Great Uncle Ken

On Wednesday my oldest nephew and his wife celebrated the birth of their first child. A boy they have named Evan.

How wonderful new life is.

How precious is this baby boy.

But how in the world did I become old enough to be a great-uncle?!

I had always strived to be a "great uncle", but being an official great-uncle kind of hit me in the face.

Enjoy this photo of my new grand nephew, and congratulations to Matt and Lori. We are all very proud of Evan, right along with you.

Another Birthday

Another birthday has come and gone.

It's been forty-five of them for those of you who like to keep count. I generally don't track them too closely.

I'm not too hung up on "having birthdays", although I am not one who feels the need to receive very special recognition on that day. In many ways, it's just another day. Maybe a day to celebrate another year of living, another year of being with those who love you, but not a day that I need to be placed upon a pedestal or treated with some special honor.

The years do seem to be going by faster as life becomes more hectic. I fear that getting to this mid-life age will only cause the time to go by even faster.

I keep a few jars of marbles near my nightstand. Years ago I purchased several bags of marbles and counted-out enough of them to represent the remaining weeks in my life should I live to be 95 or 100 or something of the sort. I have faithfully removed one marble from these jars each week. The "countdown" serves as a great reminder of how short life really is.

Our time here on earth is limited. I believe in living life with no regrets, but within reason. Sometimes it is difficult to maintain that balance. Certainly the responsibility of a family has made "within reason" different than when I was young and single. That standard will likely continue to change through the family life continuum.