Tiger Woods.

Is he great?
I have always rooted for Tiger on the golf course. Against every wish of my father, but I have rooted for him nonetheless. I think the reason I have been a fan is that I very much appreciate excellence. I believe I'm like my Dad in that way. He always rooted for Jack Nicklaus. Nicklaus was the greatest golfer of his generation, and for now, the greatest golfer of all time. So, it's just one more thing that my Dad and I disagree on. What we don't disagree on however is that it's not just what a man does on the golf course, or the football field, baseball diamond, in the board room or wherever else that defines him. It's what he does with his life that really matters. To me, and my Dad, it's what you do as a husband and a father that defines you. It is for that reason that I find what Tiger Woods did to his family to be reprehensible. By committing adultery, he hurt the three people that are most important in his life. His wife and his kids. He lied to them every single day, and that is not going to be easy to explain when the day comes that he has to own up to his now young children about his past.
Tiger has undoubtedly been more than successful on the golf course, and in the business sector. He has failed in his personal life however. So, I ask again, Is he great?
Can he be forgiven?
I believe that we all make mistakes in life. Weather it be big or small, what really matters is owning up to the mistake, and making sure it doesn't happen again. That in my opinion is pretty much the definition of learning and growing. And, if that's not what we are doing, then just what are we doing? If we are not learning and growing as people, as parents, as sons and daughters, then what are we really doing? That is why I believe we are all deserving of second chances in life. I know that opens up a whole different can of worms about the severity of someones' acts being deserving of a second chance. So, I will say it here. NO, someone who deliberately hurts, kills, rapes, or causes emotional and psychological harm to another person, intentionally, DOES NOT DESERVE A SECOND CHANCE! Did Tiger Woods do any of these things? I don't believe he did. I think if you know enough about the situation, and listen to and read his explanations, you will know that he didn't do any of the things he did with the intention of hurting his wife and kids. Like I said, I find the act of adultery to be just about as bad as it gets. The man cheated on his wife. And to me, that means he cheated on his kids just as much. I would never be able to look any member of my family in the face again if I so much as touched another woman. I made a commitment to my wife, and now my children, to be fiercely loyal to them. I take that commitment very seriously. First of all, I love my family more than I can put into words, but more importantly, I don't understand the concept of adultery. That's a whole different blog post however. What's important here is what I will ask again. Can he be forgiven?
It's your choice.
I have watched the situation with Tiger Woods unfold very closely because I am a fan, as I have readily admitted. It hurts me to think that someone I respected treated his family so horribly. Especially since I value my family so much. My wife and kids are everything to me, and I would never hurt them, but he did. So, I have to make a choice. And after reading him in Newsweek, and listening to him in an ESPN Radio interview, I have decided to forgive him.  I have decided that I believe him when he says he is owning up to his mistakes and moving forward with his life. I believe he really feels that before he can be a better player, he has to be a better person. I believe him and I forgive him. The question I keep asking myself is though, would I be able to forgive my wife for doing to me what Tiger did to his wife? I know for a fact that I will NEVER have to answer that question. But, the question I ask you is, do you forgive Tiger? It's your choice.

I've got the missing paragraph added.

In case anyone read my blog post CHAMPIONSHIPS! and was wondering about the missing paragraph I referred to, I have fixed it. Thank you for the patience, and I hope you enjoy it.

I'm sorry. Something got left off.

I'd like to apologize. For some reason the last paragraph that was supposed to appear before the pictures got cut off for some reason. I'm really trying to find it because it tied my whole post together and made what I was saying make sense.
Anyone know how to find that. I've searched the history, and it's just not there.
If I can't find it tomorrow, I will edit it from memory and you'll like my post a lot more.

CHAMPIONSHIPS!

I love them!
Recently I was reading something about sports, which I do a lot, and came across something about a championship team. It really got me to thinking. I love winning at everything I do in life. Now, it's not the end-all-be-all that it used to be for me. But, it's still pretty cool. Winning leads to championships. As I am in the process of telling you, I LOVE championships!!! I just love the sound of the word even. Say it to yourself out loud right now. CHAMPIONSHIP! Doesn't that just feel good to say. I know you liked it.
Being the best at something.
We live in a very competitive society. Just about every aspect of our lives involves some sort of competition. School? Of course it's competitive. Maybe not to every kid at every stage, but there comes a time that the better a student you are, the better college you get into, the better career you land. So, students compete for the best grades. Work life? Well, if someone has any ambition at all, they want to be the best at what they do. They want to move up in the company they work for, to get the next promotion, to be the best. So yes, they compete with coworkers to be the best. Now, before I upset anyone out there, let me make sure I put this the right way. I advocate competition, not winning at all costs. There is a line there. Doing underhanded things like cheating, lying and stealing, in order to win, crosses that line. It is okay to not win(I don't even like typing the "l" word.) As long as you competed at your best, learned why you didn't win, and came out in the next competition ready to prove that this time, you are the best. It is my belief in this sense of competition that makes me really hate what is happening in our youth sports leagues.
I may upset a few people.
I HATE seeing parents and coaches taking the competitiveness out of our youth sports!!! Again, blood and guts, especially at the younger age levels, is not what I'm advocating. However, in life there is winning and losing as I've pointed out. If a kid is always told that "at least you were out there and had fun" he will never know the sting of losing. That sting motivates! Sure, a kid is going to feel bad for a while.  However, it will motivate a person to try harder. There is a youth softball league in my home town that is co-ed(not the problem I have,) just lets the defensive team play where they want, records no runs or outs, and nobody wins or loses. What does that teach our kids??? It's okay to just lope around and have fun? Well, when our young people are 21 and have gotten through college and are just sitting around their parents house all day with no job. Just tell them "It's okay, at least you're trying and having fun right?" That's where we are headed!
A little off track.
So now I'm ranting again. Sorry. Where was I? Oh Yeah! I love championships! I've had the pleasure of being on a few teams that have won championships in my life. One team holds the highest place in my heart though. It was a men's Rec league basketball team. We had 7 or 8 guys every game that showed up. One guy was the best player in the league, and he scored about 30-35 points a game. I would usually put up about 12-15, and the rest of the team would chip in whatever they were good for that game. We were a total team though. We knew who our scorer was, and we all played our role. I was the "coach" of the team and it was AWESOME! We played a game that basically decided the championship of the tournament at season's end, and only had six guys there. With about eight minutes to go in the game, I came out for a sub, so I could rest for the end. The five guys that were in the game were playing so well that I had no reason to go back in. It pained me to not be out there when the game ended, but as the buzzer sounded, I jumped up and just got this feeling that is hard to describe. I've only had this feeling a couple of times in life, but it's amazing. I got these chills up my entire body, but not like normal goose bumps, something different. Something that may be unique to me for all I know. Everyone might get a different feeling from winning something they hold special than I do. All I know is, up to that point in my life, winning championships was just about the greatest thing I could ever do. I still keep the trophies we won that year to this day. 
Then it all changed.
As you may know from reading my past blog posts, I am a very happily married man, with two amazing children. This has been the ultimate accomplishment of my life. There is no game, sport or championship I could win that would top having my family. Still there is one thing I wanted to do. I had a plan. I was going to get into the best shape I possibly could this winter. I wanted to do this for my health, and so I could be around longer for my kids. However, I wanted to do it for another reason as well. I wanted to be able to play softball this summer in really good shape. I wanted one more season like I used to be. I wanted to be able to get to that ground ball that's should be just out of my reach like I used to. I wanted to be able to stretch that single into an easy double like I used to. Now, that situation has been put on hold. As I have mentioned, I am in the process of being diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. I am almost 100% sure that what is going on is RA. It is going to really make working out a challenge until I can get this latest ailment under control. That's not to say I couldn't still get into shape so that I can play ball like I want. I can do it, it's just that my focus has changed the last few days. There is really no good reason to play ball now. I have to avoid injury so I can be around for my family. That is the real championship I'm after now. My idea of happiness has changed over the last 7-8 years. I used to define happiness as competing and winning. Now, happiness to me is, seeing my bride walk(run) down the aisle towards me. Hearing "I love you Daddy." Holding both of my kids as  I read to them. Imagining a future with this amazing family that I have. So, that is what makes me tick now. That is my championship that I am pursuing. I have included three pictures at the end of this post, the first two are of championships that teams I have a rooting passion for winning recent championships. The third picture is of the trophy I want to win more than anything else in life now.
Thank you for reading and letting me have a personal therapy session. Have a great day. 

   

Pain update!

Feeling a little better.
So, it's been about three days since the pain was at it's worst, and I'm starting to feel a little better. I've mentioned in a couple of other forums that I received a shot of anti-inflammatory medicine(which is not really good for me due to my bowel situation, but that's another story) as well as a prescription of prednisone. These seem to have calmed down the intensity of what I'm feeling. The doctor that I went to listened to me describe what I was feeling and came up with what he thought were two possibilities for what might be going on with me. He said it could be gout or rheumatoid arthritis. After checking out the two ailments online, I think it's RA. Now, I'm not a doctor, and I don't play one on TV, but I kind of know what I'm feeling. The symptoms described for gout do not fit at all what I'm feeling, while RA fits exactly what I'm feeling. Plus, RA is an auto- immune disease and I have already had problems with my auto- immune system. As I stated in a couple of past posts, I had a disease called Ulcerative Colitis as a young man. I have known for sometime now that a side effect of UC was arthritis later in life. Well, I'm later in life and here we go!
Trying to keep it a little short tonight.
I am still experiencing some symptoms that are just not fun in general, but I'm not dieing so, I'll just keep on banging away at these keys, because it's fun. The two areas that I've known I had arthritis in, my right shoulder and right hip, have been really sore the last few days. They are not what's really driving me crazy though. My fingers hurt like Hell, and my elbow and knees feel like they might explode from time to time. Not only that but my ankles feel like they are going to break off as I walk. The best part though, is that when I stand up, I sound like a breakfast cereal. I snap, crackle and pop like a man twice my age. I'm only 37 years old. Isn't this a little young to be going through this crap? 
One of my biggest fears.
For the longest time after I was first diagnosed with UC, doctors told me that they were not sure what caused auto-immune diseases. They were unsure if family history had anything to do with it. Well, I'm hearing now that it is being thought of as a major factor. My mother has Lupus. As you may know, Lupus is an auto-immune disease. I probably inherited it from her. If your reading Mom, it's okay. I'm about like 80-85% sure you didn't give it to me on purpose. Well, since I obviously am afflicted with a poor auto-immune system, and I got it from my Mom, who's to say I won't pass it on to one or both of my kids? That is a fear I have had even before Stacy and I had kids. I've known my entire life that I wanted kids, and I've also known that there was a chance of this. I've decided to take this stance on the matter. If either, or both, of my kids develop an auto-immune ailment, they will have a father that has been where they are. I can literally hold their hand(s) all the way through it. If I can help them, or anyone else, get through the problems they experience, then I've done something good and noble with my life. What else can I do? I'm really not sure. I know that I went through a long time in my life where I thought it was my fault that I got sick. I will NOT let anyone else, especially one of my kids, think that. I beat myself up for a long time, and it was not the right approach to take. I'd like to think that with age comes wisdom. Here's my chance to prove it.
Well, as always I've gone on with my rant longer than I really wanted to, and my fingers feel like they might fall off, so I'll say good night.
Have a great night.   

Pain!

SAHD in pain!
Hello to everyone out there in blog land! I would like to apologize for not posting a new blog the last two days. The fact is, I've been in some pretty bad pain. It started on Saturday morning and got progressively worse throughout the day. About 6pm on Saturday I was in so much pain, I could hardly move. The pain is throughout my entire body, to the point that I couldn't walk more than a couple of steps at a time. It has continued throughout the weekend and today. My fingers hurt so bad, that typing this is excruciating. I have pain from time to time due to arthritis that is caused by my earlier illness that I spoke about here. Ulcerative Colitis is an autoimmune disease and one of the problems it causes is arthritis later on in life. Well, I have it. What I'm feeling now is way worse in terms of pain than what I feel from my arthritis. We traveled to Toledo yesterday to have a party on my wife's side of the family to celebrate Sydney's birthday, and it took all I had to ride in the car there and back, and spend the day with the in laws. 
Any ideas?
I have made an appointment with my doctor for later today, but I was wondering if anyone out there has any idea about what I am experiencing. Not only do I hurt in every muscle, joint, tendon, ligament, and bone in my body, but I am sensitive to the touch. I asked my wife to rub my back(always a nice thing) on Saturday night, hoping it would make me feel better. However, after a couple of minutes I had to make her stop because her touching my back hurt like heck. I have held my hands out to her to see if she could see any differences in appearance, and when she rubbed her fingers across them to see if they felt any different, I pulled my hands back. Her touch caused me to jump in pain! 
Has anyone out there gone through anything like this, and if so, what caused it? I'm really bothered by what this is, and I want to figure it out so I can get on the road to fixing it right away.
Thanks, and have a great day. 

I am a huge Dork!

I've come to grips with it, and so should you!

I'll just come out and say it, I'm a dork. I've always kind of known this to be true, but it really kind of hit me earlier today. Let me tell you the story a little. I was picking up Sydney from school and bumped into a friend of mine from high school and a few years after. She asked how I was doing and I replied, "I'm still fat, and a dork." She laughed and said that I was full of it. "No, I really am. Good thing my wife likes dorks huh?" That's when it hit me, I really am a dork.  I'm not as big of a dork as the guy pictured above, but I am a dork nonetheless.
My dorkiness.
Let me just tell you about me and my dorky past. Let me draw you a mental picture first. Picture the late '80s when all of the Hair Bands were at their most popular. Everyone in my high school was growing out their mullets like the guys in the bands. Now picture a skinny, but very athletic, guy deciding that he was going to cut all of his hair off into a flattop. That same guy wore glasses. Big round glasses. So you have a skinny, almost bald kid who wore glasses. Maybe I was as big of a dork as Urkel! It wasn't just my appearance that made me a dork though. I am an absolute sports nerd even to this day. I can retain sports information like no one you know for some reason. I mean I could be on, and be very successful, any of the sports trivia game shows that you see on TV. Well that skinny guy would spout off that info at times that most high school kids could really care less about. Not only that, but I have had a love affair with Star Wars from the moment I first seen it on the big screen. It gets better(or maybe worse, I'm not sure.) I had a basketball rim set up on my grandparents garage. Their house was just 200 yards from my house so I would walk down there EVERY day. I would shoot baskets on that rim until my fingers bled. My family would worry about me during the summer that I was going to pass out from heat stroke. I didn't care, I loved being out there. Well, I would see my friends, or other people from school, drive by and honk at me on the way to a party of some sort. Well, on their way home later that night, guess who they would see out at the rim still shooting away? Yep, me. I had a vapor light over the rim so I could shoot all night if I wanted. Now, with all of that practice, you would think I would have been some kind of basketball prodigy or something. Not so much though. I'm still only 5'9", white and can't jump out of the gym. Sure I could shoot the rock, but I could never get myself open enough to get my shot off. The point is, while the cool kids were having fun and doing the whole high school stuff, I was by myself playing basketball. 
It gets worse though. As an 18 year old I was away at college to play football. It was a small Division III school, so settle down, I wasn't some big star or anything. I got really sick with a disease known as Ulcerative Colitis. It almost killed me. So imagine a guy who was already socially shy to say the least, now having a condition that made him run to the rest room all of the time. I lost any self-confidence that I may have had. My self-esteem was lower than I can describe. I withdrew a lot more. Becoming, in my mind, an even bigger dork! I made sports an even bigger emphasis in my life. I was the guy playing slow-pitch softball like it was the World Series. I've always been very competitive, but it got out of hand. My teams were always pretty good, but I made it life and death. I had a problem.
My health improved, but not my dorkiness!
I had surgery to correct my illness, and things even got better for me. But, I was still a dork. I was still the guy who loved sports a little too much. I still loved Star Wars. And, I was still socially inept. I struggled through life unhappy in my dorkdom. I wasn't happy with who I was. I wanted to be cool. So, I made myself be cool. I realized that the illness I had had, was not my fault. I realized that being me, was cool. I made huge strides, but at the end of the day, I was still a dork. Sure part of my opinion of dorkiness was about the ladies. I wasn't the type of guy who could just talk to a woman and impress her. I wasn't smooth at all. I started to learn how to talk to the fairer sex and that made me feel a little better about me. It wasn't enough though, I was still a dork. 
Stacy saved me from my dorkiness!
Then, I met the one person who loves me for my dorkiness. I met my wife on Match.com, as I've mentioned here. I was able to develop a relationship with her over the internet without her seeing my dorkiness in person. The dork came out full tilt, but over the internet and on the phone, it wasn't so bad. Or, so I thought. I remember making the comment on the phone to her one time before we had met in person, that I was such a dork. I'll never forget what she said. "Yeah, but I really like that about you." Holy crap!!! Being a dork was finally paying off.  Now after being together for over seven years, and married for over six, we still talk about how big of a dork I am. There will be times when we hear a song I really like, and I'll dance like a crazy person. And, I have to mention that I am the whitest of white men and have ZERO rhythm. Needless to say, when I dance, I look like I'm having some sort of fit or convulsion. I really hope you get the reason for that link. Well anyway, while I'm "dancing" Stacy will just look at me, roll her eyes, and say "You're such a dork."
That's the point!
I've finally accepted in my own mind, that yes, I'm a dork. And that's a good thing. My wife loves me, not in spite of, but because I'm a dork. My kids are going to be so embarrassed by their Dear Old Dad some day. But, that's why I'm here. I'm a huge dork, and I'm okay with it. And you should be too!
With that, I'll stop. Have a great weekend.
Football picks.
Lions over Bills
UM over Purdue
Bye over MSU.
I had to throw that last one in their for you Danielle!!!