Tag: family

How My Life Has Changed…

Almost six months ago it was the first of the year… I told myself, as the ball dropped, that this new year will be the follow-up to last years “being my year”.  I told myself that it was time to seek hope.  It was time to seek life.  It was time to seek love.

As the year started… everything seemed like it was the same ol’ same ol’.  I didn’t notice anything changing.  I seemed to continue to walk the same path that I had for the past year.  It seemed no matter how hard I actually tried, I couldn’t push myself into a new direction.

I was talking to someone online from time to time that I had hopes for, but I knew in the back of my mind that it wouldn’t lead to anything… story of my life. lol  However, Valentine’s Day was coming and I thought to myself… Maybe she’ll want to be my date?  I asked her and was shot down, but something else arose from my question… she asked me on a date the week before.

We ended up going out to a restaurant a few days after that conversation.  We went one evening after I got off of work (Thursday night, Feb 7th) to Scotty’s Brewhouse.  We had a great time.  The dinner was fantastic.  The conversation was fantastic.  The mood was fantastic.  It seemed like we both really enjoyed each other’s company.

Flash forward to today…

We have moved in together and have a love for each other that seems, hmmmm… almost as if we have known each other all of our lives.  Maybe it was from a past life??? Maybe true love/soulmates really do exist.  I really do not know how or why, but I do know that it feels like home.  It feels like I have never been complete until she was introduced into my life.

My family loves spending time with her.  She loves spending time with my family.  A BIG DIFFERENCE from my past relationships, and this is something that is very important to me.  I love spending time with her family, as well as they love spending time with me.  Everyone has accepted our relationship and has approved of our relationship… not that we need the approval; however, it is nice when family stands behind you and supports your decision.

We both have started to workout… become more fit… Get active.  However you would like to word it.  I have seen a major change in my health.  I have gone from 235+ lbs to 198 as of yesterday.  My body is becoming more toned as I hit the weights hard and use Insanity as my cardio.  My lady has seen her body tone up and become more stronger.

I am for sure that many more changes and surprises are still to come with this relationship.  We have a chemistry that I have never experienced before, and it is an amazing feeling.  I can’t wait to see what the future holds…

To Be Continued…

robert1ee

 

Life…

life

Take Care Of The Golf Balls First…

Saw this on Facebook today and had to share!  This lesson is amazing and also… so very truthful!

robert1ee

golfballs

The Mayonnaise Jar

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day is not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and two cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.

When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and fills it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured it into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “YES”.

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things – God, family,
children, health, friends, and favorite passions. Things, that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the things that matter like your job, house, and car. The sand is everything else — the small stuff.” he said.

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “There is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are
important to you…” he told them.

“So… pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Worship with your family. Play with your children. Take your partner out to dinner. Spend time with good friends. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the dripping tap. Take care of the golf balls first — the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled and said, “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”

Judgmental…

tumblr_mdva3hs9Wr1r23mn0o1_500

 

It still amazes me how some can think they know what’s best… but what amazes me more, is when they “think they know what’s best” is pushed upon you… “Be curious… not judgmental” -Walt Whitman

 

A Glimpse Into My Life… Pt. XVI

The Vacation…

When my parents got a divorce I was only six, and although I didn’t understand everything that was going on… I did notice one thing that happened: I went on two vacation each summer.  My mother would take me somewhere in the summer, and my father would take me somewhere in the summer.

One year my father and I decided to take a Western Vacation.  We decided to stop at as many states and major cities that we could possibly stop at.  The vacation was going to last just a little over two weeks, and it would be a vacation that I would never forget…

We headed off to travel though Chicago and head to South Dakota.  We were headed to South Dakota to visit Mount Rushmore.  The travel was fun.  We would play the A-B-C game during the day, and if I was awake at night, we would play Pediddle.  We arrived to Mount Rushmore, and as we took the stairs up to the main deck overview, we noticed the heavy fog that was everywhere.  In fact, the fog was so thick that you couldn’t even see much past the deck to begin with.  We were both sadden by the fact that we would not be able to see Mount Rushmore, because we were only passing through, and not spending the night here.

We traveled on to Yellowstone Nation Park.  We stayed here just for a few days.  We have already been to Yellowstone the year before, so we decided to just visit for a few days this time.  We went to see the hot springs and watch good ‘ol Faithful shoot her hot steam.  We went to a few visiting centers and did some small tours.

My father had a camper shell on his truck.  As we were leaving Yellowstone, I decided to take a nap in the back, however; I was woken early when the truck hit a small bump and rocked me.  My eyes opened up slow… still tired… and I finally decided to look around to see where we were.  I noticed that the truck was moving very slowly and trees were to the left of us.  I then heard a noise and immediately looked right.  What I saw walking along the truck was breathtaking.  Walking horizontally to the truck, less than ten feet from me, was a Bison (also known as the American Buffalo).

I could see his eyes looking dead into mine as I got closer to look at him.  I can see his nostrils vibrate as he breathed in and out.  His body looked all muscle and his fur smelled like a dog after swimming in the local lake all day.  He stood tall.  Easily the height of the truck.  One look at this animal… and you would be convinced to not mess with him.

It wasn’t just this one Bison that was walking next to the road.  It was a herd of them.  In single file.  The reason we were moving slowly was because up ahead, the Bison were crossing to the other side of the street and headed off to an unknown destination.  There were easily twenty of these big fellas.  Every single one of them standing their ground and not-at-all worried about the vehicles next to them.

To Be Continued…

robert1ee

 

Goals for 2013…

goals-for-2013I dedicated 2012 for a year to improve myself… and although I didn’t quite get everything accomplished that I wanted to in that year, I did accomplish many things.  2013 is going to be a continuation of finishing my goals and I have set new ones as well.

Goals for 2013:

  • Family:  I want to continue to grow closer to my family.  I want to get to know my nephews/nieces better.  I want to get closer with my younger brother.  I want to be there for my other brothers and sister when they need me to.  I love my parents, and I want to make sure they know how much I do, and how much I appreciate them.
  • Friends:  My true friends haven’t changed one bit over this past year.  I love each and every one of them.  I have come to know who my true friends are over this past year, and I am thankful for each and every one of you.  Over this next year, I want to strengthen these relationships.  I want to be there for them whenever they need a friend near, as I would hope they would be there for me.
  • Job:  I want to further my skills within my company to become an even better person. I want to be able to have the abilities to handle many of the task thrown my way, and I want to show my boss that I am capable of handling this position, without question.  I also want to branch out into the entertainment industry and become a DJ.  I am saving up for the equipment, which should be purchased by March, and I hope I can excel in this industry and make a name for myself.
  • Blog:  I am now running a few different sites.  I want to improve my postings throughout this year.  I post on here, my poetry blog, and my new DJ blog.  You can find all my social media/blog information at robert1ee.com.  I want to get a following by posting information or insightful thinking that my readers are interested in reading.
  • Personal:  I want to improve myself more by trying to be 100% honest with myself.  I am not happy with my current weight, so I need to get back on a healthy workout plan to get myself back in shape.  I have considered joining the ‘Body by V’ Challenge which I know a certain someone that would be very happy to get me on board with that challenge.  I also want to improve my behavior skills.  Looking over the 2012 year, I felt I was in a depressed state of mind for more of that year than what I really wanted to be.  I need to get my mind set to stay positive.  In order to stay positive I must change a few things: (1) Stay 100% with myself; (2) Don’t say yes to people when I’m saying ‘no’ to myself; (3) Become happy with my health; (4) Surround myself with people that will keep me in a better state of mind.  But most of all… don’t lose myself. Who I am people love.  People know Robert as the light of the party and as a fun guy to be around.  I enjoy being that person, but to make myself love being that person, I must improve myself in the areas I mentioned above.

There are going to be changes in my life in 2013… And if you don’t believe me, just watch.

2012 was my year… 2013 will be the foundation for the rest of my life.

-robert1ee

A Glimpse Into My Life… Pt. XII

Christmas Traditions…

For years I have always spent the night at my fathers house on Christmas Eve.  We (my father, my brother, and I) would wake up Christmas morning to breakfast and presents.  Breakfast was always cinnamon rolls accompanied with a Roselyn Bakery’s Alligator Cake.  We would place a candle on this Alligator Cake and sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Jesus.  We would then start to open presents and enjoyed the time spent with each other.

After some time, I would leave to head over to my mother’s family Christmas gathering.  We would sit around and tell stories about different events in our lives.  Eat a wonderful lunch prepared by my grandmother, aunts, and mother.  We would then open gifts and enjoy spending some more time with each other.

Over the years my Christmas day evening would change.  First it was just hanging out and enjoying the evening with my inner family.  Later it became the tradition to head over to my mothers house to spend time with my brothers, their significant others and their children, and open gift there. We would enjoy a good dinner made by my mother.  Later, when I was married, this changed to heading down to Florence, Kentucky to spend time with my wife’s family and enjoy presents and dinner there.

Today is much more eventful.  I know spend the Christmas Eve evening with my second Mom’s (step-mother) family.  We enjoy a nice evening with dinner and gift exchanges.  I then go back into the tradition of spending the night at my fathers house with the same opening of presents and having breakfast as usual, however; this time it’s my father, step-mother, brother, and me (and sometimes my sister, brother-in-law, and their children). I then do the rest of the day like my normal tradition.  My evenings are usually relaxing at my house or a family members house enjoying conversation/movies.

What traditions do you have?  Where do you usually travel to on Christmas day?

To be Continued…

robert1ee

A Glimpse Into My Life… Pt. XI

The fight that I’ll never forget…

We lived in an apartment complex called Lake Castleton Apartments.  There was a basketball court across the street from where our apartment was.  Every Saturday, weather permitting, many of the neighborhood kids would be on the courts.  The courts consist of one basketball court and two tennis courts. Of course… all the kids would be there because of the basketball court.

My parents were divorced by this time, and my mother had been remarried.  My step-father had three sons, and we all loved the game of basketball.  We would collect cards of teams and trade cards.  We would go to basketball games, and we all participated in boys basketball programs in our community.

On this Saturday, it was my step-fathers weekend to have his sons.  We woke up early to watch cartoons like every young kid does.  We ate our breakfast and possibly played some video games.  We then put on your basketball clothes and went to the courts.  We enjoyed playing two-on-two, three-on-three, or full court games. There was always a game going on.  You would practice and warm-up over near the tennis courts, or if it was a full court game, you would take some quick shots when they game was on the other side of the court.

During this Saturday, my brothers and I played a three-on-three game.  It was my brother, some random kid, and me on one team, and then it was my other brother, some random kid, and Jim (I can’t remember his real name, but Jim and I never had a great friendship. In fact, he hated me so much that he would constantly try to fight me.) on the other team.

For some odd reason, Jim was acting very cool with me.  Almost, as if, he finally wanted to be friends. We were defending each other during the games, and we both showed each other up from time to time.  There is a mystery about sports that does bond a friendship between men.  You can hate each other one minute, then play some basketball/football, and find yourself calling them ‘buddy’ the next.

I go to check the ball at the start of the third game.  His team won the first game of 21.  My team won the second game, so this was the tie-breaker game.  I went to check him the ball, and he grabbed it and started to taunt me.  I thought he was playing at first, then he threw the ball extremely hard at me.  I figured he was just really getting into the last game.  We played and my team scored.  I went back up-top to check him the ball again.  He did the same thing but added “asshole” afterwords and came charging up to me when I grabbed the ball.  Of course he was fouling me, but I usually didn’t call the sissy fouls.  No blood, No Foul… was the courts rules.  Although, it never ended up getting THAT rough until this Saturday.

We scored and the game was 18-10.  We had this game, and we had this series.  That is when things turned for the worse.  When I went to check the ball, this time he threw it at my head.  Everyone started watching.  I grabbed the ball, and checked it to him again (telling him that is not they way we check it), and this time he threw it hard towards my face.  At this point he started to taunt me again, however; this time the taunting was deeper.  To taunt him back, I politely checked him the ball again.  Again, he tried throwing it at my face.  I then grabbed the ball and pretended to quickly pass the ball to my teammate in the middle of the paint.  Jim turned, quickly, to try to stop the ball, but before his conscience could even recognized that I faked the pass, a ball went flying into the side of his face at full force.

He turned around, an anger expression on his face, and started to talk trash again.  I dropped the ball and started heading towards the gate.  I got about twenty feet from the gate, when I heard someone scream to me: “Watch Out!”.  I turned around and saw Jim heading full-speed towards me.  I ran towards the gate, grabbed the gate, and swung it full-force right into him.

I then fall.  Tripped over a big rock right outside the courts.  Almost blacked out.  I didn’t know what I fell over at first.  I laid there trying to regain my strength and thoughts, but then my reality came back quickly.  He climbed on top of me… swinging his fist at my face and chest.  By this time, my brothers had already ran past me to go get help.  Before I knew it, someone grabbed Jim off of me and had him pinned against the fence to the courts.  It was my Step-father.  My brothers had freaked out and ran to get his help.  I was grateful of that.

Jim was messed up, and that is putting it lightly.  He had to get 22 stitches.  He was cut from his eyebrows, to his nose, to his check, to his lips, and finally down to his chin.  The gate fence had that barbwire twist to it.  With me slamming his face into it… those all cut into his skin and tore him up pretty good.

His mother tried to press charges on me… but after the police did some investigation, they concluded that it was her son that started everything and taunted me.  Jim and his mother ended up moving before the start of the next school year, and I have never heard/seen from him again.

To Be Continued…

robert1ee