For The Sleepless

You've seen sick people before. They aren't their normal self. Most of us, when we get the flu, want to curl under the blankets and sleep all day. We don't want to be social; we aren't in the mood to be active; and even our appetite goes away. I know, for most everyone, it is a difficult, miserable time and we look forward to it passing so we can be back to our normal self and carry on with life's daily activities. When it comes to being sick, have you ever seen anyone in Diabetic Ketoacidosis, or DKA? The person is experiencing such high blood sugars that their muscles cramp up in extremely painful ways, they are constantly thirsty but may throw up everything they try to put down, and their energy is so drained that they slump to a heap because all they want to do is sleep. The fight that the human body goes through to stay alive is absolutely draining, so much so, that death truly is the next best thing. Now picture this happening to a 10 month old that can only...

Lately I've been listening to the song "Unsteady" by X Ambassadors. I came across this song after watching "World of Dance" where Fik Shun interpreted this song beautifully. I have listened to it every day since.Click for the  Performance . Either way, the main message of the song repeats like so, "Hold on, hold on, hold on to me, because I'm a little unsteady, a little unsteady." I have had my days where I've felt unsteady, that is, I can't seem to get a foothold on life. My transition to Minnesota is somewhat complete. I'm trying to schedule times to go into school that allows either myself or my wife time to be home with the kids, which leads to wonderful time with the children but very little time with my wife. In the past week, we've tried to get to school, but 3 out of the 7 days, our car went out of commission with various parts needing to be replaced, so nothing that needed to get done at school was accomplished. My diabet...

     The view from the kitchen wouldn't suffice anymore. My view of the back yard was limited to a 1.5 foot by 4 foot window frame, and the screen wouldn't let my eyes focus correctly. After about 3 days of watching from this vantage point, I decided to go out and experience this phenomenon in the correct environment; I went outside.        If you are really good you can predict where it will happen next, but just when you start to lose hope that nothing will happen, the glow happens and then as soon as the light started and your eyes focus in that direction, it decrescendos and you are left waiting again, staring at a mute backdrop. As I stand outside on the steps of my back porch, I fix my eyes at the muddied silhouettes of trees, fences, garages, and other shapes; I do my best trying not to focus so much on the shapes, because they are not the focal point to the show.      There are many ways to describe what happens; for instance...

        Whenever my Uncle Russell would visit us in Texas, he would bring us unique science-y toys. We received a chemistry set, rockets, a plasma ball, and a boomerang. The year he got me the boomerang, I remember traveling to a nearby park that had an open field off of the sidewalk. On the other side of this field was a line of trees that started a forested area. I would say the distance (in my young eyes) was miles from the sidewalk to the forested area, but in reality  it was probably 30-50 yards apart.                 The goal of a boomerang is that if you throw it just right, it should come back to you. My first attempt was pretty horrible, mostly because I didn't know how to hold it. I'm pretty sure I threw it like a frisbee and the result is that it went 15 feet and died. Mind you, I was probably 9 years old. My uncle showed me how to properly hold the boomerang and then he threw it and magically it came ...

When I was in California during my Christmas Vacation, my family took a trip up to Cabrillo National Park. Our intentions were to see the lighthouse up there and the stunning views of Mexico and San Diego. The views did not disappoint. On our way up there, on both sides of the road there was a good stretch where all you saw were white headstones which marked men and women who died serving our country. I was not expecting to see this. At first we were just admiring the view of San Diego from this high cliff, and then we were sharing this view with thousands of tombstones. After my immediate reaction of surprise from the countless gravestones, my heart became heavy, I wanted to thank each and every stone for the person it marked. A person, whether bold or frightened, went into service for this country to defend her for me....for you. I kept wanting to stop the car and be among them. Resting peacefully after fighting so bravely, whether it was a short life or a long one, they deserved th...