Gratitude

I just want to take a moment to say thank you for all your support. I am beyond grateful for your inspiration. Instead of offering a teaching tip this week, I want to step aside and show you some beautiful pictures.  I took some time out of my day recently, and this is what I captured.  I hope that all of you take a moment to reflect, enjoy, and feel grateful.

I'm grateful for my family and my beautiful surroundings.  I truly feel blessed each and every day.  What are you grateful for?

T-Ball

When you grow up in Boston, the Red Sox become part of your life at a young age.  Everybody on the block could emulate every player's batting stance.  You knew the lineup inside and out.  You could recite their batting averages on command and you knew the last time they had hit a home run. They were giants! Remy, Scott, Burleson, Fisk, Evans, Lynn, Hobson, Rice, Carbo, Tiant, Stanley, Eck, Lee and Yaz were fan favorites. The Green Monster was a mile high and going to games was the greatest thing that could happen all summer long.

I remember those days like it was yesterday.  Baseball was my favorite sport. The spring rains eventually vanished and you knew Opening Day was just around the corner. It was a great time of year.

As the season rolled along, I'd watch the games with my friends, brothers and my Dad.  Most years led to heartache, but we still followed and loved the Sox.

My passion for the Red Sox turned into playing Little League. Quite often, my brothers were in the same league.  I might not have ever been on any great teams in my youth, but that didn't stop my passion. Whether it was baseball, el socko, whiffle ball or stick ball, we'd muster up a game with the neighborhood kids.

One of my favorite memories of Little League was the smell of fresh cut grass, baseballs puffing into mitts, the ping from the aluminum bats, the chatter, the chewing gum, and the parents cheering us on.

I remember seeing my Mom or Dad in the stands.  Regardless of a bad loss, an error, or an 0 for 4, they were proud. I liked it when they attended games.

My Dad loved taking us to the field after work.  There would be ten kids in the outfield trying to catch what seemed like mammoth hits.  I swear the ball stayed in the air for hours. Those sure were the good old days.

Now...over thirty five years later...I sit on the beginning of baseball season.  I'm not talking about my beloved Red Sox this time or Little League.  I'm talking about my son Ciaran's T-Ball season.

This weekend brings a father and son to a baseball field 3,000 miles from Boston and Fenway Park. The names and faces will be different, but the fresh cut grass, chatter, pinging from bats, and cheers will sound the same, except this time, it will be my wife and I cheering my son on.

Right now the fields in Boston are covered in snow.  It's as high as five feet in some areas.  Their Opening Day is a few months away, but I can't stop thinking about what a winter they've had this year.  From northern Maine to Rhode Island to Connecticut, the baseball fields will come to life with passionate fans and players later next month.

This is Ciaran's first team sport. As team manager, my priority is for the kids to have fun!

I'm sure the little ones will run to the wrong base, chase butterflies in the outfield, ask for ice cream as they are walking to home plate, put the glove on the wrong hand, ask if its over, lose things, and the entire team will chase the ball at once.

Would you have it any other way?

Go Scrappers!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

I will be traveling during the winter break.  We will be going from Los Angeles to Boston for the holidays.  I will try to blog from there, but it might get a little busy.

I can't wait to see my family and friends.  There is always something exciting going on when you have a large family.  I know one thing... I am grateful for my family.  They are the best! The calendar will be quite full and laughter will be shared.

My son, Ciaran, will be showered with love and he feels the same about his grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends back in Boston.  He is over the moon about his trip.  He packed his robot bag a week ago with all his favorite toys.

I got to see my son's Holiday performance this week.  I couldn't be more proud of him.  His class sang "Frosty", "Rudolph", "My Favorite Things" and "All I Want for Christmas."  They ROCKED!

We are so thankful for his amazing teacher. We appreciate her hard work and dedication. She truly is one gifted teacher who inspires our son every single day!

Do you have any special plans for the holidays?

Words and Music

Are you a music fan?  Is there a certain music style or group you like?  I enjoy Bob Seger’s music immensely.  I think it’s impossible not to tap your foot to “Old Time Rock and Roll” when it is played.  It’s one of those songs you have to turn the volume up a little bit more than the norm.  I usually shake my head a few times, tap my feet and hit my knees to the beat.  The one line that always jumps out at me is: reminisce about the days of old.  I believe we all reminisce every day.  It might be a memory from years ago or something more recent. 

I’m reminiscing about this past week as I sit here hunting and pecking on the keyboard.  I’m not the fastest person on the keyboard, but I can get around and navigate at a decent speed. I’m always amazed when people type faster than an auctioneer speaks. How did they get that good?

How was your week?  Did anything exciting happen?  I got my first dose of what an ear infection feels like.  I’m not talking about an earache from a concert or loud stadium event but an authentic ear infection.  A dose of antibiotics has helped ease the pain.  My ear still has the muffled just got off an airplane feeling coupled with what seems to be water in there as well.

Did you ever see the movie “What About Bob” from years ago?  It’s kind of like Bill Murray in “What About Bob” through the eyes of Richard Dryfuss.  He was hoping Bill Murray never came back.  I felt the same about the earache as Richard Dreyfuss did about Bill Murray and I hope it never comes back.  Good riddance!

Are you a sports person? I am a sports fanatic. There were some crazy college football games on this weekend. The final four teams were announced and it looks like its ‘Bama vs. Ohio State and Florida State vs. Oregon. It should make for a great football playoff.  I feel for Baylor and TCU fans.  They played outstanding football all year long.

My wife’s Wolverines had an off year but she is still a diehard fan.   They’ll be back with a vengeance!  I guess my alma mater, Suffolk University, is still undefeated after all these years!  Ok…so we don’t have a team, but if we did, they would be awesome. Go Rams!

Right now you have college hoops & football, NFL, NBA, NHL and some of those other sports on ESPN at 3 am that I never knew existed.  For example, I saw about 18,000 people in Great Britain screaming and going nuts over a dart game last week.  No offense…I love darts… but I didn’t know that many people in one place would be so passionate. The fans were into every throw by singing chants and cheering on the players.  Hats off to them!  I’m lucky if I hit the board with all three darts.  Hitting the bulls-eye is usually a fluke for me.

We put our Christmas Tree up and we are pleased with the way it looks.  Ciaran was quite excited! There’s nothing like a kid’s excitement during the Christmas Season. His Elf on the Shelf, Oodle, has been watching quite closely. 

Until next time…

Sean

Happy Thanksgiving

Hello out there,

I hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving.  We spent the day with some good friends in San Clemente, California.  The weather was in the mid 80’s.   After growing up in Boston, I never thought I would eat a Thanksgiving meal outside.  The kids ran around all day and we got to relax after an amazing meal.  Throw in some football, desserts and laughter…now that made for a nice day!

I hope you all had a super Thanksgiving.  Black Friday makes for an easy decision to stay in.  I’ll be talking to you soon.

Sean

mycutegraphics.com

Summer Adventures

A few weeks ago we journeyed to the east coast.  We were able to set foot in eight states.  I’m not going to count stopovers at airports as that doesn’t quite register as “visiting” to me. We had an awesome time!

We began our adventure off on the wrong foot due to a flight delay out of Los Angeles. Initially, we were supposed to fly into Cincinnati via Dallas, but the flight out of Dallas had already departed when we arrived causing panic. Seriously, are flights always delayed now?   What were we to do?  We could stay at a hotel and fly out the next morning but out of the corner of my eye I saw a flight heading to Lexington, Kentucky that was in the final boarding stages.  I pleaded with the gate agent to let us on the Lexington flight, as I knew it wasn’t too far from Cincinnati.  Fortunately, they did let us board and we made it to Lexington.  The only other snag happened to be the lost luggage arriving the next night at 5 PM. 

Alexandria, Kentucky opened its arms to us and we nestled in quite nicely for a few days.   Banter drifted across living rooms, kitchens, basements, and backyards.  Christy’s relatives went out of their way to make the accommodations as cozy as possible. This ended up being the central get-away point for the week as we traveled near and far. 

My son was so excited to see the shark tanks and petting area of the aquarium in Newport, Kentucky.  The duck boat tour and aquarium in Newport were a highlight of the trip as he sang along with other passengers on the boat and was wide-eyed the entire time.

    

A few days later found us in Wheelersburg, Ohio for a family reunion on my wife’s side. It was nice to see dozens of cousins, aunts, uncles, and in-laws sitting around and discussing the good old days.   I might not be familiar with all the distant memories but it was great to hear the stories. The shared laughter reverberated across the small town.

Since we were in southeast Ohio, we decided to take a drive to West Virginia.  Country roads take me home!  Maybe West Virginia isn’t home but it sure is a beautiful state.  We ambled around Marshall University and Huntsville for the day.  Marshall has a wonderful campus and we felt an easy-going atmosphere around us.  The locals were quite kind and I’d go back in a heartbeat.

We landed back in Kentucky where we had some more laughs with family and friends.  With Alexandria, Kentucky being so close to Cincinnati, I got to see both Red Sox vs. Reds games. How ironic was it that I went with family and friends on two different days and ended up in the same section? The Red Sox were several games back at the time but that didn’t stop Red Sox Nation from cascading chants and loud claps in enemy territory.  The locals were so classy and handled the barrage with respect and dignity.  (I’ve now seen the Red Sox in 17 stadiums on the road and my goal is to see them play in every ballpark).  That’s a road-trip worth taking further up the road. 

Cincinnati is a great city.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t care for heights and crossing all those bridges made me a little uneasy at times, especially the one I walked…rather quickly raced across to get it over with.  However, the scenery in that city is amazing.  If you’ve never been, I strongly recommend a trip to that area. You might not know if you are in Kentucky or Ohio most the time but that is half the fun!  We didn’t run into locals George Clooney, Sarah Jessica Parker or Pete Rose but we did see a lot of historical sights. 

Next, our adventures took us to my beloved hometown of Boston, Massachusetts. Boston, you’re my home, is one of my wife’s favorite cities in the world. I got to take my son and wife all over the city and they loved the sites. Visiting with family and friends made the trip extra special. 

Being one of six children coupled with six nieces and nephews never allows for a dull moment. Twenty-four family and friends attended a Red Sox game at Fenway Park.  That was awesome!  The Red Sox were on the wrong side of the outcome but the memories will far outweigh the score.  My mom and dad had an extraordinary time and we had a family photo taken that I’ll cherish forever.

The journey wound us through Connecticut, New York City and New Jersey.  My niece and her friend attended an Eminem/Rhianna concert and we made a two-day trip of the ordeal. They had a blast. We did like New York City, but my-oh-my is that city busy.  We took our son to the Hershey Store and Toys ‘R Us in Times Square.   There is so much more to see there.  Start spreading the news… we’ll visit again in the fall or spring one day!

Live Free or Die is the state motto of our neighbors to the north, New Hampshire.  New Hampshire is 85 % forest and boy does it show.  It seems there are trees or vegetation hugging every highway or distant view.  Rolling hills and picturesque scenery lurk around every corner. 

We got to spend the evening with my brother and his family at his campsite in Ossipee.  The aroma from the fire pits throughout the campground drifted effortlessly by like the summer’s breeze.  S’mores were the favorite way to end the evening.  Ok…I don’t eat them, but everybody else enjoyed this treat.

I can’t thank our family and friends enough for the hospitality they showed us throughout the summer.  We can’t wait to return to some of the same destinations next year.  In total, we traveled to Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and New Hampshire.

We flew back to Los Angeles and talked about our trip the whole flight home!

Sean