Tag Archives: Life

Daddy, what are those on your arm? (Bodhisattva Vows)

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Daddy, what are those, originally uploaded by mindonly.

son: “Daddy, what are those spots on your arm?” (pointing to my incense markings)
me: “Those are my incense markings, I got them at temple”
son: “Why?”
me: “Well, those are a reminder for a commitment I made for the rest of my life. ….And you know, you’re kind of part of that commitment”
son: “I should have those too!”
me: “well, that’s up to you. Someday, maybe you will. Maybe you will…”

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for anyone unfamiliar, it is a (voluntary) part of taking Bodhisattva Vows. Most commonly done within a Chinese Buddhist order.
…joining palms

Ice cream logic

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had to share this one…   sometimes the little man says the funniest things.

Setting: Ian and I are driving to Souplantation for dinner and it’s rather warm in the car.  I start to roll down his window.

Me: “Let the air come in the window, it will cool you off”

Ian: <rolls window back up> “that’s ok Daddy, we’ll get ice cream at Souplantation and that will make me cold on the inside”

I love child logic.

Present moment

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Almost every night of his life, my son and I read a story together.  As I read tonight laying next to him, I glanced over and saw that he was asleep. It had been a while since that had happened, less and less frequent the older he gets. So I continued to read to the end of the page, ensuring he was sound asleep.

Then I just watched him sleep. There really is nothing quite like watching your child sleep.  Such an amazing example of being in the present moment. Knowing they fell alseep without a worry or care, in absolute security and comfort.

the best gift ever

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the best gift ever, originally uploaded by mindonly.

On April 2nd, I turned 35. I had taken the day off so I could spend it with two of the most important people in my world. Dawn and Ian.

Dawn is lucky enough to be able to help at Ian’s school once a week; something I had been wanting to do. She mentioned it to the little man’s teacher the week before and they were able to make arrangements for me to go in and help on my birthday. So much fun!!! We got to help the teacher with tasks in the classroom, then, when we were done we were able to go in and watch a special science assembly they had. Half way through the presenter had all the kids stand up to do ‘the twist’ as a demonstration of getting the heart moving, and of course the teachers and parents had to dance along as well. His teacher giggled and asked “I bet you didn’t think you’d be doing this today”. I answered by telling her how much fun I was having. Once we got back into the classroom she went over a lesson by asking kids about their special assignment they had done the night before. After picking three kids that did not know the answer to the question, she picked Ian – who of course knew the answer!! So proud of him!

Later, we got to go spend the day at Disneyland as a family. Star Tours was my ride of choice (of course) and we had a blast all day.

But, before we left in the morning, my son handed me this card. Momma said he wrote it on his own without any help….. and yes, I’m not afraid to admit, a tear ran down my cheek.

……What a perfect gift to receive, I am the richest man in the world.

(more picks from the day here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mindonly/sets/72157616490599968/)

friends and a new place to live

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Recently, some good friends moved away to Texas.  My son and their children had become great friends, and my wife and I were great friends with the husband and wife. (Something we always joked about too – the liberals (buddhist/agnostic) & the conservatives (catholics)… hahaha)

We had been renting an apartment, they owned a condo. When they moved, our lease had just ended, and they wanted someone they knew would take care of the place to live there, and we were very happy to be moving to a bigger place. Timing worked out well.

They are missed a lot, but we’re happy for them. Jonathan was my workout partner in the mornings, and now I’m lifting solo again. Oh well.

We’re also really happy that another set of friends are coming for Thanksgiving. They moved to Portland years ago, and are greatly missed. (My best friend since the 10th grade) I can’t wait to see them!!!

Life sneaks up on you

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Tomorrow my son starts Kindergarten. Already. I’m very much excited for him, I think he’s a little genius and know he’ll do great. (yes, I’m biased, live with it. haha) He’s already reading, and has been for a long time. He counts to 100. Writes all his letters, and is already writing words. Reads sentences. Yes, I’m proud and amazed all at the same time. I know he’ll do far better than me, and I love that I get to help him get there.

Still, he’s my little man, my perfect son, and sometimes it’s hard to see him grow up so fast. I hope to remain his best buddy for the rest of my life.

thanks for listening….