it!

To this day, I still play golf and enjoy it more than ever. It’s where I’m most at peace. Sadly though, due to a recurring medical condition, my wife had to give up swimming about five years ago. It was devastating to her and robbed her of her own little personal piece of heaven. It broke my heart to see her have to give up something she loves so much. I found myself praying for her condition to change and wondering why it is that bad things have to happen to such good people.

That’s a question a lot of us ask when bad things happen. A question that is not easy to answer.  And trust me, I don’t have the answer. But I do have faith, and my faith tells me that although I may not understand why everything happens, God does, and God always does what is best for us. So I do my best to keep that perspective at all times.

Two months ago, my wife found a new doctor, a specialist, who recommended a new type of medicine for her condition. She has been taking it for a while and now and decided to try swimming again. She was excited and scared, but yesterday as I watched her swim all four different types of strokes, barely rippling the water, I practically cried. She is beautiful out of the water, but in the water she is absolutely glorious! Later in the evening I wrapped my arms around her and told her how happy I was to see her swimming again. Her simple reply, “It’s good for my soul.”

Life is like swimming; sometimes you hit a wall, turn around, and just keep going. 

                                                                                  ~ Anonymous                                                  

People Are Not Perfect

My wife and I had dinner with another couple on Friday night. They’re really close friends of ours that we haven’t seen for a while, so it was nice to spend time with them in person. And of course the first thing Steve asked me was, “How’s life been treating you?”

I thought about that question for just a moment and then answered him honestly. “My life is really good. I feel blessed in so many ways I can’t even count them all. So yeah, life is great!”

But as I said that I thought about something that had happened earlier that day. I lost my temper, really lost it, and yelled at someone. I haven’t done that in years, and it was a complete stranger, a young person who worked at a store. I use the term “worked” loosely because although she saw me standing at the cash register, she ignored me despite glancing over at me multiple times. After 10 minutes I started to get upset and after 15 minutes I was really frustrated, and after 20 minutes, I totally lost it and yelled at her to get her attention.  

I left that store really angry. My wife had been waiting in the car for what should have been a quick five minute stop, so when I got back to the car she immediately asked me, “What happened?” I was so mad I could hardly get the words out. I apologized for keeping her waiting and then told her about the really bad experience I just had with some “stupid, %&*#@, idiot”.

When I got home, and had time to think about it, I felt like a real jerk. Which is exactly what I am, “a stupid, %&*#@, jerk” for getting so angry at a young person who probably hasn’t been trained properly. For a moment in time, I forgot to count my blessings. To be thankful for my family, my home, my job, my health, and the hundreds of other good things going on in my life. I forgot to be thankful and chose to be angry.

The next time I feel myself getting angry, I’m going to remember that incident. My importantly, I am going to remember to have more patience, because people are not perfect… especially me!  

 

Anger is never without a reason, but seldom with a good one. 

                                                                ~ Benjamin Franklin                                                  

Drink Up

On Tuesday morning I woke up feeling miserable. I was still really tired, my head was hurting, and I couldn’t remember anything about the night before, which I am sure is completely my own fault. Plus I had this sharp mystery pain pulsating behind my left knee, which I’m sure was also my fault as well.

But the previous night was a complete fog bank, and I knew it wasn’t going to lift anytime soon. So I stood up and tried to walk it off. The more I walked, the worse I felt, and what the heck is causing that throbbing pain in my left leg?!! After a cold shower and two large cups of hot black tea, my head still hurt, and my left leg felt like I was plugged into an electrical outlet. WTH!!!

After two hours of torture I finally drove to a nearby urgent care. I told the Doc about my mystery pain, and he asked me what I did the day before. I had to think about it, but then mumbled something about swimming in the morning, working in the field at my job for 5 hours in the afternoon, and then playing catch at a baseball field with one of my sons. His next question was, “Were you drinking yesterday?” I answered, “Just a few beers, Doc”, which was probably not totally accurate, and his immediate response was not what I wanted to hear. “I think you have a serious drinking problem!”

Ouch!!! Those were not words I wanted to hear. “But Doc”, I protested… and he cut me off saying, “Let me explain something to you. Do you realize you’re over 70 years old? Do you realize how active you are and that it has been over 90 degrees outside every day this week? Your problem is you don’t drink enough!” (Music to my ears!) “Water”, he said. “Oh”, I said. “You are displaying the classic symptoms of severe dehydration. Don’t you know you should be having at least 90 ounces of water a day? No wonder you’re in a fog and your body is cramping up.” As a glass half-full kind of guy, I responded immediately with, “Sure Doc, I think I can probably fill that prescription all by myself.”

And that got me thinking… Being thirsty isn’t a good thing. But sometimes we find ourselves thirsty in a different way. Thirsty for love, thirsty for friendship, thirsty for acceptance. If you find yourself thirsty, and your glass is half empty, maybe try seeing a doctor, better yet speak to the Divine Physician, who once said, “It is not the healthy that need a doctor, but the sick.”

Then He said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

                                                                                        ~ Luke 17:19                                                     

Catch This

The MLB Baseball season is heating up! The All Star Game is over now, trades are being made throughout Major League Baseball, and teams are gearing up to make a run for the playoffs. I love this time of year, especially watching baseball and rooting for my hometown LA Angels. And partly it’s because growing up my Dad and I would always play catch in the front yard and have great conversations about everything from baseball to God. I miss my Dad, and I miss playing baseball… in more ways than one!

Let me explain. I’m a workaholic for sure, but in my defense I love my job and I enjoy my relationships with my customers and vendors. Sometimes though, I let it get in the way of other things I love even more, like family, friends, and fun.

For years now I have been working on Saturday mornings with my son who lives close to me. We always start early and work really hard doing light pole inspections all over San Diego, OC, LA, and Palm Desert. It’s hard, strenuous, physical work, but we work really well together and have completed large projects at many of the most iconic properties throughout Southern California.  And every time we get ready to head out to a job I ask him to bring his baseball glove. Mine is always underneath my back seat. Unfortunately, it just sits there because we are so busy and get so tired that by the time we are done working, we just never get around to playing catch.

This past Saturday the same thing happened once again. And I realized that if I don’t set aside special time for the things I love, and the people I love, that time will never come.

And that got me thinking… Sometimes the best conversation is a game of catch! 

Baseball was, is, and always will be the best game in the world to me.

                                                                    ~ Babe Ruth