tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3449788532742031864.post4094698498933282531..comments2023-05-24T09:41:52.181-04:00Comments on Running In the Yard Next Door: Heartbreak Is Part of the Deal. . .Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12044041773404411751noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3449788532742031864.post-76920008529779802732012-12-18T13:23:54.435-05:002012-12-18T13:23:54.435-05:00Buck - Yeah, I understand that. With eight kids, ...<b>Buck</b> - Yeah, I understand that. With eight kids, we've got a pretty broad mix of our traits, both good and bad, in evidence among our progeny. I'm not sure if any of 'em got the best of both of us, or the worst of both of us, but I do marvel sometimes, that this kid and that one emerged out of the same two-parent gene pool. . .<br /><br />You also remind me of the old story (almost certainly apocryphal) of the time Marilyn Monroe and Albert Einstein were seated together at some dinner. Marilyn leaned over to the great physicist and said, "Dr. Einstein, you and I should have a child together; with your brains and my looks, how could he go wrong?"<br /><br />"Ah," answered Einstein, "an attractive proposal. But what if he gets my looks, and your brains?"<br /><br /><i>(Yes, yes, I know that Norma Jean was near-genius bright herself; but the story, y'know?)</i>Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12044041773404411751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3449788532742031864.post-35592847701744486542012-12-18T13:12:25.399-05:002012-12-18T13:12:25.399-05:00An excellent piece, Craig. I've bookmarked it...An excellent piece, Craig. I've bookmarked it for future use, should I need it. By that I mean this: I was blessed in the way my two adult sons turned out; most credit for that goes to their Mom. I still have one son left, though, a boy who's but 15 years of age. And let me say this about that...<br /><br />One night when The Second Mrs. Pennington was pregnant with SN3 she sat right straight up in bed after we'd turned out the lights and said "Oh my GOD!" Which concerned me, of course. Greatly. Then she said "I'm OK, but I just had this horrible thought. What if this child gets the worst traits of BOTH of us?"<br /><br />Yeah, that would be cause for worry.Buckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05319116022465066060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3449788532742031864.post-1830388193200430792012-12-17T11:30:42.134-05:002012-12-17T11:30:42.134-05:00Xavier - You're right. But that doesn't s...<b>Xavier</b> - You're right. But that doesn't stop us from trying. . .<br /><br /><b>Suldog</b> - You remind me of something I came across in the late pope's Theology of the Body (at least, I think that's where I saw it): a person is that to which the only fitting response is love.<br /><br />I'd love to find the off-switch for the Fall, if only so the people I bump into won't have to put up with so much of my crap. But alas. . .Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12044041773404411751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3449788532742031864.post-59741773009864468582012-12-17T09:34:35.414-05:002012-12-17T09:34:35.414-05:00I found myself arguing with MY WIFE yesterday, con...I found myself arguing with MY WIFE yesterday, concerning gun control and the second amendment, and I reached a level of actual shouting. I caught myself, apologized, told her "I love you"... And then came to the realization - perhaps much later in life than I should have, but at least I finally got there - that this is how evil wins; not by the overt evil action, but by the reactions to it that cause love to go out the window.Suldoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07778845367184916684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3449788532742031864.post-15311956325187695142012-12-16T23:03:04.491-05:002012-12-16T23:03:04.491-05:00Words can not express. That's all I got.Words can not express. That's all I got. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3449788532742031864.post-80637660049125919122012-12-16T21:29:47.259-05:002012-12-16T21:29:47.259-05:00Bijoux - I'm sure you're right about '...<b>Bijoux</b> - I'm sure you're right about 'outside influences'. Some of our worst heartbreak came as a result of utterly chance encounters our kids had with people we wish they hadn't. . .<br /><br /><b>Sailor</b> - An amazing way of saying it. 'God With Us' is really the whole point of Christmas, isn't it?<br /><br /><b>Betty</b> - I cannot imagine what it must be like to be Adam Lanza's father or brother right now. . .<br /><br />One of our kids' 'antics' resulted in a day-long 'observation' by the Michigan Department of Social Services. At the end of the day, the social worker told us, "This is a normal, loving family." So we have documentation on file with the State of Michigan that we are a normal, loving family; which is more than any of our friends can say. . . ;)<br /><br /><b>Skip</b> - We attended a funeral last week for a friend of ours, a 49-year-old father of five. Both his parents were in attendance. Not as heart-wrenching as a first-grader, but as you say, we're never supposed to be at our kids' funerals. . .<br /><br /><b>Lime</b> - I am unutterably sad that so many families will be burying their 6-year-olds during what is supposed to be a joyous, festive season. And that even the children who survived were witness to horror that no child should ever see. And that his father will live the rest of his life wondering what the hell went wrong. . .<br /><br /><b>FADKOG</b> - So good to see you around these parts again; hope all is well with you. . .<br /><br />As I said, Mr. Greene is my hero today. I might have shed a tear or two over that, myself. . .Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12044041773404411751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3449788532742031864.post-42369021729113038852012-12-16T20:38:13.071-05:002012-12-16T20:38:13.071-05:00As I was watching the news over the course of the ...As I was watching the news over the course of the weekend, and heard Jimmy Greene's words about his beautiful daughter, they just made me tear up once again. May we all one day have a faith as pure as his. for a different kind of girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04431273646365489225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3449788532742031864.post-80471262092722230772012-12-16T15:08:04.017-05:002012-12-16T15:08:04.017-05:00this particular shooting (and how obscene it feels...this particular shooting (and how obscene it feels to have to delineate BETWEEN mass shootings) is hitting me so very hard because it's so many children, because it's a school, because it was during hanukkah and so close to christmas, because.....probably reasons i can't even identify right now. i'm just utterly heartbroken for the families of the children and teachers lost.limehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17259558876349307173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3449788532742031864.post-9466498794238113262012-12-16T11:43:07.842-05:002012-12-16T11:43:07.842-05:00The biggest heartbreak is when one of our kids bea...The biggest heartbreak is when one of our kids beats us to Paradise. It's not because we're jealous.(not necessarily your) Uncle Skiphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02705753220273516841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3449788532742031864.post-18600657740235978582012-12-16T11:39:55.171-05:002012-12-16T11:39:55.171-05:00Lord have mercy indeed! It is such a heartbreaking...Lord have mercy indeed! It is such a heartbreaking situation; one can't even imagine it or try to make sense of it, but knowing God is in control and trusting in him is all we can do. I admire the faith of that father yet I know he will always grief for and miss his little girl.<br /><br />I always feel for all who are affected by such a tragedy; especially the family of the one that commits the atrocious act. They are often persecuted by the press or others, but in reality they for the most part had no idea their children could do such an event and are often stunned and heartbroken when they hear the news. I am sure they question themselves forever wondering what they did wrong.<br /><br />I have two children, both have gone down wrong paths so to speak and caused incredible amount of stress and anxiety with their "antics". However, during those times it was one of the best walking with God times I had because I literaly had to hold onto him and his promises for my very next breath it was that stressful at home. And we were considered stable family, went to church, had the kids involved in church activities, etc. But they made their own choices on this and that. I am just so thankful God in his mercy protected my children, especially my son, when he did not "deserve" to be protected and in reality should be dead now for some of the stuff he got away with. I would like to hope God has wonderful plans for him as he grows and that God's hand is on him protecting him. In the meantime, I do what I do best, pray......<br /><br />bettybettyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06323135450742337670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3449788532742031864.post-38207590694213918742012-12-16T11:32:00.341-05:002012-12-16T11:32:00.341-05:00Yeah. What you said.
And, what our Priest said, ...Yeah. What you said. <br /><br />And, what our Priest said, too:<br /><br />"When tragedy happens... God's heart was the first to break." <br /><br />Really really hard to teach SS this morning, so thank you for this post.Sailorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01439394316761968708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3449788532742031864.post-77588582407916819182012-12-16T07:50:32.499-05:002012-12-16T07:50:32.499-05:00Such a great post this is, Craig! I think about p...Such a great post this is, Craig! I think about parenting a lot, maybe more so now that my kids are all 'adults.' And how different my parents' and inlaws' parenting styles were from ours. And how most of our clashes in our marriage have been about how to parent.<br /><br />My husband and I often shake our heads and wonder why our kid has done something so dumb, but we have equally shaken our heads and said we have no idea how our kids have turned out to be better teens and young adults than we were. I firmly believe that outside influences make more of a difference than parenting. We have just had the grace of God touch our kids with good friends (for the most part) and for our son, a great group of guys in his youth group at church and a 20something leader that he really looks up to.Bijouxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05788630004051883635noreply@blogger.com