Thinking, cleaning, scooting.

Starting at Halloween (my birthday), I tend to get very introspective around the holidays. Thanksgiving is here, and the Christmas holidays (Yule, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, etc.) aren't far behind. I have a ton for which I'm thankful...a fabulous family, a wonderful life, fantastic friends...the list goes on. My thoughts tend to wander towards what has happened throughout the year, and what we can make of the one that's rapidly approaching.

As my readers know, I lost my father this year. He and I were close, in our own way. Weeks would go by in which we didn't even talk on the phone, but when we did, it was always great. I've been thinking a lot about him, and what his life and death mean to me. Since he passed, I've been generally more productive in most of the important areas of my life. I've trained more consistently, followed up on more annoying little chores and tasks than usual, and I've found myself adding just a wee bit more effort to everything I do. I've said that I want to live a life that would make him proud, but in retrospect, I've already been doing that. Still, I suppose that I feel that there's always been room for improvement, and that Dad's pleased with the way I've picked up my pace on the everyday things around here.

I'm driving his scooter around here and there. It's got an inspection sticker now, and I'm anxiously awaiting papers from the dealer so I can get license plates. It's funny, but I'm pretty sure that it's always going to be 'Dad's scooter', rather than mine. And I plan to take damn good care of the thing, too.

This morning, one of Christina's cousins had suggested that we work out together, and I offered to open up my school so that we'd have a good place to train. 7am comes pretty darned early during the Thanksgiving break, but I'm sooooo glad I let Lee talk me into it. We had a fabulous little Crossfit workout, and it started my day off with a BANG. Upon arriving at home, I hustled out to the shed (the one that my father, Uncle Robert, and I built) and started cleaning it out...I knew I had less than an hour before the trash guys would show up, and I needed to make space for the scooter. It's amazing what a person can do when they're motivated! I had my way-cool Bluetooth headphones on (and yes, Cathy Dennis, Kelly Clarkson, and Olivia Newton-John were helping me clean the shed), a bandanna over my mouth and nose, and I was dragging stuff out of there like it was on fire. I had to finish at around 9am so I'd still have time to get ready for a family event today, and the trash guys came right on schedule. By the time they pulled the garbage truck around the corner, there was a decent pile of junk on the curb for them to take away. Mission accomplished: the scooter is now happily sheltered in the shed that Dad built.

In the middle of this process, I stumbled across something that I had thought lost forever. I moved a box of old books, and saw a shiny, orange sphere nestled in the space behind the box...it was Dad's old helmet. Many of you may recall that my father built and flew an experimental motorized hang-glider back in the early 80's, and this was the helmet he picked out to protect his noggin.

I was just a kid back then, and I remember Dad laughing with Mom about what to call his fledgling company (which was nothing more than an excuse to buy and build a glider and write if off his taxes. Genius!), and he suggested "Buzzard Aircraft". Mom had a fit, and wouldn't allow it, so he settled on "Mac's Aviation" instead. He placed an ad in the local phone book, and I still remember the business phone number that he had installed in the kitchen: 409 849 3840. As a present, I painstakingly used pieces of masking tape to write the word BUZZARD on one side of that helmet. And he actually left it on there. I later used that same helmet to ride in motocross races with my brother, so I took the tape off.

This morning, so many years later, I picked up the helmet and was sad to see how the interior had nearly fallen apart. It looked like an old car's headliner that droops. The outside was just as solid as ever, though. I ran my fingers over its smooth surface, and suddenly found a rough spot. Upon closer inspection, I could still see the B..U..Z..Z.. in tape residue on that one side. And somehow, I knew that Dad's laughing with me, wherever he is.

Anyway, I'm off to start organizing the garage. Or maybe I'll take the scooter out to the video store...I'm still not quite sure what I want to do, but I know that I want to do something. In either case, I'm feeling extremely grateful for all of my many blessings, and I'm looking forward to a happy holiday season.

By the way, there's a lacrosse scrimmage tomorrow...wish me luck!!!