Sunday, January 27, 2013

When it rains it pours....


I (we) am so excited that both Sarah (late July)and Erin Paige (late August) are expecting their first babies!  One of the last lines in our Christmas letter was:  So far all the kids have stayed too busy to produce any grandkids, so we continue to wait patiently to spoil our many future grandchildren.  I’m glad to see that my “suggestion” produced such quick results!  I never guessed that I could be so persuasive!  Maybe I should have said something earlier.....
One of the reasons that I am excited about this public news, is that it was getting hard to keep track of who knew what, and what I could say, and to whom!  So, for the benefit of my reader(s),  let me tell you this story about what I knew, and when, in chronological order.

We love Christmas, as it’s the best chance we have of getting all the kids and their spouses together at the same time.  In 2012, all the kids spent Christmas with their “in-laws”, we all planned to get together in Edmond for New Year's, and we looked forward to that. 
Jordan and Erin Paige arrived the day before the others, after visiting Erin’s parents and grandparents.  We were sitting in the living room chatting, when Jordan said he had some news for us.  As the lease on their apartment is going to be up in June, Susan and I were wondering if they might be coming back closer to home, so I thought I knew where this was going.  Instead, Jordan surprised and delighted us by announcing that Erin was pregnant!  Of course we are thrilled and excited with the  news, as we know that they’ll be great parents (and shucks, we’ll be great grandparents.  I guess, in this case, my parents and Susan's mom will be great-grandparents, so we'll just be very-good grandparents).  They went on to say that they were thinking the timing would be late summer, but they requested that we not say anything or make any announcements until they had confirmed all of this at their upcoming doctor appointment, back home in California.  Of course, we agreed.  Each couple has to decide when and how to pass on this news, and we were happy to comply.  We were, and are, terribly excited for them! 

The next day Sarah and Ryan, and Erin and Hutt arrived the next day, so we had a houseful!  That was also the day we agreed to do our Christmas gift exchange.  So everyone grabbed a seat, and the piles of gifts grew as Erin handed out gifts, and then gradually got smaller as we each opened our presents.  Towards the end, Ryan, who is always a good joke teller, announced that there was one more present, but that it would be delayed until July for delivery.  Now, we’ve all had gifts over the holidays that don’t make it on time, but a July delivery deserved more explanation.  To which, Ryan held up a Sonogram picture and said: “Merry Christmas!”        
Of course, you can imagine how happy we all are for the Rat Pack!  Everyone clapped and cheered and hugs went all around.  They told us that they were thinking that the timing would be late July, and that they had been saving the news for Christmas as a surprise!  What exciting news around the room! 
                              
Now here comes th complicated part.  Of course, Jordan and Erin Paige had just shared their news the night before, but had asked to hold off with public announcement.  Susan said she was worried that I would say something like “You too?” and spoil the surprise, but I didn’t.  Jordan and Erin Paige were great sports, congratulating and complimenting Sarah and Ryan, but knowing their announcement day was coming someday soon.  But all of the surprises weren’t out yet  (No, I’m not announcing that Erin and Hutt are expecting too!).   Susan, later, told me that she has known about Sarah’s pregnancy since Erin and Hutt’s wedding, all the way back in November!  I can’t believe that she kept this secret for so long without telling!  As excited as Susan is about the prospects of grandchildren, it must have been so hard for her to not leak the news!   I’ve underestimated her “secret-keeping” capability!    I won't any more.....
Since Jordan and Erin Paige have returned to California, they have now had their doctor appointment, and confirmed dates.  They have also, now, shared their wonderful news with everyone. 

Make no mistake;  I am very excited about the upcoming grandchildren (and that these two grandchildren will have built-in cousins the same age)!  But, I am also glad that I don’t have to worry about who knows and who doesn’t.  Or, who I can talk to and who I can’t talk to! 
Many of us in this part of the country have been experiencing a long-time drought conditions.  It seems that we all need rain these days.  It’s true;  When it rains it pours!  All I can say on the grandkid front, is:          Let it Rain!
 

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

On the eve of the Sugar Bowl, matching up Florida State and Northern Illinois, I want to share With all due respect to my Illinois friend, Jeff Dahl, and Ryan’s Uncle Charles, I don’t like Illinois or the BCS much these days.
Illinois:
                             
 
First, let’s talk about Illinois. I did enjoy the movie “Lincoln” (saw it Thanksgiving weekend). Even more, I liked Bill O’Reilly’s 2011 book called “Killing Lincoln.” But the state that brought us one of our greatest Presidents, also has brought the following:
 
·   The former Illinois Senator, who will remain nameless
·     Former Governor Rod Blagojevich, who was impeached and is now serving a 14 year prison sentence for attempting to sell the Senate seat vacated by the nameless one. What a joke!
·    Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, who used his public platform to start a smear campaign against Chik-fil-A (the best chocolate Chip cookies I’ve ever eaten) for their pro-Christian policies. Joke #2!·    Speaking of Chicago, how many murders this year, Rahm? I read an article that claimed that there have been more murders in Chicago this year than deaths in Afghanistan. Good reason to focus your attention on Chik-fil-A-gate!
·    Lastly the Illinois State Employees Retirement Fund is going bankrupt due to mis-management. So what does the state of Illinois do? They have recently petitioned the Federal Government saying that “other states” should pay their deficit! The gall!
Illinois is the new “Mistake-by-the-lake!”
To top it all off, The Northern Illinois Huskie’s football team is going to the a BCS Bowl, knocking the Oklahoma Sooners out of a prestigious BCS Bowl game! To be fair, this is not the fault of the N. Illinois football program. They have had a great year, finishing 12-1 in the MAC Conference, and beating the likes of (mighty) Akron, Toledo, and Buffalo, soundly. But they lost to Iowa (at 2-6, one of the worst teams in a bad Big 10 Conference (did you know that the BCS rep from the Big 10 conference is a 5 loss Wisconsin team?). The N. Illinois “marquee” win was by 7 points against a University of Kansas team that finished 1-11, losing their last 11 games. Does this sound like a BCS resume?
Again, the N. Illinois Huskies had a great year, and have earned a bowl game. But a BCS Bowl, against Florida State? Ouch! Embarrassing!
The BCS:
AT&T Cotton Bowl.pngBcs logo 2010.png
Okay, so my beef is not so much against N. Illinois (although I can’t say much about the state they represent). My beef is really against the BCS. Because of (a number of) recent rule changes, Northern Illinois received a BCS Bowl bid, likely replacing the Oklahoma Sooners in a BCS Bowl.
Although Oklahoma has lost two games this year, one loss was to Notre Dame, the undefeated #1 team in the country, who is (deservedly) playing in the National Championship game. The second loss was to Kansas State, by 5 points (24-19) way back in September. In that game, OU had two costly fumbles, one by Landry Jones in the end zone (KSU recovered for a TD), and the second on an OU first & goal from the 3 yard line (that KSU recovered preventing an OU touchdown). If either of those fumbles hadn’t happened, likely a different outcome. However, KSU won the game fair and square, and has had a great season!
KSU will be representing the Big XII in a BCS Bowl (the Fiesta). They finished with the same 8-1 Big XII record as Oklahoma. OU has won 8 straight Big XII games, since losing to KSU in September. This is the same Big XII that has 9 of 10 teams going to a Bowl games, so we’re not talking lightweight opponents here!
Anyway, I just thought I’d get it off my chest. I’m not happy with Illinois or the BCS! My apologies to Jeff Dahl!
 
Cotton Bowl:
OU will be playing Texas A&M, led by Heisman hopeful Johnny “Football” Manzeil, in the Cotton Bowl. Interestingly, this will be the third Heisman hopeful OU will face this season (KSU’s Colin Klein, and Notre Dame’s Manti Teo). Will the Heisman curse (it is said that the team that wins the Heisman typically has a bad bowl game) continue? We’ll see! As I have three kids (and their three spouses) all as Texas A&M grads, it will be interesting to see what happens!
 
Boomer Sooner!