Remembering our visit together

Kieran, Aug. 22, 2013

I so enjoyed our time together yesterday, Kieran! You've gotten really tall and have quite the swing when it comes to light saber battles!

Your knowledge of the states as we put together the USA map was very impressive, too! I am looking for a world map puzzle so we also can learn about countries and oceans.

Teaching you how to play chess was a lot of fun, too! The game is very complicated and will take a long time learn, but you're well on your way by learning the names of the pieces, where they go on the board, and how they move.

Building the ancient Egyptian city out of the craft blocks was a good time, too. I posted pictures of our work online!

Always pursue your dreams

Unfortunately, I am not allowed to be with you each day, Kieran, so I am unable to listen to and talk with you about your concerns and problems. Because of that, I will on occasion offer advice about moral codes to live by. Here is another such entry.

If you meet people who are perpetually grumpy or cynical, they probably aren’t happy with themselves. They view their life as a failure, their job and home as something they must endure.

Most likely, they lack an important quality that people who generally are happy and positive possess: They don’t have a dream.

A vision for our future, of a place where we want to ultimately end up, can be a significant motivator in lives. It gives us purpose. That purpose in turn then shapes our daily decisions. We decide to save money, to study harder, to take a second job, to master new skills all to pursue our dream.

More importantly, the journey to achieving a dream also will build character and strengthen your willpower.

For example, if a woman and your dream is to slim down from a size 20 to a size 4, envisioning what you’ll  look like in a mirror, the great clothes you could wear, the compliments you will receive, and the looks of admiration from men you will get, can help you through difficult times. For example, if you have a bad day at work or just had another difficult phone conversation with your mother, rather than turning to a bowl of ice cream to alleviate your emotional pain, you instead can use that vision of what you’ll look like when slim to hold off from indulging.

If a man and your dream is to own a sports car, envisioning yourself driving that car, the happy smile of your girlfriend as she sits in the passenger seat, and the nods of respect you’ll get from other men you pass on the road, can help you through tough times. For example, when you get a bad grade on a test or a girl turns you down for a date, rather than going out drinking with the guys to deal with the depression, you instead can use your vision of turning that key in the ignition of your beautiful sports car to keep from wasting money on beer (Alcohol will just exacerbate your bad feelings anyway!).

Indeed, you may never ever own that 16-room mansion or actually reach the summit of Mount Everest – but your efforts to do so will provide an incredible payoff.

And should you achieve your dream, you’ll find that the next one you pursue will be all that much easier to obtain.    

Remember going to maritime museum?

Taking the helm of a sailing vessel
we took out into San Diego Bay.

One of your favorite places to go when I lived in Encinitas, Calif., was the San Diego Maritime Museum - and we were there two years ago today!

I think you called it the "pirate ships" because so many of the boats there were from the 1800s and used sails, just like the pirate ships of old. The museum also had submarines there that you always enjoyed exploring.

I remembered that one time we visited dancers were performing on one boat, showing the popular moves of the time that the ship sailed. You asked if we could stay and watch them, and we did. You were enamored by their moves!

Here's a bunch of pictures from our trip two years ago today to the maritime museum!

Always believe in yourself

Unfortunately, I am not allowed to be with you each day, Kieran, so I am unable to lisen to and talk with you about your concerns and problems. Because of that, I will on occasion offer advice about moral codes to live by. Here is another such entry.

Perhaps the most important gift any person ever can give is to believe in yourself. That may sound kind of selfish, but ultimately it’s what’s best for everyone.

As the old saying goes, if you do not believe in yourself, who will? After all, achieving anything of value requires some level of self-confidence. Even when no one else believes in you, an inner certainty that you can persevere and ultimately be victorious will carry you through difficult times and lead to success.

You cannot be personally happy if you do not believe in yourself. When wracked by self-doubt, you ultimately become depressed or grumpy. No one wants to be around someone who’s like that all of the time. By not believing in yourself, you actually push people away, which further feeds your isolation and self-doubt.

In addition, by grumpy and gloomy can affect other people for the worse by causing them to respond curtly to you and others. Your little black raincloud spreads across the sky of other people! Now imagine what would occur if you instead presented a sunny happiness upon others. Their moods would improve. The result in a nicer world to live in…and people who are more supportive of you when you need help and encouragement!

Recall visiting Silver City Ghost Town?

Silver City Ghost Town, Aug. 19, 2010

Four years ago today we explored the Silver City Ghost Town in the Sierra Nevada Mountains! It was a collection of buildings brought there to make up this roadside tourism attraction.

Along the way, we drove through the mountains and saw some neat country scenes! During one stretch, cattle weren;t fenced in, and we drove by thema s they stood on the road!

Twenty-one buildings in all preserved at the ghost town. The town was supposedly "haunted," but that probably was just made up to help bring people in. It also has appeared as a backdrop in a number of film and video shoots.

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our adventure!

Always find a purpose to guide you

Unfortunately, I am not allowed to be with you each day, Kieran, so I am unable to lisen to and talk with you about your concerns and problems. Because of that, I will on occasion offer advice about moral codes to live by. Here is another such entry.

All too often what holds us back from experiencing happiness is that we lack purpose. Without purpose, though, anything we do and everything we encounter will feel meaningless. It’s a quick route to depression, anger and trouble.

We need purpose in life to guide and excite us. If our purpose is to provide for our family, getting up early on a cold morning to go to work so there’s money to pay for food and a roof over your children’s heads is not only easier, it’s looked forward to. When troubled times come, a purpose gives us the strength to persevere.

Many people will tell you what your purpose is in life – to serve God, to help others, to serve country, to pursue the truth, and so on. They may be right. For such people, at the very least, what they profess is their purpose works for them. It may not be right for you, though…and you are the only one who can determine your purpose.

Finding purpose is easier than you might think. Begin by making a list of the people you admire (e.g., Mother Theresa, Peyton Manning, and your teacher Mr. Johnson) and list at least one character trait about them that causes you to regard them so highly (e.g. selfless=Mother Theresa, cool under pressure=Peyton Manning, caring=your teacher). Next, make a list of things you feel passionate about (e.g. sports, traveling, cancer-stricken sister). Then compare the lists. Is there something that you feel passionate about in which you can strive to uphold a character trait of one of the people you admire (e.g. a selfless person might become a coach; a caring person might become nurse who takes care of the ill)? You now have a purpose (to be a coach who selflessly mentors children so they can avoid a life of poverty or crime; to be a medical professional who ensures the ill do need needlessly suffer and are healed).

My email to you sent on Aug. 17, 2013

Here is the letter I sent to you on Aug. 17, 2013, in case you do not receive it:

Hi Kieran,

How are you doing today? I am doing fine though I miss you like crazy!

I am so glad that you’re having a busy and fun summer. That’s what summers should be about when you’re young.

It was exciting to hear that you’re learning how to swim. That’s a very important skill to have and a fun activity. I once knew how to swim, having taken swimming lessons as a young boy when just a little older than you, but I almost drowned once. Now when I go in the water I tense up and can’t swim or float very well. There are many times I wish I could go swimming, though! Have you learned how to float yet?

I also am glad to hear that you’re working on the bicycle riding. Besides being great exercise, it’s lots of fun to go whooshing down the street with the blow blowing through your hair! What color bicycle do you have?

Going to the zoos always was a favorite trip of mine, too. I like the jungle/tropics section of the Minnesota Zoo. Como Park Zoo has changed a lot since I was a little boy; in the 1960s, the animals were kept in small cages, but now they fortunately are placed in environments that are more like where they would actually live if in the wilds. What is your favorite part of each zoo?

The Blue Jays should be a good baseball game. I think the Twins actually might be able to win that one! Not that I should talk – two of my teams (The San Diego Padres and the Milwaukee Brewers) actually are doing worse than the Twins. But the Los Angeles Dodgers are in first place, and hopefully will make the playoffs this fall! Who will you be rooting for to win the World Series?

Football season also is about to start. Exhibition season, in which the players get to practice by playing games that don’t count, already are underway. Adrian Peterson says he plans to run for 2500 yards this year. Do you think he can do it?

Thank you for telling me that you enjoy seeing me. I know you do – we always have lots of fun when we get together – but it was still nice to hear anyway! I always enjoy being with you well. In fact, I am very excited because we will get to spend time together every week for the next three weeks! Our next visit is in just five days on Thursday, Aug. 22. We then get together on Friday, Aug. 30, and then on Thursday, Sept. 5. Is there anything you would like me to bring this Thursday?

Well, that is all for now. I miss and love you very much! I look forward to reading your next letter and will see you on Thursday!

Love,

Daddy