16 June 2013 ~ FATHER’S DAY; PHASE 1, PHASE 2, PHASE 3, PHASE 4

16 June 2013 ~ FATHER’S DAY; PHASE 1, PHASE 2, PHASE 3, PHASE 4

Dad & Me - Christmas 1993

 

 

I was born in Liverpool, England, at a very early age; about twelve months before my first birthday, as I recall.  This was the beginning of Phase 1 of my Father’s Day experiences; me, as a son, celebrating my own father.  I was blessed with many, many years of this; but still there weren’t enough of them.  I adored my dad; however we were never really close.  It wasn’t that we didn’t get along with each other.  My dad simply had his world and I was not as much a part of it as I would have liked.  Again, please don’t get me wrong here, I wasn’t ignored or abused; where I grew up it was just that way.  All the same, I enjoyed celebrating Father’s Day Phase 1, with my dad.

Phase 2 was way too short.  Cruelly short.  When my son started his Phase 1, I moved on to my Phase 2; now I was celebrating my dad’s Father’s Day whilst enjoying my son celebrating my Father’s Day.  Good times.  Phase 2 started on 28 October 1989 when my first child, Martin, was born and ended on 1 February 1994; not even five years.  Phase 2 ended when my dad passed away.  I was on an overnight flight back to England from Canada when he died.  I didn’t make it back in time.  My dad had moved on to Phase 4 before I got a chance to say goodbye.

My Phase 3 started as soon as Phase 2 ended.  Now I can only enjoy Father’s Day through my own three children’s celebration; and they are all adults in their own right now.

So once a year you get a celebratory day's chance to say “I love you, dad”.  But remember which phase you are in because, before you know it, one phase will end.  And when Phase 2 ends it is the most saddest ending of all for a man, or a woman for that matter.  I can only speak for a man because it is a pre-requisite (biologically speaking) for being a dad.  I am sure it is the same for the ladies and Mother’s Day.  But I am a man and this is my blog, so it is all about the Father for this writer, on this day of days.

So what is Phase 4 you may ask?  Those who know me, or who have read any of my writings, know that I am a man of faith.  Phase 4 is celebrated every day with our Father.  You know the one; our Father, who art in heaven.  And with Him are many, many fathers who I hope are still receiving messages and thoughts from the Phase 3 guys; the message is, of course, “I love you dad”.

To all of you fathers out there; Happy Father’s Day!



1 Jun 2013 ~ TIME; AND TIME AGAIN

1 Jun 2013 ~ TIME; AND TIME AGAIN



Alex Freeman ~ Class of 2013

- St. Clair High - 

 

It has been a nice break; not writing a blog for the month of May.  Now that I have finished my commitment to write two blogs a month for a whole year, I am in a position to write when I feel the need.  And I do feel the need often!  However the luxury of time is not always on my side due to work commitments.  So it was, indeed, a nice break for me to not be committed to writing two blogs a month during May.  But here we are on the first day of June and I can wait no longer!

I think I am quite good with my time management, but not as good as I could be.  I’ve read books about it, I’ve been to seminars about it, yet still it seems to elude me; this time management thing.  My weakness on this score can be defined in one simple word; balance.  I still can’t seem to get the balance right.  I seem to be ‘all-in’ on one particular ‘thing’ and other ‘things’ have to wait to get my attention.  Why is that?

Today my focus is on my youngest daughter, Alex.  Today is her prom.  Big day!  As I type, Alex and her mom (my lovely bride, Jane) are at the hairdressers.  Later it will be time for her big sister, Zoe, to do her make-up and then it will be time to dress in full regalia for the photo-shoot in the back garden.  After that, there will be the customary ‘pre-prom-party’, then more photos with the graduation class ‘under the bridge’ where the beautiful blue waters of Lake Huron make their way down the St. Clair River towards Lake Ontario.  Then the ‘real’ party begins; Ally will be making her way on to the ‘party bus’ and us old farts make our way back home.  The graduates will ‘cruise and booze’ on the party bus before heading to St. Clair High School for their actual prom dance.  After that it is more partying at the ‘post-prom-party’ until dawn.  Such is the life of youth!

I do feel old; running out of time.  I still have so many things I want to accomplish.  It is definitely time for me to focus on the balance thing.

This month of June is going to be a busy time.  Jane’s mum, Brenda, will be flying in from England.  Our son Martin will be flying in from British Columbia; I haven’t seen him in almost a year.  Jane’s Aunt Sue plus Aunt Pat and Uncle Roger will be visiting with us from the United States; a veritable house full, which means that good times await!  My sister’s daughter, Britni, is getting married to a fine young man, Jason and I am the MC for their wedding reception – that could be interesting!  The very next day I celebrate my 55^th birthday. 

Once June closes out and everyone goes back home to their normal lives in early July, I will also be hopping on a plane again.  This time I have a long journey ahead of me; Kazakhstan.  I shall be spending three weeks in Shymkent training on the CRJ 200 regional jet for Scat Airlines.  This will be another cultural experience that I can add to my life resume.  It will also be a good time to see my old friend, Vlad, from Moscow again.  We met last year in Düsseldorf and the two of us have developed a good friendship and business relationship over the last twelve months.

I have no choice but to balance my time management in June.  Perhaps it will be a good lesson for me to learn.  Much work and preparation to do for Kazakhstan.  Other clients’ projects to be taken care of.  Golf to be played with Martin.  Time to be spent with all the family as we gather for the first time in a year.  Summer chores; oh yes, there are loads of them.  You should see Jane’s list – well, actually it is my list now.

The most important thing, through all of the events for June, will be to remind myself of that old and wise saying; “wherever you are – be there”.  Enjoy that precious moment that you’re in and do not concern yourself with the other ‘things’ until it is time to focus on them.  Plan well and keep your eye on the ball called ‘balance’.

As I sit here with my morning coffee out on the deck in the back yard, I am reminded of what time it is right now; it is time to go back inside because it is starting to rain!  Fingers crossed for Ally; I hope that her special Prom Day doesn’t get her too wet; and that a good time is had by all.  The time has come for Alex to start the building up of experiences for her own life resume.

So that’s it; my first blog after a bit of a break.  Today it is all about Alex and her prom and about being in the moment and enjoying every last drop of it – always; time and time again.

Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory ~ Dr. Seuss

 Brief You Tube Video of Alex Click Here