T-Minus 18 Days


I saw a meme that said grab the closest book to you, turn to page 47, and post a few sentences.
And I figured why not.
It's a Monday, I am sober and not feeling particularly creative.
Normally the closet book to me would be the story of my life, "Living with Crazy Buttocks"  but a neighbor borrowed it and I had to go with the other story of my life, "Confessions of a Dumb, White Guy: Tales About Life, Love And The Risks of Wearing White, Thong Underwear."


Take A Chance On Me

Published April 26, 2012

For those of you familiar with the ABBA song referenced in the title, I apologize as I know you might have trouble getting that song out of your head.

It has happened again, I have turned another year older.
It certainly beats the alternative and it is nice breaking my days alive streak again.

As I approached this milestone, I found myself thinking quite a bit about being this old. 
Is there where I thought I would be at this point in my life? 
Honestly, no. 
I never thought  I wanted to be married, I really never thought I wanted kids, and I really, really never thought I would be at home all day taking care of babies. 
Fortunately, fate, chance, destiny, or whatever you want to call it thought otherwise, and here I am.
I also realized how often I have lived my life by taking a chance. 
Hoping that my instincts were right and that I had embarked on the right path.
After I got out of the Navy when I just turned 21, I was still unsure about a lot of stuff including what to do with my life. 
I literally and figuratively had no clue as to what I wanted to do. 
I almost joined Army, I almost moved to Las Vegas, I almost went to a small college to play soccer, but then I watched "Animal House."
I knew what I wanted to do.
I wanted to party, and I wanted to be in the Greek system. 
That is all it took to convince me to go to the University of Idaho. 
I then joined a fraternity, and if it was not for me trusting my instincts and taking a chance, I have no freakin' idea where I would be right now.
Without the fraternity, I would not have met some of my closest and dearest friends and I would not have met my lovely wife. 
Taking a chance on love, I decided to forego film school to see if she was the one, and it turns out she was most definitely the one. 
And without the lovely Mrs. Shife, I would not have two babies that I love with all my heart and that have changed me in such profound ways.
Trust me, I have also taken chances that have not been so fruitful and led to some painful lessons learned. 
But in the end, all of the chances that I did take were leading me down a grander plan that I could not even comprehend.  
As Garth Brooks once sang, "Yes my life is better left to chance. I could have missed the pain but I'd of had to miss the dance."


I hope to do better tomorrow.
Stay safe, take care and thanks for being there.



I will persevere. I will keep moving forward. I will be the stream. 



Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat. - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Comments

  1. That's a great essay by an excellent writer :D

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  2. :-)
    Stay safe, loves to all.
    xoxoxo

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  3. Excellent. You write so well and, yes, you have the ability to bring tears to my eyes. I loved every word and could identify with some. Isn't it good to have something to be grateful for?

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  4. hehehe...lol
    glad to read that your own life story was written in many books....

    # Stay safe, healthy and virus free

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  5. Well, that is just lovely. Ok, I know guys aren't really into "lovely". It does show that you have beaten the curve ~ you're a guy that grew up. Most men I know are responsible, sure...but they just didn't complete that maturity level one would expect from a person of that age. Kudos! Funny how we look back and think that you're in a place where you probably didn't think you'd be, and you're happy about it!!!

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  6. What's hard for us to see sometimes is the paths that we take always lead someplace, even if that path is like stepping barefoot on Legos sometimes.

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  7. This is exactly why I like you. Check my whole blog roll, and there is not another young father I follow. Keep loving your wife and your happy marriage and your great kids. That's all you need to do to be a happy guy long after I'm gone.

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  8. How interesting that so much good & great in your life came out of watching Animal House. To echo another blogger, it's just so lovely.

    I wonder, however, do you ever miss, assuming you don't do it much now, playing soccer?

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  9. You've done good and you have a lot to be proud of!

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  10. Ahhh!
    I saw that meme going around in the Twitterverse.
    I like your prose. I'm going to have to read you.

    XOXO

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