Reflection…

It has been a long, long week, but even as tiring as it was, it was a great week. It has been very busy, but I finally found a little time for reflection. As I write this I am sitting out on my back deck on March 20th in nothing but a sweatshirt and jeans (It's upstate NY, I should still be wearing my winter jacket, lol) and the sun shining down warmly on my back. I am enjoying the sunshine, smoking a cigar, and smelling the marinated pork tenderloin I have on the grill. Life is good.
This week has really put a lot into perspective for me. L Bird had surgery this past Wednesday, so there has been a lot of stress along with that. Just leading up to the surgery we were both worried about how the surgery would go and how she would react to anaesthesia. She was stressed and nervous and privately in my own mind I was a nervous wreck. All of the “what ifs” ran through my head on a constant loop and I was petrified to think what would happen if something went wrong and God forbid I lost L Bird. But thankfully the surgery went off perfectly, which led to the next struggle for us, L Bird’s loss of independence. She has not been able to move her arms for the last 4 days and can’t move them for another 2-3 days. So I have been Mr. Mom for the last 4 days, I have been taking care of her, A Bird and Linus who also had surgery this week to be neutered. I think I have handled myself fairly well without any catastrophes. I have gotten A Bird back and forth to daycare, fed and clothed both A Bird & L Bird and waited on their every need. It has been tiring, but not as bad as I had thought it could be.
So through all of this I have come to realize that I lead a truly blessed life. Yeah I have a lot of troubles with every day stuff, I struggle just like everyone else and I have the Schrader bad luck where nothing comes easy, but all in all I am truly blessed.
I have a wonderful wife who I love and she loves me:

I am blessed with a truly amazing daughter, that keeps me on my toes and makes me proud every second of everyday.

I have a amazingly awesome family that has supported me through the thick and thin, and love me for who I truly am. I could put in pictures of everyone but it would take up more than this one post could handle, but they know who they are.
I am blessed with awesome friends who I can call on at anytime, with a truly tight inner circle of the Goof Troop. Check the link for some of their exploits, lol.
I have an awesome job, that I love and can’t believe that they pay me for. Yeah sure, it has its moments like any other job where you want to go crazy but overall I love it. I mean they send me all over the country and the world. They sent me to Australia, for pete’s sake. Now that was pretty awesome.

Berri, South Australia

The Murray River in the Riverland. (In the bush, lol)
I guess I just wanted to take the time to actually say that I am very grateful for all I have and all of you that have touched me and my life. You have all had a hand in my life in one way or another and for that I am very happy. I love you all and I am truly blessed!