RSVP

When I was a kid, I made up the words for RSVP - Respond Soon Very Please. Of course the grammer is slightly askew, but hey it worked for me.

Over the years we have encountered a number of people who do NOT respond, not soon, and not at all. People forget, get busy, or simply don't care and as a result don't respond to you. In recent weeks this has intensified as we've had no less than 5 encounters where people have not responded to us.

It starts when I leave a message saying "please call me." It gets a little more specific when I say "please let me know your decision." And finally I've even said, "Please call me either way so I know your status."

A majority of these encounters are with young people who have interviewed with us. They indicated a desire to work with our daughter, but then fail to follow through. Most simply do not call back at all. Others state that they will call, but don't.

So what have we instilled in this generation that makes them think that they can hide behind their cell phones and text messages? Have we forgotten to teach them common courtesy? After all, even if you don't want the job how hard is it to say to someone, "I've decided not to accept the position." It's not as if the prospective employer is your best friend, you haven't even worked for them yet.

I know that each generation tends to complain about what the next generation is lacking. Well this is my complaint - the current 18-25 somethings are lacking in the "courtesy gene." Perhaps they never had it passed on to them, or perhaps it's not a gene after all, but an environmental issue - their parents never taught them. Either way, it's annoying.

Of course with every problem, you should offer a solution or you're simply part of the problem. So my solution is this:

With each interview, I now charge a $5 interviewing fee. Yep that's right, if you want to talk with me about a job it costs you a five spot. This will be refunded if you return my calls AND return for your first shift. If you don't call me then hey I just got myself a free gallon of gas for my trouble - but that's a subject for another post.

Thank you - 6

Progress continues with work on sheetrock! We're getting close now! A number of BIG 'Thank yous' are due. Here they are:

Jon and Joe at Riverview Home Improvement for their contribution with the siding.

Men from Constance: Lee, Mike, Ken, Rob, Chuck and of course Jeff for their time hoisting, cutting, and hanging sheetrock.

Just to be silly, I'm thanking myself for time spent working on the sheetrock. Not that I need the thanks, I'm just curious to see how closely you're reading :) Plus I'm very excited to be able to do something that I can handle!

Insidulation

I'll be you've never heard the title of today's post before. Of course you haven't since I just made it up. It's a word to capture the work that's been accomplished the last two days.

On Monday just before 7 am, the siders were here ready to go. Just before 8 am the insulator was ready to primp and fluff the place. It's just amazing to me what gets done when people are professionals in their trade. Things that would take me forever (if I could even do it), take them only minutes or hours.

The tricky part comes when I the homeowner need to make decisions, but I don't really know the answers. I end up getting a little concerned because I don't have the expertise. It seems to work out best if I get options from the professionals, weigh them out and then make an educated guess. So far it's working.

By afternoon the insulator was done and the inspector signed off!

By the end of the day the only thing left for the siders was the back. They had to piece our existing house together with what we had torn off last fall. They did an awesome job!

Another Day in the Life

Have you ever stopped and captured your day? I'm frequently amazed at what happens in one 24 hour period. Not that this second "Day in the Life" post will be terribly exciting, but it gives me a chance to capture a single day.

5:45 am Rise and shine

6:00 am Get Josh up

6:20 am Get Victoria up

6:45 am Start waking middle-schoolers, the little boys just get up by default.  Today the siding crew begins to show up.  There will be a big change today!

7:05 am High Schoolers out the door, boy it's STILL cold!

7:06 am Get middle-schoolers breakfast.  Start answering questions from the siders.  They need to know how our platform will come out away from the house.  Call to my project leader for clarification.  Talk more with the siders on where to put the "hangers" for the platform.

7:45 am Insulator shows up. Now we get work on the inside AND the outside.

8:00 am Middle-schoolers on the bus, everyone else ready to leave

8:15 am Answer questions from the insulator

8:30 am Catch up on messages, emails left, schedule appointments

9:00 am Discuss questions about addition with Jeff

9:30 am Get some work started

11:30 am Finish morning work, get a quick lunch

1:00 pm Call client. Phone training

2:15 pm Finish a "crisis" with a co-worker

2:30 pm High schoolers home

3:15 pm Take middle-schoolers to bowling

3:30 pm Set up middle-schoolers at bowling alley

3:45pm Pick-up meds at pharmacy

3:50 pm Pick-up mower at hardware store

4:30 pm Watch Josh's adapted softball game. Take pictures. Talk with parents.

6:00 pm Head home, Mustangs lost :(

6:15 pm Arrive home, Laura leaves with Timmy for Awana

7:00 pm Homework with Vicki

7:30 pm Start bedtime routine

8:00 pm Put kids to bed, Laura goes to get Timmy.

8:30 pm Finish up work projects that couldn't be completed during the day.

10:00 pm Last email, turn computer off, watch a little hockey.

Amazing What a day! Filled to the brim with meetings, appointments, messages and even some sports. I've begun to realize of late that if it weren't for the kids I have, there would be MANY things that I would not have the opportunity and privilege to experience.

Thank you - 5

Progress continues with the addition of a furnace and duct work. A number of BIG 'Thank yous' are due. Here they are:

Tim Yeager and Northern Heating and Air Conditioning for their contribution with the furnace.

Dave Klein for his huge contribution of duct work and time.

Steve Ruzicka of L & R Building Supply in Ham Lake for his contribution on the windows.

Frank and Giuseppe Garruzzo for their cash contribution

Mel and Margaret Price for their cash contribution

Athlete of the Week!

As if the championship didn't burst my buttons enough, we received a call from Josh's coach on Monday stating that he would be a Star Tribune athlete of the week! WOW!

In the last week, he's been a part of a team that won the state championship, been on KSTP Sports Wrap, been in the Star Tribune and the Pioneer Press and now this!

What else can I say, but I'm proud of him!

Check it out here (never mind that they say he's a senior).

Undefeated Champions!

You may have heard of the New England Patriots. If not, they're a football team who were almost perfect this past season. Well almost doesn't cut it.

You may have heard of the Anoka-Hennepin Mustangs. If not, they're an adapted sports team who were perfect this past floor hockey season. Yes sir, a perfect 15-0 record! 12-0 in the regular season and 3-0 in the state tournament to capture their second Adapted Floor Hockey championship in as many years.

We are the proud parents of two of the members of this perfect team. Yes I admit pride is bursting out of me. Since I can't contain it I'll share it here. Before I talk about our boys, I want to acknowledge that each member of the team contributed to this perfection in such a way that a LOT of it goes unnoticed.

There are paraprofessionals who do so many things that I don't even know all of their jobs - equipment, scoring, checking bus lists, encouraging etc.

There are the coaches who put in countless hours planning, preparing, scheduling, worrying (maybe a little?!) coaching, training, working, encouraging, challenging and many more "ings."

There are all of the players who work hard at practice and at game time. If they're not on the floor, they're cheering and encouraging the others.

There are the parents who make sure that their kids get to practices and games and have the right snacks and their uniforms.

There are bus drivers who we rarely if ever see.

There are PCA's who dedicate extra hours to making sure their charges are at the assigned destination. There are fans who come from near and far to cheer on our kids.


Yep, it's true. You've heard it said before, there's no "I" in team. My oldest son exemplified this when he was interviewed by the Star Tribune in this quote "It feels pretty good," said Josh Price, a sophomore winger, "But I'm not the only person that's a star. I'm a big part of it, but I'm not the star."

He knows like all of the kids do that they are a star on our team. He also knows that he can't (and didn't do it alone).

So while my buttons are burstin with pride, I must also say that I am moved. Moved because each and every one of these kids is out there playing SO HARD while dealing with some kind of physical or cognitive challenge. These kids have a 1000% more heart than any paid athlete I have ever watched. You can not help but be impressed by these kids.

In addition to their heart, is their ability to let go of the things that just don't matter. Very shortly after each game, they return to being just themselves. They chat with each other, or play in the pool or turn on their iPods, while the rest of us adults try to figure out why the officiating might have been good or bad or why some coaches seem to play for blood or even why we ourselves are so concerned about these things.

So the pride wells up in me and the things that move me take me back down.

I realize that it's important to be proud of my kids - not because they've won a championship, but because they gave their all. It's important to be proud of them - not because they were perfect this season, but because they work so hard to overcome their challenges both on and off the floor. It's important to be proud of them - not because they scored a lot of goals or made a lot of shots, but simply because they are my sons.

Yes I am proud, and thankful that God himself gave me my sons to teach me some of the really important things in life.

I mentioned that I would be talking more about our boys.  In the first game, Josh scored 5 of the 11 goals as they beat Mpls South 11-2.  Matt (number 4) played enough to record a few shots and as he put it to me "Dad, I was really movin out there."

In the Semifinal, Josh got one assist as they beat a tough South Suburban team 4-2.

In the championship game, Josh led the team with 2 goals to beat their rivals by a score of 4-2.

There are a few short articles at the following locations about the Mustangs and their victory. Josh was interviewed by the Star Tribune and was seen on KSTP Sports Wrap on Saturday night.

Star Trib wrap

Star Trib article

Pioneer Press article

State High School League Article