48

So I turned 48 yesterday.

I guess it's normal to think about your life when you turn older.  SO many years to review.

On one hand, Facebook has made our world a lot smaller.  People I haven't seen in 40 years are suddenly part of life again.  Those who I was friends with in high school that I haven’t seen since then are friends again.  I may never see some of them again, but I can keep up with their lives, and they can keep up with mine.

On the other hand, life has, over the years, started to fly by with increasing dizziness.  

I remember being a kid, waiting on Christmas.  It took forever for it to get there.  In a matter of seconds it seemed it was over.  

Now, all of life seems that way.  Here I am in 2014.  How could this have happened?

I sent my wife an E-card on her anniversary of her job.  She started in 2001.  So, naturally, I congratulated her on her 12th year.  She corrected me.  And, as I started to correct her, I counted.  

Yep...12 years.  Oh wait....it's 2014....

How is it that a memory from something that seems like it was just a couple of years ago, is suddenly 20 or 30 years old?

Looking back over my life, I see times that were fun and gave me times of happiness.  Thank you to my brother, Stuart for so many of those.  Thank you to DeWayne (Bubba as he was known) for several others.  

There were many less than happy times as well.  

But through it all, I know I am who I am, and where I am because of all of the good (and bad) times.  So I have to be thankful, even for the bad times, for helping me get to where I am.

So many friends have come and gone.  So many others are currently sharing my life.  All of them have made this life what it is.

In spite of everything, it is a good life.  

There are times I get frustrated.  There are times I'm sad.  There are times I get irritated and angry.  So many times I wish people wouldn't act the way they do, or say the things they say.  But overall, I have a truly blessed life.  And I'm thankful for so many people that God has brought into my life to help me grow along the way.  It hasn't always been pleasant, but I have to be thankful for all of it.

So as I begin another year, thank you everyone.  For whatever it was you did with me, to me, or for me, throughout my life.  You have helped, willingly or not, to make life a wonderfully blessed experience.

Break-In

This was what I came home to on Tuesday afternoon.

Letting the dogs out through the bedroom door, I saw someone had

renovated one side of our French Doors leading to the dining room.

I found a rock in the dog bed in the far end of the living room, thirty

feet away.

So they had entered my backyard through my gate, which now has a
lock, and thrown a baseball-sized rock through the door, intending to

get inside.

Thankfully, our dogs kept them from actually entering the house. But
as I was standing outside, I wasn’t aware of that fact. As far as I knew,
they were still inside. So I had to go back inside to make sure it was safe.
Also, thankfully, my wife was having dinner with friends, and my
daughter was not home from work yet. I hate to think what would have
happened if they had come home and found a burglary in progress.

As I walked through the house, (armed), I was preparing myself for a
potential encounter. Would there be more than one? Would they have
knives, or guns? If they managed to catch me coming around a corner,
and went for my gun, would I be able to keep control, and/or fight one
or two possibly armed assailants?
 

These are the thoughts going through my head as I walked through the house.

After my adrenaline settled, and I realized they hadn't actually made it inside,
I began to calm down. That's when the anger set in.

I'm sure it was some young kid who needed a little money for his habit, or
whatever. To that unfortunate, misguided soul, I just want to say:

"Keep your lazy, punk butt off my property and go get a job."
 

I'm afraid if they had been in the house when I came in, my instinct would
have been to shoot, and then ask who they were, and what they were doing in
my home.

I was talking to a neighbor, asking if he had seen anything, since he is frequently
home during the day. He hadn't, but as we were talking, a deputy Sheriff who
lives a few houses down was driving by. I waved him down, and he got out and
took a look at the damage.

"Call NRHPD," he said. "They have a crime scene, and can help you out."

Excellent. So I call NRH, and explained what happened.

"Do you need an officer to come out, or do you just want to file a phone report?"

"I'd like an officer to come out in case 'someone' is walking around," I said.

I wanted them to know I was taking this seriously.

"Well, we have some major incidents going on, so it will be awhile, but we'll
send an officer by when we can."

"No problem," I said.

I wondered what kind of major incidents North Richland Hills would have on
a Tuesday evening. An hour and a half later, they called back, and took a phone
report. Looking on the website today, I don't see anything about my report, or the
house on the street behind us, that was apparently entered. I'm not sure what they
had stolen, but it doesn't show up on the NRH website.

I thank God for Police and Fire personnel. They are all heroes to me. But when I
\see NRH Police, able to radar to catch speeders every single afternoon; and
consistently see people pulled over all over our area, it's hard for me to understand
why they couldn't spare one officer fifteen minutes to come make a citizen feel like
we actually matter. Maybe they were really busy that evening.

At any rate, I've taken the day off to get my back door replaced. I've also put a lock

on my gate. I'm working on getting my wife her CHL. I will also show her how to
use the guns I have until we get one for her.

On a side note, this all cause me to get back in touch with a friend from years past.
He does construction work on homes, and has been a wonderful help any time I've
needed work done. He showed up this morning, and in two hours, had my old double
French doors removed, and the new on put in. He does excellent work, and is priced
better than anyone else I've found.

It's good to have friends.

After the initial anger subsided, I was truly thankful. Yes, it costs some money
to repair the damage. But no one was hurt, including my dogs. Nothing was
taken (from us). And when I think of my wife walking in on someone, I'm very
thankful it was only a broken door.

Thank you God. Once again, your mercy and grace surround us.