Remember me? The guy who used to write spontaneous, fun, and somewhat interesting blog posts? I sort of got lost there for a while. I think the blog even helped to steal away my Wacky for a little while. Too many worries in life can tip the balance the other way on you, and it doesn't take much to go over the edge. I went through a period of time this last year when I just didn't have the usual fire that I have. My thought is that I just had one too many things on my mind. I work like a dog, try to play as hard as I can, typically skiing every weekend in the winter, riding my bike in my spare time in the summer, volunteering rabidly to fight against Pancreatic Cancer, a disease I hate with a passion after losing a life long role model and friend to it, and the list goes on.
About 3 years ago I decided I wanted to buy a sailboat. The first year I loved it. The second year I liked it, but just didn't have the time to use it. The third year my Grandfather passed away, and the boat just sat on the mooring, forlorn and sad, like I felt. She wasn't a boat that wanted to sit, she wanted a fresh breeze and a hard beat to windward. I felt a constant guilt that I wasn't making use of the boat, that was for me a significant yearly investment of money. I finally bit the bullet and sold Kittiwake this summer. The difference has been tangible. I feel like the boat was the pinnacle of the tipping point for me. I just couldn't find the time to use her and it made me miserable to know I was wasting my money, and my boat was wasting away. I only know this for a fact because I feel an incredible lightening of my spirit now. Maybe I'm not too bright(you don't have to affirm this in the comments section!), but I never put two and two together. I have been having a great summer so far, and I really haven't done anything monumental. I have done a few projects around the house that have included my girls that have made me feel like a good father again. I am creating and inventing things again.
 |
It doesn't look like much, but it actually
does heat water |
 |
| Shower Wood! |
I built an outdoor shower out of a bunch of scrap wood that I collected from an old carriage house that my company is renovating. Sounds simple right? Well I am simple! I taught my kids how to drill, screw, cut, resaw, dig, mix concrete, etc....I was a father again, a teacher, no matter how bad! I'm hooked! After building our shower which is fed by the ice cold stream in our yard, I decided it would be cool to build a solar hot water heater. We have had some success with it, but again, assembling this project with my kids, and the laying in bed at night thinking about design problems and solving them has made my feel like my old wacky self again. Now there are rumors of a waterslide in the back yard...Hmmmm.
 |
The almost finished project! Nothing is ever
quite done around here! |
I even talked my wife into mounting the solar monstrosity onto the side of my house, yeah I know, she loves me.. I guess my point is, that if you're not feeling like yourself, you might have just one small obstacle that is putting your over the point of no return. For me it was a boat not being used. Maybe for you it's a dirty garage, or too much overtime. Yup my garage is dirty but that ain't my tipping point! Who the hell knows. I promise you if you feel like you have lost your "wacky" that it is time to take a step back and evaluate life for a few minutes, because when you get that "wacky back it is sheer bliss!
I hope to be here blogging more often then I have been, but not at the expense of my Wacky!
Love,
Wacky Dad!
