Wednesday, October 4, 2006
Valuable time with the kids and time to return to the Dominican Republic is drawing near.
Had a wonderful lunch with my daughter Rachel today. It is great to have her back in Missouri . after she lived in Charleston, S.C. for the last couple of years. I hope I can see a lot of her before I head south for the winter months.
We met today at the Longhorn Restaurant in Columbia, had a nice lunch and even better, some much needed father-daughter time. The highlight for me was the big hug I got from her.
Proving that it helps to be young, attractive and female, Rachel informed me that one of her friends is taking her to the Cardinals Division Playoff game Saturday at the new Busch Stadium. The Cardinal fan in me is feeling jealous. The father in me is happy she gets to experience what should be a great afternoon.
She will begin her new job in St. Louis soon and will be a Regional Manager for the same cosmetics company that she was employed by in Charleston.
Last weekend I was able to spend some time with Matthew. He had a day pass from his company at Fort Leonard Wood. Matt was anxious to show me his new tattoo, so I had to get my camera out. He asked me if I liked it. I replied, "yes Matt it looks good on you, but not sure it will be all that attractive when you are my age and don't quite have the chest and arms that you have now." Oh well, he likes it, I guess I do too.
Matt's Advanced Training is coming to an end and he will be graduating on October 17. His mother and I plan to attend the graduation ceremony at the fort.
Following his graduation, Matt gets some leave time before he departs for his permanent duty assignment at Ramstein Air Force Base in Kaiserslautern, Germany on November 7.
Matt and Rachel are planning to fly to Edmonton on October 18 to spend a few days with John and his fiancee Sherry. I think this will be a great trip for both of them.
The days are passing quickly. Soon it will be time to return to la Republica Dominicana for the winter months. I feel ready to head south for some more of the Caribbean life, 3rd World existence for awhile. I love the fall weather we have had here, but when the stark reality of winter arrives in central Missouri (usually in November), it is my fervent wish to be far south passing the days in shorts and t-shirt weather.
For the most part, it has been a good time spent here, which I needed. It's been, overall, a very positive experience.
There have been some negatives about it regretfully. I had hoped to enjoy a lot of special quality time with my younger brother and tried my best to encourage that happening. However, he hasn't had much time to spend with his 'big bro.' Whatever!
The only other 'downer' was the predictable weight gain that comes from a much slower lifestyle here and of course living in the American culture of great taste, fast food, high calorie, fat gorged, rich foods. I seem to join right in with it when I am here. Each time I return to Missouri I see more and more terribly obese people. It is now nothing out of the ordinary to pass multiple 300-pound people as you go from place to place.
I am determined to get rid of some of this excess before the end of the month.
On the positive side, this past five months has allowed me to accomplish quite a lot. I have not spent nearly this much time back here at home since I first went to the Caribbean in January 04. I am thankful this has been a positive period in my life.
Emotionally I needed some time to step back and come to grips with a couple of traumatic things that I was going through, namely the death of my father and the breakup of a relationship I was involved in, in the DR. I definitely needed to set new objectives for the future. I have done that.
The past few months have been wonderful from a family perspective. The older I get, the more I desire the closeness of family. My oldest daughter and I have forged a new and better relationship. I have spent as much time with my youngest son Matthew as I possibly could while he has gone through his military training. I have made an effort to spend regular, quality time with my mother and I know that she has appreciated the attention I have given her.
I will enjoy this last month and then it is off to palm trees waving in the ocean tradewinds, lounging in the white sand while gazing out at the ocean, reading by the pool, smelling the vibrant tropical flowers, spending quality time with friends and practicing my spanish.
Valuable time with the kids and time to return to the Dominican Republic is drawing near.
Had a wonderful lunch with my daughter Rachel today. It is great to have her back in Missouri . after she lived in Charleston, S.C. for the last couple of years. I hope I can see a lot of her before I head south for the winter months.
We met today at the Longhorn Restaurant in Columbia, had a nice lunch and even better, some much needed father-daughter time. The highlight for me was the big hug I got from her.
Proving that it helps to be young, attractive and female, Rachel informed me that one of her friends is taking her to the Cardinals Division Playoff game Saturday at the new Busch Stadium. The Cardinal fan in me is feeling jealous. The father in me is happy she gets to experience what should be a great afternoon.
She will begin her new job in St. Louis soon and will be a Regional Manager for the same cosmetics company that she was employed by in Charleston.
Last weekend I was able to spend some time with Matthew. He had a day pass from his company at Fort Leonard Wood. Matt was anxious to show me his new tattoo, so I had to get my camera out. He asked me if I liked it. I replied, "yes Matt it looks good on you, but not sure it will be all that attractive when you are my age and don't quite have the chest and arms that you have now." Oh well, he likes it, I guess I do too.Matt's Advanced Training is coming to an end and he will be graduating on October 17. His mother and I plan to attend the graduation ceremony at the fort.
Following his graduation, Matt gets some leave time before he departs for his permanent duty assignment at Ramstein Air Force Base in Kaiserslautern, Germany on November 7.
Matt and Rachel are planning to fly to Edmonton on October 18 to spend a few days with John and his fiancee Sherry. I think this will be a great trip for both of them.
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The days are passing quickly. Soon it will be time to return to la Republica Dominicana for the winter months. I feel ready to head south for some more of the Caribbean life, 3rd World existence for awhile. I love the fall weather we have had here, but when the stark reality of winter arrives in central Missouri (usually in November), it is my fervent wish to be far south passing the days in shorts and t-shirt weather.
For the most part, it has been a good time spent here, which I needed. It's been, overall, a very positive experience.
There have been some negatives about it regretfully. I had hoped to enjoy a lot of special quality time with my younger brother and tried my best to encourage that happening. However, he hasn't had much time to spend with his 'big bro.' Whatever!
The only other 'downer' was the predictable weight gain that comes from a much slower lifestyle here and of course living in the American culture of great taste, fast food, high calorie, fat gorged, rich foods. I seem to join right in with it when I am here. Each time I return to Missouri I see more and more terribly obese people. It is now nothing out of the ordinary to pass multiple 300-pound people as you go from place to place.
I am determined to get rid of some of this excess before the end of the month.
On the positive side, this past five months has allowed me to accomplish quite a lot. I have not spent nearly this much time back here at home since I first went to the Caribbean in January 04. I am thankful this has been a positive period in my life.
Emotionally I needed some time to step back and come to grips with a couple of traumatic things that I was going through, namely the death of my father and the breakup of a relationship I was involved in, in the DR. I definitely needed to set new objectives for the future. I have done that.
The past few months have been wonderful from a family perspective. The older I get, the more I desire the closeness of family. My oldest daughter and I have forged a new and better relationship. I have spent as much time with my youngest son Matthew as I possibly could while he has gone through his military training. I have made an effort to spend regular, quality time with my mother and I know that she has appreciated the attention I have given her.
I will enjoy this last month and then it is off to palm trees waving in the ocean tradewinds, lounging in the white sand while gazing out at the ocean, reading by the pool, smelling the vibrant tropical flowers, spending quality time with friends and practicing my spanish.
posted by Miguel at 11:19 AM
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