Yes, men can suffer Postpartum – Wikipedia told me so! – but no, I’m not suffering from depression following Laura giving birth to our first child. If everything goes according to our plan of attack, that’s a good 5 years off. Planning a wedding is work enough!
I am a little bit blue about the end of the celebration of somebody else’s child, though. I’ve decided to coin my own term for this sadness – Christmas Postpartum.
As a dragged my sorry behind into work today, yawning all the way, I couldn’t help but feel that same nagging woe I feel about this time every year. The presents have been unwrapped, the hugs have been shared, the good times have been had, and the vacation and holiday time has been used.
To be honest, it’s not even the presents that I look forward to the most. I’d much rather give presents than receive them. For me, it’s the time spent with family and friends who are always in great spirits. After spending four days in Florida with my family, and five days in Evansville with Laura’s family, I’ve grown accustomed to being around loved ones all day, and a schedule that involves little-to-no stress.
I’m not ready to give in to Christmas Postpartum just quite yet, though! With a New Years party that will bring together a bunch of friends coming up, and my parents coming down for a long weekend visit, there is still plenty to look forward to. And, I just finished reading Michael Phelps’s book, which has me motivated to get to the gym more than just once or twice a week. Four-to-six pack abs… here I come!
Monday, December 29, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
The best thing about this time of year (besides Christmas)
As far as I’m concerned, the 2008-09 college basketball season is off to a fantastic start. I have a major penchant for Butler basketball, and nothing makes me happier than an 8-0 start from a team that features three freshman, a sophomore and a junior in the starting lineup. OK, maybe the 2006-07 season that included a Preseason NIT Tournament championship and a Sweet Sixteen appearance takes the cake, but I’m living in the present.
My allegiance to the Dawgs is obviously a result of attending Butler but it’s more than just that. Ever since the first game I attended at Hinkle Fieldhouse as senior in high school, watching them play has been a special experience. Some of my favorite memories from Butler include waking up on game-day Saturdays to trudge down to Hinkle with a bunch of my fraternity brothers and cheer on the team from the student section.
Everyone has a different definition of quality basketball. Some people love to watch major programs with NBA shoe-ins and find Butler games to be boring, but to me watching Butler is where it’s at. I love their style of play, and the incredible level of unselfishness they show. Every player has a crucial role, its not uncommon to have four-plus players score double digits, and leading scorer is a title that’s passed around freely.
I don’t think anyone could accuse any Butler player in recent history of being selfish. The closest the team has come to a star in recent history was last year’s starting point guard, Mike Green. He was invited to NBA tryouts and strongly considered by the Cleveland Cavaliers before going to play overseas, but he was never selfish. He knew when to distribute the ball and when to shoot, and played perfectly into Butler’s system.
The best part is although the Dawgs are not anything like the major programs, they have proven time-and-time-again they can not only hang with the big guys, they can beat them. Butler’s record against major programs is really pretty unbelievable and its success in the NCAA tournament has been nothing short of amazing. I’ll never forget them giving the back-to-back National Champion Florida Gators a run for their money in the Sweet Sixteen. Butler played them closer than any other team that year.
This year’s team is the youngest squad Butler has had in a long time, and Saturday they will be put to the test. Playing perennial MVC powers Drake and Bradley on their home courts, and a Big 10 team (albeit, a lower-end one) was just the warm-up. Now they will face former Butler Coach Thad Matta and his No. 21 Buckeyes on their home court. It will be a test unlike any of Butler’s three starting freshman have faced. The Buckeyes will have superior size, strength and talent, but one thing they won’t have is the moxie Butler has become renowned for.
I just hope the Dawgs remember to bring their sling! (No pun intended in regards to Ohio State's 7-foot freshman center)
My allegiance to the Dawgs is obviously a result of attending Butler but it’s more than just that. Ever since the first game I attended at Hinkle Fieldhouse as senior in high school, watching them play has been a special experience. Some of my favorite memories from Butler include waking up on game-day Saturdays to trudge down to Hinkle with a bunch of my fraternity brothers and cheer on the team from the student section.
Everyone has a different definition of quality basketball. Some people love to watch major programs with NBA shoe-ins and find Butler games to be boring, but to me watching Butler is where it’s at. I love their style of play, and the incredible level of unselfishness they show. Every player has a crucial role, its not uncommon to have four-plus players score double digits, and leading scorer is a title that’s passed around freely.
I don’t think anyone could accuse any Butler player in recent history of being selfish. The closest the team has come to a star in recent history was last year’s starting point guard, Mike Green. He was invited to NBA tryouts and strongly considered by the Cleveland Cavaliers before going to play overseas, but he was never selfish. He knew when to distribute the ball and when to shoot, and played perfectly into Butler’s system.
The best part is although the Dawgs are not anything like the major programs, they have proven time-and-time-again they can not only hang with the big guys, they can beat them. Butler’s record against major programs is really pretty unbelievable and its success in the NCAA tournament has been nothing short of amazing. I’ll never forget them giving the back-to-back National Champion Florida Gators a run for their money in the Sweet Sixteen. Butler played them closer than any other team that year.
This year’s team is the youngest squad Butler has had in a long time, and Saturday they will be put to the test. Playing perennial MVC powers Drake and Bradley on their home courts, and a Big 10 team (albeit, a lower-end one) was just the warm-up. Now they will face former Butler Coach Thad Matta and his No. 21 Buckeyes on their home court. It will be a test unlike any of Butler’s three starting freshman have faced. The Buckeyes will have superior size, strength and talent, but one thing they won’t have is the moxie Butler has become renowned for.
I just hope the Dawgs remember to bring their sling! (No pun intended in regards to Ohio State's 7-foot freshman center)
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Musing gets me nowhere, except tired
I went “home” this past weekend to spend Thanksgiving with my parents. I don’t get back to Wisconsin very often these days – it had been almost a year since I was last there – but when I do make the trip there are a couple items always on my agenda. One includes a stop by the cemetery to see a friend.
Every time I look down at her grave, I’m literally floored by how long it’s been since she passed away. It’s now been 3 ½ years, but no matter how much time goes by it feels like it was just yesterday when I’m standing there. There’s a picture of her on the headstone, and it always makes me sad to see how young she died. Every year I look older, but the picture remains the same.
Thinking about it today I started to wonder something. There are 6.7 billion people alive right now, more than 55 million die every year, more than 155,000 die every day (CIA Factbook), there are billions that have come before us, and surely billions to come after us. Given all of that information, and knowing everything we know about will be gone some day, our lives seem kind of inconsequential – but are they? Knowing all of that, why does the death of just one person make me feel so sad?
This led me into thinking about what our purpose is, given how minuscule any one person is in the grand scheme of things. I don’t know, and won’t even try to guess in this post, it’s just something I give thought to from time to time. I tend define my life by my relationships with friends and family, and that gives me purpose, so I guess that’s why I feel sadness standing over my friend’s grave.
I think I posed more questions here than anything, but this whole post is pretty inconsequential in the grand scheme of things so I guess it’s ok! haha
Here’s a poem I was inspired to write about this time three years ago while thinking about friends and family who had passed away:
As the snow falls towards its destination
Littering the ground in a chaos of
Pristine white serenity
And trees flicker and glow
Bringing illumination to the contiguous dark
Enclosed by windows patterned in frost
As the presents and stockings
Induce vivid memories of years past
And invoke anticipation of what’s to come
A certain, unmistakable content fills us
With all of the feelings of a season filled with family and friends
Laughter and joy
Warmth and caring
And reminiscences of those
Who are with us always
In our memories of them that will never fade
Every time I look down at her grave, I’m literally floored by how long it’s been since she passed away. It’s now been 3 ½ years, but no matter how much time goes by it feels like it was just yesterday when I’m standing there. There’s a picture of her on the headstone, and it always makes me sad to see how young she died. Every year I look older, but the picture remains the same.
Thinking about it today I started to wonder something. There are 6.7 billion people alive right now, more than 55 million die every year, more than 155,000 die every day (CIA Factbook), there are billions that have come before us, and surely billions to come after us. Given all of that information, and knowing everything we know about will be gone some day, our lives seem kind of inconsequential – but are they? Knowing all of that, why does the death of just one person make me feel so sad?
This led me into thinking about what our purpose is, given how minuscule any one person is in the grand scheme of things. I don’t know, and won’t even try to guess in this post, it’s just something I give thought to from time to time. I tend define my life by my relationships with friends and family, and that gives me purpose, so I guess that’s why I feel sadness standing over my friend’s grave.
I think I posed more questions here than anything, but this whole post is pretty inconsequential in the grand scheme of things so I guess it’s ok! haha
Here’s a poem I was inspired to write about this time three years ago while thinking about friends and family who had passed away:
As the snow falls towards its destination
Littering the ground in a chaos of
Pristine white serenity
And trees flicker and glow
Bringing illumination to the contiguous dark
Enclosed by windows patterned in frost
As the presents and stockings
Induce vivid memories of years past
And invoke anticipation of what’s to come
A certain, unmistakable content fills us
With all of the feelings of a season filled with family and friends
Laughter and joy
Warmth and caring
And reminiscences of those
Who are with us always
In our memories of them that will never fade
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