A Tribute...

Following is a link to the eulogy that my friend Regina gave at her 4 year old son’s wake. It is a beautiful tribute to a beautiful life. It is a testament of God’s benevolent grace. Please continue to pray for Andrew, Regina & family.

http://www.joshuaschmiedicke.com/

Have you ever wanted to climb Mount Everest???

I can’t say I would ever aspire to climb it, yet I have always had this fascination with Mount Everest. I remember, as a kid (though I don’t think I ever shared this with anyone), being amazed by stories of climbers who risked life and limb to stand on “TOP OF THE WORLD.” I can’t imagine what that must be like. I can’t imagine the sense of accomplishment… and the sense of awe.

When asked why he would climb Mount Everest, British mountaineer, George Mallory replied, “Because it’s there.” In addition to being amazed by stories of Everest climbers, there was a part of me that sort of thought these people were CRAZY! Why do these people do it… what drives them to make that kind of sacrifice? Is it all for adventure? Is it all just to say you’ve done it? (I’ve often wondered the same about people who run marathons or compete in triathlons).

Today I went to lunch with my mentor. I was assigned a mentor to help me get acclimated to my new job. Nicole is super cool and we always have these great conversations – usually never about work. Today we talked about how she met her husband and we talked about some of the cool stuff she’s done. She hasn’t climbed Everest, but she’s done a lot of cool stuff. Today while talking with Nicole, it kinda hit me… I think I know why (some) people climb Everest or why (some) people run marathons and compete in triathlons. I think these experiences, and specifically the training for these experiences, builds character. My mentor seems to have gained a lot of character from the cool stuff she has done and the cool places she’s visited. I suppose that’s not a earth shattering revelation, cause I would think that that’s the purpose of SPORT.

Anywhoo… I don’t think I’ll be signing up for an Everest expedition anytime soon, but there’s a lot of other cool stuff I’d like to do. And a lot of cool places I wanna visit.

Scattered thoughts...

Scattered thoughts about celebrating my life and about how delecate life is…

Every day is my birthday…

I celebrated my birthday a couple of weeks ago. I’m still receiving Happy Birthday wishes… and I love it. I received a late birthday card in the mail from my great-aunt, a late phone call from an old friend, and an “Oh crap! I forgot it was your birthday!” from yet another friend. My response to all of them is that I feel like every day is my birthday.

I receive so many amazing gifts from family and friends every day… so much so that I feel like everyday of the year is my birthday.

Life is fragile…

I read an article written by Peggy Noonan… I think it was about Ken Lay’s death (which isn’t why I write that life is fragile, per se). At any rate, in the article, she speaks about how we hurt other people and how fragile – how breakable people are. She discusses how it’s difficult to calibrate how much damage you will do to a person when you hurt them. We cannot know the extent of the hurt.

It also brings to mind something people tell kids to say when they’re being teased… “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me…” F that! Words can hurt far more than sticks and stones. The sad part is we will never know the extent of the hurt. At least if someone smacks you across the head with big stick, you know the extent of the hurt. I am worried that I may have hurt someone… and I can’t stop thinking about it, cause I’ll never know the extent of the hurt.

Life is fragile, not just because people are breakable, but because life can end so very quickly. A distant friend of mine suffered the tragic loss of her 4 year old son this weekend. It’s a tragedy so terrible, I don’t know that I could bear it. I pray that God comforts their family… and that Our Lady be near to my friend. http://www.joshuaschmiedicke.com/

Willie's Fourth of July Picnic...

I so easily forget how cool Fort Worth can be... Gotta make sure I go there more often.