Oh The Places You'll Go!

I write this blog for two reasons: 1) graduation season is upon us, and 2) Ryne was just given a pretty cool University of Iowa tee-shirt that portrays my topic.

In the past, when I had a class of students and a little bit of extra time at the end of the school year I would read aloud two stories. One of those stories is one of my all-time favorites. It is written by Theodor Geisel (most likely Ryne’s favorite author), it makes for the perfect graduation gift, and it is an excellent story with many great messages. The story that Geisel (you probably know him Dr. Seuss) wrote is Oh! The Places You’ll Go! I am going to highlight some of my favorite parts, and aim the messages toward Ryne.

You can steer yourself any direction you choose. And you can do anything that you want to do with your life. The excitement of having your whole life in front of you is unmatched. The sky is the limit, Ryne.

With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you’re too smart to go down a not-so-good street. Your Mom and I are raising you in hopes that you will make good decisions…even in difficult situations.

Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest. I know that there are at least two people (your Mom and your Dad) that hold you above all of the rest; remember that, and have confidence in yourself knowing that we believe in you.

Except when you don’t.Because, sometimes, you won’t. I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you. It is true, Ryne. You will not succeed all of the time, and that is okay. Because while your failures may sting when they take place, experiencing those failures make your successes so much more rewarding.

You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch. And your gang will fly on. You’ll be left in a Lurch.You’ll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump. And the chances are, then, that you’ll be in a Slump.And when you’re in a Slump, you’re not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done. When you are in a slump, for whatever reason, you may get depressed and think that things will not ever get any better. However, I promise, that things will get better. Slumps don’t ever last forever. Time heals all wounds so be patient. Over time you will come out of your slump and good things will start happening to you, again.

You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.The Waiting Place…for people just waiting.Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting.Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday night or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a Better Break or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. Everyone is just waiting.Tom Petty once sang, “The waiting is the hardest part,” and he was right, Ryne. Whether you’re waiting for a girl that you like, or an outcome regarding your education, or an employer that you want to work for, or any other important decision that will impact your life; I am sure that you will have to suffer through waiting throughout. Remember, although the waiting is hard, as the cliché says, “good things come to those who wait.” You must learn to be patient, and you must learn to see things/think of things in an optimistic light (it will make the waiting so much easier).

Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all. Fame! You’ll be famous as famous can be, with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.Except when they don’t. Because, sometimes, they won’t. Due to my love of sports, I hope that you will love sports equally. The best part about being involved in sports is the lessons that you learn that you will be able to apply to your life as you grow older. If you decide to participate in sports that will just be icing on the cake. I will not ever pressure you into signing-up for any particular sport. I will only coach you if you want me to; and if you want me to I will be very careful about how I go about doing so. My only request is that if you begin a sport, you stick with it at least until that sport’s season is over and then you can give it up if you’d like. If you decide not to participate in sports all together, and you decide to participate in other things or have other hobbies – I’m sure that I will fall in love with those things whatever they are.

I’m afraid that some times you’ll play lonely games too. Games you can’t win ‘cause you’ll play against you.All Alone! Whether you like it or not, Alone will be something you’ll be quite a lot. Being comfortable alone is a good thing; it is called being independent and it is a fine quality to possess.

But on you will go though the weather be foul. On and on you will hike. And I know you’ll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are. Perseverance. Don’t ever give up Ryne; work hard and be determined to finish what you start. There is a short little poem that I like a great deal because of its message says, “If a task is once begun, never leave it till it’s done. Be the labor great or small, do it well or not at all.” If you are going to start something, commit yourself to doing it well; and once you start something, don’t give up on whatever it is that you’ve started until it is completed.

You’ll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act. Don’t ever be afraid to go against the rest of a crowd (probably your peers), if you don’t believe in what they are doing. Being able to go against a crowd of your peers when you know that what they are doing is wrong is so hard to do and requires so much inner strength, but it is the absolute finest way for one to exhibit strength.

Kid, you’ll move mountains!So…be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ale Van Allen O’Shea, you’re off to Great Places! Your name is Ryne; Ryne Bailey Ewald. You will move mountains, you will do great things, and you will be off to great places!

A Belated 'Happy Mother's Day'

Last weekend was Mother’s Day. It was Amy’s first Mother’s Day. At our house, we kind of decided to turn it into Mother’s Day Weekend. Why shouldn't Mother’s Day get an extension? After all, how great and important are mothers? They carry our children for three-quarters of a year as the child develops inside of her. They then go through, what I have heard, is one of the most painful processes that a human being can go through to allow our children to enter the world. I must admit that I am a little envious of the natural bond that this creates between a mother and her child that a father does not have; however, I am also very thankful for the sacrifices that mothers make during this process.

Think about all of the other sacrifices mothers make. I know that my Mom cooked at least one meal a day, and usually prepared two more for me. My Mom made sure that I had stylish enough clothes that allowed me to fit-in, and then she made sure that they were always clean. My Mom put up with me through my teenage years when I exhibited jerk like symptoms that most people would never forgive (this is probably the number one thing that I hope Ryne does not inherit from his Dad). My Mom would (and will) always listen to me when I need to vent. My Mom sacrificed her evening and weekend time to attend all of my basketball and football games (minus my first game during my freshman year of college, but that was in Wisconsin…); I never made a big deal of that while it was happening, but now that I am older and I’ve coached children whose parents never come to their games – that sacrifice is/was a really big deal – thank you! I could go on and on listing all of the great things that my Mom has ever (original wording here was a typo; it is now fixed) done for me, but I want this blog to be focused around Ryne’s Mom.

I knew that before Ryne ever joined the two of us that Amy would someday make a great mom. Nothing since Ryne’s arrival has happened to make me change my mind of that thought; in fact, my prediction of Amy being a great Mom has been confirmed each and every day of Ryne’s life. He is a very lucky boy. So, we (Ryne and I) wanted to make this a very special first Mother’s Day weekend.

For Mother’s Day weekend, it was my goal to do all things that Amy would enjoy/like. Our weekend started Friday after-work with Ryne, Amy, and I going to watch game three of the Bulls/Hawks series at one of Amy’s co-worker’s house (they have children that go to the same daycare as Ryne). On Saturday, Ryne, Amy, and I went to the “Opening Day” of the Davenport farmer’s market, I watched Ryne and baby-proofed our house while Amy went dress shopping, we had an outside picnic for lunch, Amy was able to take a nice long nap with her son, and then Amy and I went out for dinner, the two of us.

The next day, Mother’s Day, I woke up with Ryne at 5:30 and let Amy sleep. When Ryne became tired as he normally does around 7, I took him in to bed with Mom and the two of them received additional rest. While they slept, I prepared for Amy a Mother’s Day breakfast of bacon, eggs, and mimosas. When the two of them awoke, breakfast was served in bed with the Sunday ads.

After breakfast was finished, Ryne and I gave Mom her present. When I was told that Mom wanted, not a store bought gift, but a homemade craft for Mother’s Day I was less than thrilled. I don’t like crafts, and I don’t think that I’m good at crafts. But I take pride in my gift giving so if a craft is what was wanted, a craft is what was given. Ryne and I made picture frames with his hand print on the frame. Getting the hand print on the frame was an adventure. I got some red paint on a paper plate, and then I got Ryne undressed to minimize whatever mess was about to be made. I tried to dip the palm of his hand in the paint, but he wanted to make a fist. This was a two-handed job. It ended up turning out pretty good, I think, but he did, towards the end, grab the paint filled plate with his free hand (again, remember, I was using both of my hands to control his paint covered hand) and toss it onto the floor. The plate landed face up, but there was red paint in the carpet; fortunately, it cleaned-up with a little bit of scrubbing and cleaner product…I hope/I think that Mom liked the craft.

Next came time for a nice long morning nap, Ryne and his Mom together. Once rested, they went out for a Mother’s Day lunch with Amy’s Mom. The rest of the afternoon was spent resting and, per Amy’s request, a quick trip to the mall. When we returned home, I grilled Amy a nice steak and cooked her some baked beans and a baked potato to go with some red wine for our dinner. The weekend finished just like it began with our family watching the Bulls/Hawks (game four); unfortunately they didn’t win the game Sunday night…

Hopefully this was the best Mother’s Day that Amy has ever had!

I am finishing this entry with a YouTube link to a commercial that really has nothing to do with Mother’s Day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAJjauEtDXE

However, this commercial did air on TNT while Amy and I were watching the Bulls/Hawks game for our Mother’s Day finale. I just like the commercial, and the guys in the commercial kind of remind me of Ryne with his head that is in the 99th percentile for six month olds (although I think that the rest of his body is starting to catch-up with his head; regardless, he is adorable).