The house that Ronald built.

I know what you are thinking golden arches, Big Mac, billions and billions served, why would I write about that fast food restaurant.  Well this is actually about the other enterprise that the McDonald's name is associated with - the Ronald McDonald House.  Last night, I joined Kelsey and the other members of the Hereford Middle School SAAD club at the Ronald McDonald House in Baltimore to make dinner for the guests.  I thought that this would be a great experience for the other kids and so I brought them along as well.

It was a lot of fun preparing tacos, a weekly meal for the Brush family, for the families staying at the home.  The kids had a great time helping out and hopefully, more importantly, they learned a little about giving back.  I also got a chance to learn more about the organization and the great work they perform.  (If you want to learn more about it, check out their webpage.)  They provide room and board for children and their families while they are seeking medical care at hospitals away from home.

I had the opportunty to chat a little with a mother staying there with her daughter.  She was so appreciative of the meal.  They were from North Carolina and have been at the facility a number of times, usually for a day or two.  This visit they were trying some more agressive treatment and were planning to be there for eight weeks.  I could not believe it, eight weeks away from home.  I could only imagine what that would cost if they had to stay in a hotel, which very few families could afford.  The Baltimore facility is great becuase it has a wonderful group of volunteers that usually provide meals for the families.  She was telling me that trying to keep these special needs kids busy while they fix a meal is a challenge.  Also having others around kids around was great for these families.

Hopefully, my kids learned a little about giving back and also how fortunate they are to be healthy.  Our hope is that as a family we can go a prepare a meal for the families.  Not only would it be a fun family activity, but it would also be an easy way for us to give back.  It also made me feel a little better about the money that I have spent at McDonalds over the years, knowing that some of the proceeds have gone to help others.  We should all remember that as the weather turns frigid in the northeast, that they are plenty of people who are less fortunate and can use our help.

The Interview

A good friend once told me that it is best to be looking for a job when you are in a job that you enjoy.  That same friend said that the hardest time to look is when you are in a job you don't like or without a job.  This seemed to be a pretty easy concept to understand, but one that not a lot of people heed.  Sure it is clear that you don't want to have to put yourself in the position where you have to take the first thing available, even though it might not be what you want.  When there are bills to pay, people to feed and a home to maintain, you take what you can get, not what you really want.

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to have an interview for a very good position that would be fantastic to get.  I had done my research, reviewed the position, the people I was meeting with and the organization.  I have spent the last 20 years meeting new people, talking about my work, and making presentations; it is what I do.  The development industry is about going to meet people and build a relationship with them, that has never been an issue for me.  Sure, I like everyone else, I get that nervous excitement about the outcome but I feel really comfortable talking in front of people.  I have also done numerous interviews and am very comfortable with my work history.

As yesterday morning came around, I was finding my nerves acting up more than ever.  During my final prep work, it started to hit me how different this interview was feeling.  It had been twenty years since I had gone into an interview without having a job and one that I liked.  Twenty years ago I was still in college with over two months until graduation and no real responsibilities.  Yesterday, I knew there were not many jobs out there, every day brought me closer to having no more paychecks coming, having to pay for insurance and many other concerns.  While we will be fine for a few months to come, I felt that pressure to be perfect to make sure that I did my best. It was really strange to feel that way before doing something that is normally so comfortable.  It is amazing how things change as your responsibilities change - not a big surprise.

As it turned out, once I got in there I was completely comfortable and felt that it all went well.  I think that it was actually good to have that extra nervousness.  It helped me understand the importance of networking, of professional growth, of being prepared for whatever may come.  As I have realized, some times things do not go your way and you have to learn how to react.  All you can do is your best.  I am sure that as other interviews come up, I will continue to get nervous knowing that I have to find something.  Hopefully, my experience of yesterday will make me more prepared for what will come.

A look back at the Holidays!

It is hard to believe that Christmas and New Year's have past, it seemed to go so quickly.  As I reflect on it, I think that it may have gone so fast becuase I was able to enjoy the time with my family for really the first time in many years.  I'll come back to that shortly.  There was lots of fun, good food and great company.  There was only one downside to the holiday, oh and it was a bad one, but fortunately short-lived.

I was running around on christmas eve, which is one of my favorite days of the year.  See, I am a people watcher, so I love to be out watching people run around like crazy.  I make sure that I let people go first in line, be nice to cashiers and wave someone through in the parking lot.  It was truly a fun day.  I spent most of the afternoon wraping presents and excited about the peace and calm of a late christmas eve of mass and wrapping those final presents.  I was planning to go to church, come home, wrap a few gifts and write a blog about my fond memories of christmas eve's past.  Unfortunately, after driving the kids crazy, especially Chloe, with my christmas singing and a wonderful dinner my stomache was not in a good place. (No, it was not from the dinner!) I spent the next 12 hours as a very unhappy camper.  It was so bad that two days later my ribs hurt when laughing.  My stomache muscles worked way to hard getting whatever was in my system out.  So I spent the evenng alone in bed.  That blog will have to wait until next year.

Fortunately, by about 10 am christmas day, I was feeling better.  At least well enough to watch the kids open presents.  I love to watch the excitement on their faces as they open gifts.  This year was fun as Liz got a wonderful gift from Santa, much to her surprise.  She must have been a really good girl this year.  Probably putting up with me would qualify her for that title every year!  In all, although a little lite on presents it was a wonderful day with just the five of us - oh and our dog cinnamon too! (The kids would be mad if I left her out.)

The next week was spent with family and friends.  We travelled to Binghamton to spend time with Liz's family and friends, while there was some chaos it was a very enjoyable trip.  We had a great day with Liz's whole family, hosted by her aunt and uncle, and I got to spend time with two very dear friends.  These two have been "in my foxhole" as one of them likes to say for more than 10 years.  It was really great to see them, especially at a time when we are not busy with work and other commitments.  I greatly appreciate them taking the time to get together.  Our trip got extended when we all felt like we needed one more day to crash, we also were able to help Liz's parents move some things around before they head south.  It was great to have another peaceful day.

The last few days were spents doing some little things, letting the kids relax and some great time with my parents after the New Year.  Not much about New Year's Eve since I think we were in bed by 10 pm, although the kids stayed up til just about 1 am.   Liz fell asleep pretty quick and I stayed up reading the second half of the last Harry Potter book - can't wait until June to see the final movie!

Now that the kids are back in school and trying to get in a routine, I guess the one big thing I took away from this holiday season was how nice it was not to have to worry about going to the office to check for end of year gifts, having to attend a basketball game, and always checking email to keep up with what is going on.  Those activities had always been apart of my holidays.  Not that they were bad ( I got to go to games at Villanova and at the Palestra) but it always broke up the time with family and friends.  It made it harder to do some of the things that we wanted to do as a family, becuase we always had to account for one or two work days.  I probably won't have the option of doing it again, but having been able to this year will have me thinking in the years to come how can I take the full week off and just enjoy it.  This will allow us to enjoy our family time, see good friends and truly enjoy the holidays!

In all the holidays were great.  I hope that you and your family had a wonderful holiday season, were able to celebrate the season of giving, and take a few mnutes to remember how it all began with a baby in a manager!