Caffeine Free?

I remember when I had my first drink of coffee as an adult. I was 21 years old, working an overnight shift at a radio station and I was beat.

The guy working on another station in the building would drink a pot of coffee every night by himself, while I was a Pepsi guy.

That first cup, led to another the next time I needed a boost, and I've had caffeine in my blood stream ever since!

These days, Diet Mt. Dew is my usual source, and I have around 24 cans left, but I think I'll start this plan I found on the DLM Blog recently:

How to Give Up Coffee and Caffeine Altogether

Posted: 04 Aug 2010 08:03 PM PDT

A few of the original readers of DLM may remember my article about quitting smoking. Well, after hearing that my father-in-law gave up coffee and caffeine 8 months ago and how it's impacted him, I decided to do the same.

Exactly 60 days ago I began the quest and for the last 30 days I have been caffeine-free. To put this into context a little, you should know that I drank at least a full pot (12 cups) of coffee per day. I never drank soda; for me it was coffee and I have been slurping it down for over 15 years. Oh yeah, the bean hooked me...bad.

Many may think that this addiction was a side effect from my abnormal but productive sleep schedule. I thought the same, however I was proven wrong. If anything, I am WAY more productive without the highs and lows that caffeine brings.

So here is how I did it, step-by-step.

HOW TO QUIT CAFFEINE
Before you really make the choice to quit an addiction, you must first understand the reasoning. If you are simply doing it because DLM said it works, you are going to fail.

In humans, caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant, having the effect of temporarily warding off drowsiness and restoring alertness. Beverages containing caffeine, such as coffee, tea, soft drinks and energy drinks enjoy great popularity; caffeine is the world's most widely consumed psychoactive substance, but unlike most other psychoactive substances, it is legal and unregulated in nearly all jurisdictions. In North America, 90% of adults consume caffeine daily. - Wikipedia

So we already get a glimpse into the fact that caffeine messes with you. Are there any naysayers? My personal choice to quit was because I hated the constant need for a pick-me-up. I wasn't twitching each time I passed a Starbucks or anything crazy like that, however, I honestly felt a major energy drain as the hours passed by each day. Grabbing some coffee was always the quick fix. In my opinion, any time you need to consume something as a quick fix, you have a problem.

So, let's wean ourselves off. These steps will get you off coffee, Mountain Dew, or any caffeine-laden drink that you are hooked on.

• Reasons: What are the reasons? I explained mine but really what are the reasons you want to quit? Are your teeth brown as bark, do you have coffee breath? Your reasons are personal so don't rely on me to tell you what to do and why.


• The count: As a baseline, you have to identify how much caffeine you are drinking today. Is it 9 Mountain Dews, a pot of coffee, or 16 Cokes? This baseline count will be your indicator of improvement.


• The Wean: If you are drinking 5 cups of coffee per day, start by replacing 1 cup with a caffeinated tea. Yes, you read that right. I am all for slow transitions and the taste alone is enough of a change in the beginning. I did this for 3 days and then each day after, I replaced another cup of coffee for a cup of caffeinated tea. It took a while, but soon I was drinking all tea.
  
  There are 90 different teas on the market so experiment a little and find something you really like. The key is to find a brand or flavor that comes in decaffeinated and caffeinated varieties. This process will be SO much easier if you actually like the taste of the replacement. You should also be aware of the varying health benefits of tea as you choose a replacement beverage.
  


• The De-Caffeinization: Yes, I made up that word but this is where we really start making some chemical changes. Using the process I mentioned above, start replacing the caffeinated tea with decaf tea. This is why I told you to pick a brand with both varieties. The taste will remain the same, but the caffeine is obviously going to decrease.


• DON'T Change your sleep: During this entire process, it is critical that you don't make changes to your sleep schedule. If you currently take power naps at 1:00, keep doing it. You don't want to replace caffeine with sleep, you want to get rid of the need for a supplement altogether.

As mentioned, this approach can be used with any caffeine drink you are hooked on and it doesn't have to be replaced with tea. Drink water, flavored water, or anything with a 0% caffeine content.

So that is how I did it. Now I will mention the effects:

• I am never groggy. I have the same energy at 1:00PM as I do at 6AM or 4PM. This is THE largest benefit by far.


• I don't have coffee breath and I can actually still taste my toothpaste at 11AM when I brushed at 6.


• Stress and anxiety have plummeted although I took on more assignments at work. I am simply not as edgy.
  


• I am asleep within 5 minutes each night


• My blood pressure is perfect now. It had previously been a little high.


• I don't seem to get as many headaches. In the past, I would get 2-3 headaches per week and take some Advil. Now, it's down to 2 times per month.

So that's my story. I am caffeine-free and yes it was difficult. I think the toughest thing was making the tea and finding a flavor that I liked. However, once I got over those hurdles it was simple and I am glad that I did it. The key is planning.

- Jay

Originally written in 2007 by me, Jay White, the founder of Dumb Little Man and an all around average guy. Republished in 2010 because I'm craving caffeine!!

Photo Credit: emdot

The Love You Give

This is a retailers dream weekend. Valentine's Day falls on a Sunday. Which means it's not just a day, but an entire weekend. My Dad used to publicly declare it as, "another one of those merchant's holidays", but he also knew how important it was to make my Mom feel loved.

Guys, if you blow it today, it is 90% your fault. The best relationships are built around open and honest communication. Valentine's Day didn't just sneak up on you. You knew it was coming, and she did too.

Communication is when you talk ahead of an event to discover what you can do to give love to the other person that is a combination of you, and what speaks the language of love to her.

The other 10% falls on our partners. We need you to be honest with us. Open and honest communication. Don't tell us that Valentines Day isn't important to you and then act all hurt and disappointed because we took you for your word.

One of the ways to show love is to listen. Listen with your ears and with your heart.

This year I learned that my wife would be satisfied with a couple of roses instead of a full dozen, and she asked for me to fix dinner. We also have a coffee shop tradition which we did Saturday morning.

Saturday afternoon I went to our local Fresh Market where they go above and beyond when it comes to flowers. Their price was better than other places too. A dozen for $14.99. Then they re-wrapped them in my choice of color of tissue paper and ribbon so it would look like the $40 or $50 variety from a florist. I gave them to her yesterday afternoon.

The other reason I went to Fresh Market was to pick out the steaks that I am preparing today. The meat department got most of my money yesterday, but it will be worth it when we dine this evening. A couple of specially prepared ribeyes that I learned to cook a couple years ago along with baked potatoes complete with butter and sour cream; corn, and a special salad that I'll prepare. For dessert, we'll share cheesecake, also from Fresh Market.

There will also be an exchange of cards. I picked mine up Saturday, but I've been working on it all week. One of the ideas my wife had was to write in our cards some of the ways our lives have changed because of the other person. So I customized my card for her.

My wife is the oldest girl in a family with 7 siblings. Her "birth order programming" means she cares for and worries about others in her family and circle of friends. Not just kids, step-kids, kid-in-laws, but also siblings and their families.

She has an older brother who lives in Fort Wayne. Mike joined us last night when we were playing euchre and as my card playing brother-in-law partner, we won both games.

Yesterday, my wife surprised me by declaring she wanted to paint one of the walls in our family room, so after our coffee, we went and picked out the paint, bought the supplies and next week, she is planning on painting. Except....

Except, she won't have to.

Because yesterday her brother confided to me that he wanted to surprise her and so while she is at work today, he is painting the wall. That's another expression of Love.

By the time this post appears on this blog, we will be finishing our meal, bellies full, appetites satisfied, taste buds jumping for joy. Laughter will have filled our home another day because of the love that was given.

I hope your weekend is just as satisfying.

The List

Yesterday at this time I posted a thank you note that I sent to my friends and family who attended my surprise 50th Birthday Party last week.

One reason it was a surprise was it was 6 days premature! So as of now I am officially 50.

A few days ago while taking a break from work, I decided to do a 20 unasked questions list. Here we go:

1. Right handed, most of the time except throwing a frisbee and miniature golf.

2. Middle name, Louis is in honor of my Mom's Dad. He passed away around 1936, when my Mom was just 3 years old.

3. Yellow is my favorite color. Growing up I bought yellow bikes and would have bought a yellow car if I could find one that fit my needs when I was car shopping.

4. I am an Eagle Scout. Earned that award on the eve of my 18th birthday.

5. I dislike most advertising. That's why I'm in the advertising/marketing business. To make a difference.

6. My favorite form of caffeine is Diet Mountain Dew. In a Can. Or On the Rocks. Drinking it out of plastic bottles tastes funny. This is my usual morning beverage 6 days a week. If there were Pop Shops like Coffee Shops, with free wi-fi, I'd give up coffee.

7. A white Mocha is my favorite coffee drink at a coffee shop. And the Firefly in Fort Wayne is my "North Office".

8. I've had a beard more than 50% of my life. And a mustache at least 2/3rd's.

9. Every once in a while I miss not being on the air as a radio personality. But I prefer the life I live now over the 6 day a week work schedules the D.J's have now. I spent 10 years on the air from age 16 to 26, followed by a few more sporadic years. And tomorrow morning I'm hosting a talk show as a fill-in for one of my weekend hosts. That's enough.

10. I don't blow my nose. (Not really that unusual as I rarely am ill.)

11. I used to be an inch taller.

12. I used to be shy.

13. Steve Martin, and Robin Williams are two of my favorite comics.

14. There used to be a hidden door in the basement of the house I grew up in.

15. I once had a stuffed toy Easter Bunny that my dad won in a "Guess the Number of Jelly Bean" contest. He was over 5 feet tall.

16. I know how to run a thermoformer and drive a forklift.

17. When both of your parents have passed away, and you have no siblings, at first you feel like an orphan, no matter how old you are.

18. I am a Christian, even though I don't fully understand all the details, and I take issue with some of the things my own church believes. But I'm okay with that, because I know my own faith story.

19. I played basketball at the Coliseum. (Can you spot me in the picture?)

20. I am proud of and love every member of my family, even when we disagree. I expect to be married forever.

Fort Wayne Site-of-the-Day 12

I call it one of my "North offices" A few years ago, they put a picture of me and my laptop on their webpage. Yesterday the Journal-Gazette had a story on Internet Access in Fort Wayne and posted a picture of me and Brenn Beck on their front page. (Click here for the details).

Click here to go to today's site of the day and say hi if you see me there.

Two of my Wife's Favorite Things....

Last night's video featured Utah Snowflakes, which is one (snowflakes, not Utah), of my wife's favorite things. Coffee is the other.

Check out this website: http://www.mccafesnowflakes.com/

The Simplified Life Coach and the Gingerbread Boy

If you head over to TheSimplifedLifeCoach.com (click here), you'll see my wife and see what she does.

Simplifying life has always been a passion for her, as is coffee. Here's an excerpt from an email she sent last night:

Hi there,

I was at Border's bookstore recently, and I decided to have a cup of coffee and sit a while since it was sooo cold outside...winter has arrived here in the Midwest.

Anyhoo, my coffee order can be a little too complicated for words considering I am a bona fide "coffee snob". I likes me specialty coffee like I likes me specialty coffee: grande, decaf, mocha white mocha, skinny, whip cream, white chocolate shavings and a chocolate drizzle...whew!

This day just for fun I added... "Oh, and a little gingerbread boy on top".

Well, imagine my surprise when I looked in the cup and floating on top of the grand presentation was a little gingerbread boy.



I know, I know... this is a gagingly sweet offering but true and my way of saying stay warm 'n cozy and savor those little surprises of life.

I'm simply, sappily, slipping off to bed now:)

Hugs, kh

Actually I Like Some folks that make my coffee

Coffee Talk for Beginners

I visit a coffee shop an average of 35 times a month, (just a guesstimate).

Now you know what's what. But the sizes are still a little annoying!

Uh Oh...

Weekend Fun & Fund Raiser

First some self promotion for the Three Rivers Festival which is just a couple weeks away.

Saturday morning from 10am to 12noon, I'll be at Hire's Auto Parts on South Anthony with one of my radio stations, WILD 96.3's Big Kess, giving away Free TRF Buttons which give you discounts to many of the TRF events. We will have 100 buttons and other prizes to hand out.

Next, I'll be at the Meijer on Illinois Road (State Road 14) between 1 and 3pm with ROCK 104's Doc West, handing out another 100 TRF Buttons. All we ask is you buy something at Meijer, show us your reciept and you get a button and some other cool stuff.

Also Saturday afternoon, Dog & Suds will be hosting a preliminary round to get contestents for the 3RF HotDog eating contest. That starts at 3pm Saturday on Lima Road.

Here's more details:

Dog n' Suds Hotdog Eating Contest

One last chance to qualify for the

$500 Cash 1st Place Prize!

Dog n' Suds has one more preliminary round left this upcoming Saturday, June 28 at 3 PM. The top five eaters from this last preliminary round will go on to compete at the finals on Saturday, July 12 immediately following the National City Parade at the Verizon Event Pavilion.CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS

Festival Buttons
The 2008 TRF button pack is more valuable than ever, with $100 worth of coupons enclosed and a chance to win concert tickets and merchandise instantly.

And, enter to win:

• 1969 Plymouth Fury provided by Hires Automotive

• Airline tickets

• $500 Meijer shopping spree

• Marriott Fort Wayne Get-A-Way Weekend with dinner at Red River

The Fort Wayne Newspapers Three Rivers Festival Buttons are available for purchase at 3 Rivers Federal Credit Union, Meijer, National City Bank, Hires Automotive Center, Verizon FiOS Plus Stores, and Lassus Handy Dandy.

My friend John Richards, owner of Higher Grounds Coffee, also has some fun Friday and Saturday nights. Here's the email he sent out with the details:

We would like to invite everyone for a night of great music for a great cause. Making her debut at Higher Grounds, we would like to welcome Marnee to our coffee house stage which has hosted many of the great singer/song writers of our community. Marnee has offered to donate all of her tips, and Higher Grounds will match that amount up to $500.

Marnee will be performing at our Dupont location under the stars on Friday, and at our St Joe Village location on Saturday.

Visit our calendar for more details! http://www.highergroundsonline.com/calendar.aspx

Marnee Higher Grounds welcomes Marnee for the first time to our Dupont Location This event will benefit Erin's House For Grieving Children. Marnee has offered to donate her tips and Higher Grounds will match that donation up to $500. Check out Marnee's Myspace page! Location: Dupont Location - Under The Stars! Date: Friday, June 27, 2008 Time: 8:30 PM to 10:30 PM Location: St. Joe Village Date: Saturday, June 28, 2008 Time: 8:30 PM to 10:30 PM

Computer Reprieve Day

Yesterday was my computer reprieve day, thus no posts to this or the the blogs I manage.
I'll make up for it today on this rainy Sunday which includes a trip to the Firefly, and then off to the office for a headstart on the workweek.

There will be updates on Collective Wisdom, The Not-So-Secret-Writings of ScLoHo, and The Picture Blog too.

Oh yeah, the above picture of me is from the Firefly Website, taken a few years ago while working and drinking coffee.

Living in a land of Absolutes

This week I have observed and slightly participated in a discussion at a local coffee shop, where the topic of choice came up and was argued to the absurd extreme.

There was a new guy that asked to be a part of the conversation and he held his ground without being overly aggressive. Meanwhile the college professor, the financial planner, the retired man and the business owner had various forms of agreement and disagreement and at times the volume has very loud.

The overall conflict came when words such as everyone, always, and similar absolutes. Discussions such as Blacks don't have the same life choices as whites where argued.

There are very few absolutes in this world, and eventually the few absolutes will be disproved. But when people stick to absolutes regarding race, poverty, wealth and the choices people have in various circumstances relating to the above; that's when negative stereotypes and prejudices flourish.

For nearly every arguement showing limited choices, we can find an exception. And be cause there are exceptions, that pokes a hole in the absolute.

Would you like a bottle of water that is absolutely pure? Yes.

If that bottle had 1% cyanide in it would you still call it absolutely pure? No.

Try drinking that....

Your comments are always welcome.

Chillin' In Indy

It's St Pat's Eve. The last night on the road and we are in our second location for our second night in Indianapolis. In about 90 minutes, we'll be eating with Jon & Tiff. Tomorrow is our 7th wedding anniversary and we'll head over to the Claddagh, about a block away from our hotel, and also make a stop at Shapiro's for corned beef to go, and maybe a stop in a McDonald's for an Iced Coffee.

In the meantime, here's one of my favorite Irish stories, sent this weekend by Kim Komando:

JUST BECAUSE WE’RE ALL A LITTLE IRISH THIS TIME OF YEAR
A man stumbles up to the only other patron in a bar and asks if he can buy him a drink. "Why of course," comes the reply. The first man then asks: "Where are you from?" "I'm from Ireland," replies the second man.

The first man responds: "You don't say, I'm from Ireland, too! Let's have another round to Ireland." "Of Course," replies the second man. Curious, the first man then asks: "Where in Ireland are you from?" "Dublin," comes the reply.

"I can't believe it," says the first man. "I'm from Dublin too! Let's have another drink to Dublin."
"Of course," replies the second man. Curiosity again strikes and the first man asks:
"What school did you go to?" "Saint Mary's," replies the second man. "I graduated in '62."

"This is unbelievable!" the first man says. "I went to Saint Mary's and I graduated in '62, too!"

About that time, in comes one of the regulars. "What's been going on?" he asks the bartender. "Nothing much," replies the bartender. "The O'Malley twins are drunk again."

Copyright 2008 WestStar TalkRadio Network. All rights reserved. Subscribe to Kim Komando's
free e-mail newsletters at: www.komando.com

Walkin' in the Windy City.

Can you believe a 6 mile walk to find an Irish Restaurant? Our cab driver couldn't but it was true. Details coming up...

After breakfast at a place in Libertyville, IL, we hopped aboard the Metra Train for a ride to Chicago's Union Station. After an hour we had arrived and began our trek for the important stuff in life. You know, Coffee.

Visited a McDonald's for an Iced Coffee and a Starbucks, then decided to take the trip to the Skydeck on the 103rd floor of the Sears Tower. Kathy will have pictures once we get home which I'll post.

We decided to head to O'Brien's for an early dinner. So we found Wells Street and started the walk. About 1/2 way there, as we were questioning our sanity, we stopped for a beer before finishing our journey. We decided to take a cab back after a delicious dinner, that didn't even feature any Irish fare!

The cabbie we hailed for our trip back to Union Station thought we were nuts, and that's when we discovered we walked not a couple miles, but over 4 (plus a couple more earlier in the day)!

Saturday we head to Indy!

Immortality

This is prompted by 3 events in the past few hours.

1. Saturday evening our church has a contemporary service that Kathy and I attend.
2. Saturday night Kathy and I talked about what life was like 10 years ago for each of us.
3. This morning, while hanging out at the Firefly Coffee House, I spoke with my friend Pete and he mentioned how in 20 years after his death, will anyone remember him?
   

At church, we discussed how our life on earth is a small segment of our life, as Christians we will live forever, etc.

The discussion about 10 years ago, was eye opening because my father was dying, my kids were in middle school and it was incredible to look back and see what has occurred in that short span of time between 1998 and 2008 in my own life. Also, I am now at the age that my Dad was when I left home and my parents became emptynesters for the next 20 years.

Then this morning as Pete and I were talking it struck me how few people are remembered after they are gone from this life on earth. I have books by people that are no longer alive. There are buildings with the names of people long gone. But what about the common man? Will you and I be remembered 10 years after we are gone? Or by our grandchildren?

First, there are people that you most likely have had an influence on already in life. Last year when our church did a small group study for 6 weeks, we wrapped it up with a dinner dance and there was a couple that came up to us to thank us for something we had done about 2 years before. That something was we had volunteered our home for a small group study, and this was the first time this couple had been to something like this and it changed their lives.

I look back on people in my life that have had an effect on who I am today, and that is one way, these people have achieved "Immortality".

There is another tool that I pointed out to Pete this morning and it is free and easy to use. You are reading it right now. In this internet age, anyone with access to the internet can create a permanent log of their life, or of anything they want to write about. On my Collective Wisdom site, I have a map that shows me where in the world people are that have visited my site. 400 visits in 3 weeks. I have no idea if there was something I posted there that will change someones life.

8 years ago, I gave my Mom a tape recorder and asked her to start recording her life story. She never did, and the family she left behind is poorer for it. Perhaps you can leave something for your friends, family and generations to come by using this simple tool and leave behind a legacy, a history, an insight, a perspective that is uniquely yours, that will live forever. Don't wait until it's too late.

Here's a few pictures of my parents and their grandchildren:

171 Starbucks in 20 hours

While doing some research today, I found this. Watch it if you have 10 minutes:

Random Coffee Thoughts

Higher Grounds is running a commercial nearly every hour from 6am Monday until 8pm tonight on ROCK 104, WILD 96, and WGL The River. Plus a couple other stations in town, to highlight the fact that they are NOT closing to retrain their staff at 5:30 tonight.

Right now I am on my third caffeinated drink of the day.

Here's a few random quotes to keep you awake:

I put instant coffee in a microwave and almost went back in time.
- Steven Wright

Do you know how helpless you feel if you have a full cup of coffee in your hand and you start to sneeze?
- Jean Kerr

A morning without coffee is like sleep.
- Unknown

If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee.
- Abraham Lincoln

I don’t have a problem with caffeine. I have a problem without caffeine!
- Unknown

Decaffeinated coffee is kind of like kissing your sister.
- Bob Irwin

Don’t drink coffee in the morning. It will keep you awake until noon.
- Unknown

Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and fat.
- Alex Levine

If it ain’t caffeinated, it ain’t coffee!
- Unknown

I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.
- T. S. Elliot

As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold.
- Unknown

I like my coffee strong, not lethal!
- M*A*S*H

Do I like my coffee black? There are other colors?
- Unknown

I think if I were a woman I’d wear coffee as a perfume.
- John Van Druten

I bought a decaffeinated coffee table, you can’t even see a difference.
- Unknown

Do Lipton employees take coffee breaks?
- Stephen Wright

Coffee comes in five descending stages: Coffee, Java, Jamoke, Joe, and Carbon Remover.
- Robert A. Heinlein

Behind every successful woman is a substantial amount of coffee.
- Stephanie Piro

I make serious coffee - so strong it wakes up the neighbors.
- Unknown

Starbucks closes at 5:30

And the world came to a halt.

Or they just visited one of their locally owned coffee houses

Sunday Morning Jump Start

As I've mentioned before, Kathy & I attend church on Saturday evenings, and so Sunday, she goes off to work, and I head over to the Firefly (where my picture is still on their web page) and the Sunday morning crowd gathers for a cornucopia of conversation.

Actually it's more like a leftover stew, where you toss things in the crock pot that you pull out of the frig and just let it cook and simmer all day. Conversation will wander into the past and peek into the future and the topics could cover almost anything.

The last two Sunday's I never made it here until 11am and it was to grab a quick cup of joe to go.
Today, I arrived at 8:15 to drink in the experience.

I'll be following up on emails, blogging here and my other blogs and doing prep work for the week ahead and who knows what else.

Sightings and reflections in Fort Wayne

Wednesday morning, the last Wednesday of January 2008. The temperature is 8. Yesterday at this time it was about 40 degrees warmer.

Yesterday, I saw a 14 year old wearing shorts and a sleeveless shirt walking with his mom who was still bundled up winter weather style.

Yesterday the leaf collection crew was trying to take advantage of the warmth to clear last years leaves out of the street on Broadway. Today the leaf piles in front of my house are frozen to the ground again.

Yesterday, the weatherman cried WOLF, as we had winter storm warnings on the way with 6 feet of snow and sub zero temps on the way. Today, it's just cold and sunny. (No snow).

Yesterday I saw a woman with bright red clown hair cut short walking on Main Street. Today her hair is probably the same. In a few months, it might be green or blue.


Growing up in this town, 35 years ago I delivered the News-Sentinel after school near Parkview Hospital. There was a blind man that walked along State Street every day back in the 1970's with his red tipped white cane. I watched in amazement when I was a teenager. I watched in amazement a few years ago when I saw him again, walking on State Street 30 years later.

Someone recently pointed out to me that State Street is really State Boulevard. I don't care. State Street is the name I will always call it.

The conversations that I would overhear when I would come to town 13 years ago to visit my folks and I knew that at this time of the day he and his friends would be at Tom's Donuts on North Anthony; those conversations about nothing are similar to the conversations I am part of when I visit my friends at the Firefly Coffee shop on North Anthony. Today I saw a man named Ron who used to be a regular at the Firefly with his brother Don, until a disagreement provoked Ron to turn his back on the Firefly and find a new home. This morning, he was at Aspen Coffee, about 5 miles away.

Yesterday I spoke with my son who is going to school and saw my oldest daughter who lives here in town. It was good to trade hugs with Rachael and the "I Love You's" over our cell phones with Josh.

Today, I will have more on my to-do list than is possible to finish, so I will move some things to a latter date and focus on my priorities.

Tonight, the members of our church will gather for a shared meal and then discuss a building plan for the future of the church, the school and the families it serves. I am blessedto be a part of this group of sinners.

Tomorrow Abby will be playing basketball at Purdue with friends. Tomorrow night, we hope to gather with Ian for his birthday (which is today).

Now it is time to finish lunch and return to work with a smile on my face and in my heart. Here's a little Calvin: