It's Personal: Homeward Bound

It was one week ago that I wrote about Whirlyball, that odd pastime that requires a scoop, a wiffleball, and a bumper car. The next day I half-listened to people contemplating Information Technology strategy until approximately 1 p.m. Central. I then said my goodbyes to the workers in the mother ship and ventured with a colleague into the scorching Dallas heat. We flagged a cab, journeyed to the airport, and said our goodbyes to each other.

I flew to Charlotte. Then to Hartford, arriving at midnight on Friday. [Note to self: Don't fly U.S. Airways if I can help it.]

My brother waited in the baggage area and took me back to his place. A good ride during which he explained the issues with his job and with coaching. We found his wife awake watching some Food Network show. The baby had just gone to sleep.

My brother, however, wanted to show me the baby. So, he brought me into her room. His wife had told him not to wake her up. Little good that did. At the first sign of movement, my brother picked the three-month old from her crib and showed me my niece and soon-to-be Goddaughter. What a proud papa he was. What a proud uncle I am.

The long weekend progressed. I saw my aunt and uncle. I saw my first Goddaughter. I saw my maternal grandparents, on the cusp of 90 years of life. I saw my mother and my father. My stepmother who has been as good to me as any mother. My stepsister and niece. My paternal grandmother to whom I haven't spoken in a ridiculously long time. And for no good reason...

I watched as small miracles occurred in a church hall. My mother and father speaking in a corner. My grandparents were awash in the baptism of the newest member of their family, their smiles removing any sadness that may have come from the passing of so many of their respective friends and family.

I find it interesting that I have found so much peace by going home these past two years. Last year to bring my father to Yankee Stadium for the last time. This year, to see my niece baptized.

Along with that peace, I discovered a few things.

Last year, I rediscovered that friends and family love me and that I hadn't been keeping up my end of the bargain. I tried to 'fix' that problem with this blog. Not to mention I wanted to increase my writing. Kill two birds with one stone, as it were. Ironically, I lost the stone and the two birds decided to set up a nest on top of my house. In other words, I really didn't accomplish what I wanted to accomplish.

The blog is a wonderful communication tool, but it doesn't reach everyone. And it's a wonderful way to write, but I rarely write what I strive to compose. Instead, I write American Sentences and introductions to Videos of the Week. Don't get me wrong... This has been an enormously gratifying commitment, and I'm glad to have made it. But it's time that my focus shift a tad...

And so, I make another commitment. Rather, I make two... First, I will attempt to contact family members and friends for at least a brief phone conversation on Sundays like I once did. And second, I will transform the blog - gradually - into a forum for mostly stories. I may keep the 'It's Personal' Monday entry and the 'Sporting Rants and Raves' entry since they seem to be the most popular. But I will be looking into writing more substantial entries on the other days, even if it means writing in the blog fewer times a week.

To my family and friends, I give you my sincerest thanks for reminding me who I am and what is most important in life. May God bless you all...

TD