These are the thoughts of a Texas transplant in West Michigan who makes his living as a newspaper reporter by evening, and a struggling novelist by day.

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

a treacherous stretch

walking home last night was a bit dangerous.

no, it wasn't an encounter with thugs or a rapid animal. it was the sidewalks that nearly did me in.

for some nearly a week now, there have been slick spots on the sidewalks where a bit of snow or water froze. they are small darkened areas scattered here and there on the route to and from work.

i'd gotten good at making my way around them. until last night.

when i got off work, i noticed that there was a dusting of snow on the ground. it was slowly coming down.

that's the worst when there are slick spots on the sidewalks because they are covered by the dusting of snow. if it'd snowed an inch or two, no biggie.

so last night every dozen yards or so one of my shoes would give way. i couldn't see or tell where there was a slick spot. i had to slide my shoes along to avoid falling. although, once i went down on one knee because i couldn't keep my balance. it was quite a walk home. i ended up walking on the street part of the time to avoid sidewalks.

today i'm switching shoes and there's more snow, so hopefully it'll work in my favor.

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

adoption process

tonight dawn and i attended what is the beginning of our adoption process. we're going with bethany. we attended a three-hour session along with a few other couples.

we have the application that starts the process. once it's filled out, that's it. the ball is rolling.

we have to get a license and that could take up to six months. there's stuff like filling out more paperwork, home visits, home evals, fingerprints, recommendations and other stuff.

somewhere in there, we must decide what we want interms of children.

that's the scary part. also the exciting part. i guess it can be both. when the time comes, we're going to have to put down what we want. boy or girl, or both. young child/ren or older. just boys or just girls. black or latino. i think dawn and i will have to sit down and map out what we'd like to have. it's a very important step. and a lifetime step, too.

nonetheless, i'm very excited about starting the process.

as i said to a krista today, right now the house is pretty quiet with dawn and me. what a difference children will make. it will liven up the house and bring a whole new element to our home. a well-needed component. some more love.

the holidays

sorry it's been so long, as a friend so gently reminded me tonight. i have been lax in my writing here, despite promises.

we went to texas for the holidays and spent christmas with my family. it's something we'd planned since sept. we kept it a secret from mom until a week and a half before. she was totally surprised. we thought we'd tell her to both prepare her and to extend her happiness.

we left wednesday, dec. 23 to chicago. i was panicked because the weather was so bad. there's been so many storms and snow. it was touch and go. but as we headed out, the rain hit (perfect), then as we headed around the lake, the rain stopped and as we hit chicago, the sun came out. as someone told me last week, "you're blessed." i guess i am. (and we had what amounted to the easiest time getting through o'hare that we've ever had).

we didn't arrive in san antonio until 11:35 p.m. (layover in dallas). we rushed to get a car, then almost didn't get our luggage. they'd put it away since they were closing up shop for the night. we persuaded a woman to let up get our luggage from a small room where the luggage that no one picks up goes. but by the time we headed out of town, it was late. at 2:30 a.m. we stopped in three rivers and slept for five hours and headed out to the ranch with some sleep in us.

mom was so happy to see us. she made us breakfast and we chatted for a bit. we headed off to see noel, arnold, rena, ricky and meri. then linda and emma. it was great to talk to them and hang. we got to eat good ole fashioned texas bbq. lots of meat. yeah, baby. there was a lot of laughs and talking that day. good times.

we also got to see lynn and her kids and joe and michelle and their kids. it was a treat because i never get to see them. whenever we got to texas they're not around since they live in laredo and dallas.

we took rena and ricky to the bookstores. it's become a tradition with us and that's cool. promote a lot of reading. and i got my world and texas almanacs. love 'em.

the trip wound down with a visit to the cemetery to visit dad's grave. i sawn someone had put tulips there. they're getting ready to put the stone. it was sad to be there, but ...

and that was the trip, a range of emotions from sad (missing my dad) to happy (seeing my family). overall, though, it was good. very good. good for all.