Monday after vacation.

I’m of the belief that the Monday after vacation is like a brick wall at the bottom of the first roller coaster hill. Today I hit that wall. Actually the day back at work wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it might be. John my new ‘partner in crime’ at work did a great job of taking care of things that previously would have piled up for me until I returned. I’m really happy to have the help of someone as capable as him.
The Princess went back to the doctor to be ‘cultured’ again (as if high tea at the Grand Hotel last week didn’t make her cultured enough). Hopefully they can arrive at the correct antibiotic cocktail this time and get whatever is eating the Princess knocked out once and for all. Generally the Princess is feeling and therefore looking better than she has in years. Last week Naubinway Jeff commented “You look ten years younger” to her. I think he really meant it. We’re very thankful for the medical developments and professionals that allow people to have an improved quality of life like that.
Health is one of those things that a person really doesn’t appreciate until it’s gone. I’d say it’s one of the ‘big rocks’ in life. The term ‘big rocks’ is from a story that Steven Covey tells in his book First Things First:
by Steven Covey
I attended a seminar once where the instructor was lecturing on time. At one point, he said, "Okay, it’s time for a quiz". He reached under the table and pulled out a wide-mouth gallon jar. He set it on the table next to a platter with some fist-sized rocks on it. "How many of these rocks do you think we can get in the jar?" he asked.
After we made our guess, he said, "Okay. Let’s find out." He set one rock in the jar…then another…then another. I don’t remember how many he got in, but he got the jar full. Then he asked, "Is that jar full?".
Everybody looked at the rocks and said, "Yes".
Then he said, "Ahhh." He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar and the gravel went in all the little spaces left by the big rocks. Then he grinned and said once more, "Is the jar full?"
By this time we were on to him. "Probably not," we said.
"Good!" he replied. And he reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it went in all the little spaces left by the rocks and the gravel. Once more he looked at us and said, "Is the jar full?"
"No!" we all roared.
He said, "Good!" and he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in. He got something like a quart of water in that jar. Then he said "Well, what’s the point?"
Somebody said "Well, there are gaps, and if you really work at it, you can always fit more into your life."
"No," he said, "that’s not the point. The point is this: if you hadn’t put these big rocks in first, would you ever have gotten any of them in?"
Part of living a ‘deliberate’ life is to know what the ‘big rocks’ are in your life, and then living accordingly. For me personally, I’d have to say that my ‘big rocks’ are: my faith, my family, my farm, and my friends (I didn’t start out looking for alliteration, but if it works, go for it). Where many people struggle (me included) is after having identified the ‘big rocks’, making sure they go into the vessel of our lives first. To do this requires constant thought and continual focus on the ‘big rocks’. I’ll be honest and say that I’m still working on how to do that in my own life. I do believe however that an occasional ‘depressurization’ from the stresses of life in the form of a vacation is a good place to start. Here is a pic of the Princess and me along with the Naubinway Queen and youngsters on our recent vacation.

Aren’t we a sharp looking bunch?

Check back soon (and often)

Dave and (the re-cultured Princess) Julie