Wednesday nights mean church for Dominic and the coffee shop for Gavin and I.  While Dominic gets his religious ed Gavin and I get our hot chocolate and decaf (Dominic also gets a hot chocolate on the ride home).  Due to schedules tonight we found ourselves away from home with about 25 minutes to spare.  Not enough time to really do much of anything…  but then Dominic had an idea.

Based on last week’s excursion for Gavin and I Dominic thought it’d be good to head up to Granddad’s Bluff so off we went!

We just chilled on the top for a while, looking down on the city of La Crosse and picking out several of the landmarks.  We joked around, gave each other a hard time, and enjoyed each others’ company and scenic vistas.  As time ran down we headed off to do our thing.

It was a cool way to really savor a handful of extra moments together as opposed to squandering them doing something meaningless like just waiting in the car or dropping him off early.  Dominic, you had an awesome idea tonight Bud!

Thanks!!!

When I filled my mom in on my plans for the evening her response was a bright and cheerful, “it’s so cool that you are both into yoga, it seems like you are both really into it.”  I just smiled and responded in agreement.  After we wrapped up our call I thought about that for a few minutes.  Why do I enjoy yoga so much?

It’s time for Becky and I to have fun together, to enjoy some quiet time outside the chaos of life.  Those extra minutes to just the two of us are so appreciated and special.

To kick off yoga tonight Nick shared a couple of thoughts of remembering the difference between what we can control and what we can’t.  In the case of yoga we have the ability to push ourselves and push ourselves while looking for that one little edge that we can get.  That little extra movement or stretch, that slight shift that shows that maybe we can control more than we think we can when we focus on it.

The workout itself is fantastic.  Whoever would have thought that you could sweat buckets by doing something as seemingly easy as stretching?  My muscles get worked in all different ways and stretches, it feels awesome!  I just went downstairs to tuck in Dominic and my legs were shaking as if I’d had a brutal leg workout.  Gotta love that feeling!

Boiling it all down to one thing though is relatively easy.  It’s a time to remember to just breathe.  Throughout the workout we’re all breathing in a very specific pattern, working on keeping our breath calm through the storm of the exercise.  To conclude the session we end with a pose laying flat on our back.  We close our eyes, let go, and just breathe.  In that moment everything in life is stripped away, it’s just breath.  No stress, no pressure, and no expectations.  It’s time to just enjoy the sensation of breathing and it’s incredible how life changes for a few moments when I’m distilled to just breath.  With no deadlines, nowhere to be, no one to talk with, it’s just me and that’s so peaceful.

As I’ve mentioned several times in the past my mind goes in many directions during that time.  Often I’m on a boulder in Colorado laying out in the sun, on the porch by the side of the ocean in Hawaii, or walking through the Ancient Groves in Washington.  Tonight Nick reminded us to “just breathe” and when he said that I immediately heard the opening strings of a song on the guitar…

“Just Breathe” by Pearl Jam played in my head as I saw my Dad smiling at me.  No words exchanged, just smiles, and it was awesome.  With all of the non-stop energy of life set aside for a few precious moments it was like I was able to have a clear connection to Dad.  Just chilling, listening to the song, smiling.  It was amazing and I’m so thankful for that experience.

As I think about everything from today there were so many moments when I was hustling from one thing to the next, taking care of what needed to be done, and flowing from one thing to another.  My day was one steady stream of stimuli.  It was a great day, a productive day, and one that I am thankful for.  That said, having a few moments in which my body was exhausted from an excellent workout and the rest of life was on hold…  with no agenda but remembering to just breathe…  it was exactly what I needed, and I’m so grateful for that.

Thanks!!!

Ahh…  Nothing quite like having to be the “mean dad” that as a kid I swore to my dad that I would never be when he was being the “mean dad” who made me work on something that I knew I had to work on , but didn’t want to.

This was the scene in the Kreiling house tonight when I had Gavin stop playing with Legos so he could work on his Duty to God portion of his Weblos badge…

It took some work, but we finally got rolling on it.  Lo and behold, after half an hour we’d made some pretty solid practice and made some headway on the requirement.  Not too much more to go and he’ll be done.

Times like this drove me nuts as a kid, but now as a parent I really see these are the times my parents helped me see that work must be done.  It was in moments like this that they helped me build grit and a work ethic.  I wasn’t thankful for it back in the day, but I am today.  That’s also why even though Gavin thinks I’m a mean dad tonight I know he’ll thank me later…

Thanks!!!

Whew, the whirlwind weekend is just about done!  We were home the entire weekend which is a bit of a rarity, but we all had more than enough to keep busy.  After this blog I’ll be in bed and sleeping before my head hits the pillow.  In a weird way it doesn’t feel busy like other days like this often do…  it’s more of a successful feeling as I head off to bed to start the next week.

Being the awesomely boring people we can occasionally be, Becky and i were in bed shortly after 10pm last night and I slept right up until I had to get ready for church at about 8:10am.  Nothing like a 10 hour night of sleep to kick off a day!

We then hustled off to church.  While there I had a few random moments I was thankful for including goofing around a little with Dominic and talking with someone wearing a Northern Michigan sweatshirt.  Once mass ended Becky, Dominic and I head to the grocery store while Gavin had Sunday school.  A large and very unique shopping list caused us to have to speed shop in order to get everything and make it back in time to pick up Gavin.

Once home the boys started their lunch time adventure…  They’d both written up ideas for “baskets” so they could cook a meal for us just like the show Chopped again.  This time it was all them, Becky and I just sat back and let them do all the work.  Dominic fired up a great homemade mac and cheese and a spinach salad with a mango, grape, & walnut dressing.  Gavin fired up dessert with roasted marshmallows stuffed with blackberries, M&M’s, chocolate syrup, and bacon.  Both of them were way better than anything Nick and I would have made back in the day!  Becky and I were both pretty impressed with them – they did an awesome job!

I said Becky and I just sat back, but we actually were both working for the second straight day of the weekend.  Work hard, play hard, right?  We’re both on the side of the swing in which we need to be hyper focused to accomplish all that must be done.   After lunch Becky took Dominic to his scout meeting and went to her office.  Meanwhile I kept working at home with the girls laying on their beds next to me.  About the only break I took for a couple of hours was to work with Gavin on some of his Weblos requirements.

Once Becky’d picked Dominic the whole family went for a walk (Becky, the girls, and I) and a bike ride (the boys) on Fisherman’s Road and enjoyed some wonderful outside time.  The pelicans were still taking over much of the river and it was so cool seeing those huge birds everywhere.  It felt wonderful to be outside, moving, and relaxing.

After the walk I fired up the grill and made supper quick before Becky and I had our Cub Scout leaders meeting to plan out the rest of our upcoming events.  The meeting went very well and we went right back to more tasks when we got home.  Becky fired up more work and I cooked my lunches for the first half of the week.  Once that was done I hopped back on my computer and got more work done while the boys watched one episode of Chopped before they headed off to bed.

Now I’m on the couch, last man standing, and ready to head off to bed too.  As I think about today it’s crazy to think about just how non-stop it’s been.  So much in one day.  Quite often I’d feel frazzled after a day like this, just exhausted from being busy.  Today it’s different, and I’m not quite sure why.  The feeling I have as I’m ready for bed is accomplishment.  There was a ton of stuff that I just needed to sit down and finish up and it’s done.  As much is prepped for the upcoming week as I can prep in advance.  Everything is completed and ready, and that’s a wonderful feeling…  one I’m very thankful for.

Thanks!!!

Earlier in the week Becky had the awesome idea of taking the boys to an escape room for some entertainment tonight. We hopped online and reserved a room at The Great Escape of La Crosse for tonight. The boys had never done one before and Becky and I have had a blast doing them in the past so we figured it’d be a fun time.

Not only did we have a lot of fun, we even escaped! It was great seeing each of us jump in and help figure things out to solve the puzzles and follow the clues. Who ever thought being locked in a room with each other for an hour would be so much fun???

Thanks!!!

This has been a long week of work and there’s been a lot accomplished.  It always feels good to have such a productive week.  It also feels even better to chill for a little bit afterwards… 😉

While Becky and Gavin are doing other things my best-est big buddy Dominic and I  decided to chill out on the couch and fire up Thor: Ragnarok.  I can’t think of a better way to wrap up a long week!

Thanks for geeking out on the couch with my Bud!  Love you kiddo!

Thanks!!!

This morning kicked off with an early morning run with Becky and the girls.  Even though it was way colder than it should be at this time of the year it was still very peaceful.  There were several moments in which I just lost myself in the joy of being outside and relaxed.  When Becky went ahead I paused and got this pretty sweet pic that helps you feel the mood I was in…  Everything just chill and calm in the moonlight.

I took the Pilot into work today and as luck would have it Becky had the radio station set to 95.7, The Rock.  Getting ready to turn on my audiobook I paused when I heard them mention that today was the 24th anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s suicide and the 16th anniversary of Layne Staley’s death.  They then fired up one of my favorites from Layne, River of Deceit by Mad Season.  Listening to that song I thought back to the day I heard that Cobain had died and remembering hearing of Staley’s death.  As a child of the 80’s and 90’s grunge was amongst my favorite music and it stung when they were both gone.  I just paused and thought about all the what if’s had they not perished.

In the midst of the sadness I felt over their loss I was also reminded of so many happy memories.  Listening to Mad Season with my friends at Michigan Tech.  Never ending debates with high school friends about where Nirvana rated compared to Pearl Jam (Eddie always won).  The thought of both of them reminded me of some pretty great times in my life.  Those memories led to me shuffling up some other music from that era and savoring those old memories.

The drive was absolutely gorgeous this morning which brought another smile to my face.  Not only was it sunny, but it was that bright early morning sunny that just shines a wonderful  gold.  It warms everything in the landscape and it seemed to fit my mood while thinking back to some of those great memories.  The drive this morning just felt right and I was present in and appreciative of every second of it.

Thanks!!!

Wow! Even being south of Highway 29 didn’t save me today. The snow was falling as I drove through Onalaska and went the rest of the way to Rice Lake. Along the road were many tow trucks and police cars as other cars littered the ditches.

My drive today has been uneventful. I’ve stayed calm, even remembering to slightly loosen my grip when the tires started to slide out on me. No big deal, I’ve driven bad roads before and it’s nice to not have tight shoulders from all the stress of driving in rough conditions.

That’s what got me thinking today. I am so grateful that I headed out to work early today. Knowing there was a snowstorm about to bear down on us I hit the road a little more than an hour before I normally would have. Figuring it would be a longer ride I also downloaded a new audiobook and decided snuggle into my seat and plan on it taking a long time to get there.

It was funny how much differently I viewed the drive in with over an hour of extra time. I didn’t feel pressure to drive faster. I wasn’t looking for areas to pass. Settling into the speed of traffic I gave more room than normal to the vehicle ahead of me. While it wasn’t necessarily relaxing, it was peaceful. What a difference than if I was cutting it close! I’d have been stressed and possibly taking chances that I shouldn’t be taking.

Today I’m thankful for heading to work early. My ride was peaceful and my day started out much better than it would’ve otherwise started. A little planning in advance of going to bed early and waking up earlier than planned made a huge difference today!

Thanks!!!

With the kids off of school today I had a checklist for them complete prior to playing electronics for a little while.  The list today had many of the old standbys like reading for an hour and playing their instruments.  It also had chores like folding laundry.  There was also some exercise thrown in for good measure.  Then they got to the fun stuff…

On their list was “create a 4 to 6 panel comic strip,” “research your favorite video game designer and put together a 3-8 slide presentation about them,” and “design the ultimate survival knife.”  They didn’t disappoint when I got to see their finished products tonight!  The comics made me chuckle.  They learned some interesting facts about their favorite video game designers (both involved in Minecraft!)  Their survival knives were AWESOME!!!  Dominic’s including throwing knives inside while Gavin opted for magma inside of his knife that also folded out into a sword!  Seeing the two of them use their creativity brings a huge smile to my face.

The second thing I’m thankful for tonight is going to bed early.  It’s been a long day and tomorrow’s going to be an even longer day (both in good ways).  Knowing that I’ll need to be running full steam ahead tomorrow this old guy is going to bed early.  When I was a kid I used to hate going to bed early…  Tonight?  That sounds awesome!!!

Thanks!!!