Tired

So I’m at that point if time again, where I just don’t seem to cope with anything at all.

In at nutshell it sucks.

I want to be able to engage with my family and kids especially, in a way that is uplifting and builds them up - not one that places them into a position of frustration with me.

For all the reading on being a man and how to be a good father and husband,it’s times like this that it all just seems to crumble away to amounting to not much.

Certainly, it is the time of year that teachers all over are basically exhausted - end of semester, trying to still be productive so that you are ahead of the game in two weeks at the end of winter break.

So what is the answer? Obviously I (and I mean we…to many of the teachers out there) need a break. The challenge is to know how to do that.

Throughout the semester, a similar pattern kicks in. Things start well, with regular exercise, instrument practice and personal devotion - three private things I seem to need to be equipped to face the world, but gradually as the semester rolls on, the discipline required to maintain these tasks is destroyed - late school nights that through routine, the grind of morning rehearsals, extra-teaching paperwork time killers, the list just goes on.

It isn’t really worth ranting too much about this. 10 years into the game and nothing much has changed in this regard - well since the addition of children at any rate.

What is worth doing is working out a strategy to get out of the hole, climb back on the horse and start swimming again (to mix a metaphors or two).

I’d really love to get to a point where this pattern want so cyclic - maybe so that it didn’t happen at all.

Oh well.

Try again tomorrow.

Reports

Well I just finished writing my reports. It’s 4am. That will mean I can chill for the weekend at least.

Was it worth it? Time will tell…

Football...why?

Violence in Sport & the ramifications there of.

Having been following the NBA for years I’m not accustomed to much violence in the way of punches that don’t come with some form of actual consequence - by way of penalty. So it was with great disgust that I watched the first state of origin last Wednesday, to see Paul Gallon attack with swinging fists an unsuspecting Nate Miles.

I guess it was so much the punches that surprised me, but the celebratory response by both coaches!

What a strange world we live in. I only hope that footballers are a rare breed that won’t influence similar stupid violence in our wider community- well, we can hope.

Markdown - a new adventure.

Ok, so I’ve decided that my personality is one that is vavacious in regards to learning new things. I just can’t help it. Why do I spend hours pouring over different internet sites, books, magazines, blogs, reviews…? Because (I think) my personality is one that needs to.

I have just (about) finished reading a book on a topic called Markdown. It is basically a simple code syntax that allows you to write freely with rich text mark up - like headings and links and itallics.

Why do I need to know this?

Well, I’ve started to blog - as you would know, if you are reading this. More as a point of personal reflection and engagement more than for any other reason. This has been accompanied with:

• getting my own domain and website
• learning some basic html and php and mySQL
• becoming more tech-savy than I currently am (I’m more of an end user that tinkers really).

But one thing is for sure - I just like to know a bit of everything. I’m not content with just knowing a definintion for something - but like to have enough of an idea to engage it too.

My biggest challenge with all of this is knowing when to not get into something.

I think I will need to expolore this further.

Angry Birds

Angry Birds.

I just survived one of the most rewarding (and exhausting) experiences in my parenting life. 

As a parent, there comes a time when you end up in a situation where you have to hold the fort without the skills and experience that a mother (namely, my wife) brings to the family dynamics. This was the situation that I found my self in this last weekend.

For me, the highlight of the weekend was seeing my two youngest children having a world of fun (see pictures below) playing a game, almost of their own invention. Here is how the moment went down:

Bang! Bang! ….. Bang! [sounds of children jumping off the bed onto a mattress on the floor]

Dad: Kids - what are you doing?

Son: We’re playing ‘Angry Birds’. She is the pig and we’re knocking down the castle.

Now, my normal reaction to this type of activity - would be to feel a sense of stress, followed by an exasperated, ‘don’t jump off the beds - that’s not what they’re made for’. Instead - seeing the joy on their faces - and the fact that they were playing in a (relatively) safe way - I replied:

Cool.

So - I learned something this weekend. The ability to relax and enjoy your children being themselves and doing what they do is about (well partially) about letting go. I feel like I have more to ‘learn’ in this way and with any luck - I’ll get better at it too. 

If the beds were a little stronger - I would play ‘Angry Birds’ too.